Posts
65
Joined
10/8/2009
Location
Englewood, CO
US
Fantasy
46th
motosb
12/29/2011 8:06am
12/29/2011 8:06am
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 1:58am
I liked the Grant Hanny debate as I think they are both guys who could possibly break into the top 5.
The other guy im most interested to see how he turns out is Josh Hill. When this guy was healthy a few years
back he was battling with Dungey. He seemed to have the speed and thats something you cant overlook. I feel
like if he could get back to that place he has a chance at breaking that top 5. Obv the question is can he over come
those injuries to get back to where he once was. He is an intriguing racer coming into this season.
The other guy im most interested to see how he turns out is Josh Hill. When this guy was healthy a few years
back he was battling with Dungey. He seemed to have the speed and thats something you cant overlook. I feel
like if he could get back to that place he has a chance at breaking that top 5. Obv the question is can he over come
those injuries to get back to where he once was. He is an intriguing racer coming into this season.
The Shop
But I believe Brayton will be in the mix weekly as well.
I've always liked Ivan.
edit, scrap that, I didnt know he was riding SX lites. He's my shout for the 450 outdoor dark horse though!
I like how Matthes puts it in one of his pulpmx.com articles. http://www.pulpmx.com/stories/9-questions-9-answers
8- Who’s taking a step up in 2012?
I think that contract time makes people do funny things. You have to realize that the thought of working at 7-11 the next year is a very motivating thought for a racer. The guys want to race professionally as long as they can and make as much money as they can so that they never have to work again. So racers tend to take a few more risks when they need a deal for next year, they tend to maybe work a little harder than they used to in order to keep the level of living it up, well, up.
In this case, you can write off riders that don’t have the equipment to run with the big guys or the team that is capable of providing support one would need to get the big bucks in 2013. And stripes don’t change on a Zebra so you can’t pick some rider that has not shown an inclination to work hard to all of a sudden turn into Rocky and start running up mountains.
Nope, you have to go with a rider that’s in a contract year, works hard and has the bike and team to take a step up. That sort of narrows the field down a little bit so for me, Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer seems to fit into this group. Weimer works hard (he’s on the same program as Ryan Villopoto), has the bike (his results improved greatly on the 2012 Kawi 450 late in the nationals) and is in the last year of his contract. Looking over at the Pro Circuit truck and seeing Dean Wilson in the last year of his Lites deal and sniffing to get into the big truck is all the motivation that Weimer needs to make it happen. Will he win the title? I doubt it. But look for Weimer to consistently be in that “next group” of riders after the top five. Will it be enough to stay with Kawasaki in 2013? I’m not sure but I do know we’ll all be saying Weimer’s name a lot more.
Pit Row
also, you are saying dark horse and not underdog right?
With that being said, one rider always comes to mind in this category and with the talent he has it is frustrating to see him always ride clearly harder when he is on his contract year, that's Milsaps. Year in and year out when he gets a 2-3 year deal since his professional career began its routine to see him wick it up mid year on a contract year. Yet he still gets a ride every single time while some riders like Brayton continue to climb the ladder regardless of what he is/was riding all the way up to the pinnacle of factory rides, Honda. I am not bagging on Davi at all but it would be great to see him ride for a purpose not a contract. I may not have my facts 100% in order but I'm pretty sure his best performances and even wins were in these times. Even this year with people saying "this is his year" its happened time and time again .... I'd pick him for a dark horse but I cannot be confident it will happen, its disappointing because he can clearly ride with the best anytime he chooses to.
I have a lot of respect for Davi's talent and would be awesome to see him seize the results he's capable of.
My dark horses are Brayton, Tedesco, Hill, and yes Hansen I see Hanny stepping it up simply for the respect of Hart and Watson. I could be wrong because he kind of falls into the Davi category but for different reasons.
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