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You may be able to make an argument for Stewart. I guess he was kind of laid back. But that's probably about it.
So why do you think the laid back personality will be an asset?
The Shop
We can only judge a situation by the evidence we've directly seen, not by "what ifs" or comparing one guy to a completely different guy. AP23 is not the same person/rider as Dungey or Webb or RC. We've seen him dominate by being his own laid back self, and I expect we can continue to see that if all goes well.
Doug Henry (Yamaha)
Greg Albertyn (Suzuki)
Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki)
Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki)
Ricky Carmichael (Honda)
Ricky Carmichael (Honda)
Ricky Carmichael (Honda)
Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki)
Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki)
Grant Langston (Yamaha)
James Stewart Jr. (Kawasaki)
Chad Reed (Suzuki)
Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)
Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
Ryan Dungey (KTM)
Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
Ken Roczen (KTM)
Ryan Dungey (KTM)
Ken Roczen (Suzuki)
Eli Tomac (Kawasaki)
Think of all the great riders over the last 20 years not on this list. To say that AP will never win a 450 championship may be true, but he still has a chance to be a one of the top dogs in the sport for many years to come.
Windham is a good example of this. He was amazing. Great personality, great rider, great person. But he never won a big boy title. He's not an all time great racer.
I certainly believe Aaron will be a top dog. He will most likely be a top 10 rider, which would be a top dog. He will most likely get lots of top 5s, some podiums and a handful of wins. A lot of people here think he's gonna be the next big thing though. I just don't see it. I see him being similar to what Barcia is this year. An amazing rider who can maybe sneak out a win but won't ever win a 450 title realistically. That's all. I don't want to be argumentative because I really like Aaron. I want nothing more than to see him be the top dog and win some 450 titles. I really hope he proves me wrong.
I really enjoy having his personality in our sport, I hope he doesn't change too much when he's on the 450s.
I am glad Plessinger won, he seems like a pretty easy going guy. Hope he goes well next season. It will be fun to see which rookie adapts to the bike bikes faster.
If anyone is burnt out, it’s Jason Anderson. He’s commented on it multiple times the last 2 years.
Pit Row
Having said that, I think Plessinger could be pretty consistent from the get-go on the big bike. He's really upped his consistency this year, plus he doesn't seem to carry too much stress about racing. He has been very durable in terms of injuries, I think he had one off-season shoulder injury but that's all I can think of since he turned pro. I could see him top-5 in both SX and MX points if he stays healthy and we have the usual injury rates among everyone else.
Jason ain't burned out. In fact , I bet that dude has a fire under his ass and is ready to race , any where , any time.
I think Anderson is just different in that he puts himself out there on social media to show his off-track life. And he considers doing stuff away from the moto scene very important for his mental state. Even Bobby Hewitt has said in several different interviews that he has to give Jason room to have fun. We know from that awkward press conference at Washougal that Tomac did something on his off-weekend, but he does not put himself out there at all. It's a shame that the sport has become this vicious little entity where every rider is judged with every single thing they do on the bike and off the bike. Put up a video of you wakeboarding, then have a bad moto and people are questioning your dedication and resolve. That kind of pressure from the industry and fans forces the top guys to be sheltered. Weege has talked a lot about this in the last couple of months. He says that even a free-spirit like AP will eventually lose some of that personality when he starts getting the 450 pressure to perform.
You said 450 but I'm including Pastrana bc he was happy on even his worst days and if it hadn't been for injuries i think he would have won a few championships.
Post a reply to: Will AP23 burn out like CW2 did?