Man, he's been through a lot.
Six wins in a row in 2019 250 East then out with the knee injury. Title was his to lose. Four wins in 2020 250 West but a couple of finishes outside the top 15 and ends up 3rd overall. 2021 injury after the second race and he missed the SX season. 2022 second place in the first race. The next week was a triple crown and he dominated race 1, finished fourth in race 2, then battles with Jett for the lead in race 3, actually passing him. Then they go down hard ending Austin's season. Summer of 2022... torn labrum before outdoors and misses the season.
Lately he's moved his training to California and he's been riding a lot with El Hombre. He also has a new off-bike trainer, still using Reynard on-bike. His dad is not in California with him. It's his last SX season on a 250, slated to go 450 for outdoors.
So a lot of changes to his program and almost a year away from racing. Could this finally be his year?
I'm not a fan of the kid in the least, but his talent and potential are undeniabe.
Hopefully the change of scenery does him well, and he grows up a bit....his off the track attitude and overall persona has turned a lot of people off, in my opinion.
He needs to put on some more muscle mass if he wants to stay injury free. Im a fan of his girlfriend though
Serious question: What has Austin done that has made so many people not like him?
Unpopular opinion-
Yes, it will be his year . . . for more of the same.
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He’s a clean cut, good looking kid with a smoke show if a fiancé and incredible riding ability….insecurities will bring people out of the woodworks every time
He's had a rough run and I'm rooting for him but some guys can't ever seem to shake the injury curse. AC is another example. I'm rooting for both of these guys this year to put something together.
guys with fat girlfriends hate him
Not really why I think most people aren't a fan. The whole "if you're a hater you must be insecure and/or jealous" is such a lazy take.
Just my opinion, but his arrogance and self-righteousness about everything off the track is a huge detriment to his image. He has a lot of opinions he is very willing to state as fact, which is pretty ignorant for a 20-something athlete with just about zero real-world life experience.
Look up his Twitter and form your own opinion....don't take my word for it.
I would guess most don’t like him cause of his politics.
Lol, I suspect it has more to do with his trolling of Chase Sexton when they were competing on 250Fs for the Championship. The vast majority of people don't give 2 shits about what he looks like, his relationship with his girlfriend, etc all of which you mentioned. I like Austin, but he has had a tendency to run his mouth in the past. His riding (*cough* crashing) spoke so loud I just couldn't hear what he was saying.
He just needs to grow up a little and focus on riding. He has loads of talent on a dirt bike. I'd like to see him have a very successful year. I think the injuries have been very humbling for him and has helped his attitude. When he was winning races, he was a complete punk mouthing off. Hopefully if he does start winning, that attitude doesn't come back.
The gap between him and Sexton now is bigger than the Grand Canyon. A little humility can go a long way.
I think most don't like him because of his DELIVERY, not necessarily his politics.
In addition to my last response to the "everyone is jealous" guy....
There are plenty of ugly and unsuccessful people I don't like either
Exactly, and that's also why everyone hates Dean Wilson. Wait, what?
There are plenty of clean cut riders with Monster Energy promotional models on their arms. Some are liked, some aren't. It's usually pretty easy to tell why.
Imho, he has to win or get second this year to keep his stock up and I think he is very capable of either. Jett may have gained some speed staying healthy and racing all 2022 season but Forkner was on his level before the mid air collision. As much as I’m not a huge fan of some of his off track opinions, I hope he stays healthy this year and makes the West series somewhat interesting.
Ok Austin, time to log off vital
Ok, that IS funny! Glad I was far enough into my morning coffee to NOT spill allll of it!
Still, I don't get the Forkner hate. Then again, I've always thought the kid was one helluva rider AND a nice kid...all at the same time.
No worries, just put me in the category of guys that want to see Austin get a full season in.
You know...I remember RC on the KX...I remember people calling him "cocky" or "egotistical"...hell, I remember people writing him off after his foot-peg tried to kill him...again, on the KX...he had haters...people booing him on the podium...yup...Good Times! And, look what became of him!
Yup...no worries.
This is where people are gonna flame-out and say I'm comparing Austin to RC...classic! It's called "reference" and it will get lost in the minutia...just watch...
Signed,
A Dude that loves this sport...this lifestyle.
He honestly is not that way... I can see he comes across in such a manner but when you speak to him 1:1 he is a genuine good dude who comes across poorly. In 1 year everyone will be thinking differently of him.
It was refreshing to see him show up as an amateur in a pickup and used small camper and dominate. Not to mention his mom, dad, and grandpa always come off as down to earth, hard workers.
Hope he is successful this year.
I can appreciate that, but for ONE reason alone. I can't remember the round, but it was during an outdoor national when they had that media corral thing after the races...
I think it was a Weege video and he walked up to Forkner in the corral and he actually seemed like a humble kid. Definitely NOT the image he portrays 99% of the time. It was definitely a surprise seeing him like that.
Pit Row
How old is Forkner ? Past the point of calling him a kid in my opinion.
He's 24. Being called a kid has more to do with the perception of him than it does his actual age, I think.
I have also always liked Forkner and thought of him as a potential superstar.
He's had an incredible amount of bad luck, which is at least partly due to himself.
I'd like to see him have an injury-free season or two to see how he fares.
If he has the chance to punt the Honda Golden boy I hope he takes it.
As far as I can remember the only injury/drama that wasn't self-inflicted was the incident with Jett.
Every other injury has been his own doing. That's not bad luck...
This. But sadly he also has to grow up mentally as it seems like he is being left behind those that were his peers, he has suffered with his mistakes on track and had way too many injuries.
Not a fanboy or a hater I just want to see all the ‘top guys’ race.
Fer cryin' out loud...really?
No disrespect my friend but you can't compare Forkner to Carmichael at all. Carmichael did have a bad season. 1 single bad season (his rookie year). But after that he won everything there was to win. Forkner has had 7 bad seasons now.
I hope Forkner has a bounce back season where he stays healthy, racks up wins, and grabs a championship but after 7 years of not getting it done it's hard to invision happening.
Didn't they take out one of his kidneys or something and organ
I think it's more a case of him not knowing when to STFU. There's a time and a place for everything, and he seems to run his social media "mouth" at the wrong time.
When I think of a kid. I think about Jett and Shimoda. Both show more maturity in interviews then Forkner. Great rider but does not seem to have it all together upstairs in my opinion.
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