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Ando definitely ended badly on Kawi, but we have to note that it started pretty good. 7 wins in 2022 SX.
Speaking of poor setup, anyone else feel like the number font isn’t great on his bike?
If it is the bike Chase and the team won’t quit like the other guy. And I heard he was also capable of putting his own bike on the stand.
Might be one of the dumber takes I've seen on here in a while.
He won a 450 title about 18 months ago and was a few stupid decisions away from winning SX title last year.
If anything he spins himself in circles because he cares too much.
If he just wanted to collect checks he could just pick a setup and go golf all week instead of constantly testing and searching.
And for all his faults he's consistently been one of the fittest guys out there. You don't get there by going through the motions.
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Agreed, he would probably benefit from some not caring. I think constantly trying to do too much is the core of all these issues with all the brands.
Chase needs to pick a set up and just ride. He does this with every brand, keeps trying to find the perfect set up and never does. Kawi ms probably feeling like they need to do whatever they can to make him happy because of the Prado deal and it’s biting them in the ass because Chase doesn’t know what he wants. He looks awkward on the bike, like hes indecisive in his line choices. Maybe Chase needs to take the week off from riding and just show up to the race next weekend, the 100+ hour work weeks aren’t helping it seems.
Past the panic button, it a complete disaster.
Way more than a bike or mental thing.
Does not even look like him out there .
Hopefully he is content with the big salary he gets and just being a 5-8 place rider next three years.
At this point he needs to try Friese’s bike
Thank you, this is the summary I was looking for.
Never said he wasn’t showing up and doing his job.
Just not making his excuses for him, just “dumb” takes. Oh right, “he cares too much” to figure it out anywhere. The answer is clearly somewhere else, always, for him and his fans.
Nah. New bike, new team, only 18 points back at round 6 of 17.
"He's out there cashing checks"
Chase fans throughout this thread and many others have offered plenty of criticism for his part in all of this.
You take it as the worst thing said ever. MaybeI I should have just said “perhaps it is just not as important to him as it is to his fans.”
I hope the guy does well because I like competition.
Chester Sexton
hell yes they're panicking. Chase has been tearing that bike apart week in/out since season started. They hired him to win tons of races and remove the "prado-stink" from their reputation. Instead, they're getting one of the premier riders rolling around in 5th and then going back to tearing the bike apart. If there's not massive improvement by end of season, I honestly see him trying to jump ship. Not sure where the heck he would go, however....
Everyone keeps saying “only 18 points back”
Do I think he can turn it around? Yes
Do I think he can go on a run? Yes
Do I think he gets at least one more race out of the top 5? Yes
Is it possible he crashes and gets a 10th somewhere? Yes
Do I think Hunter, Eli and Coop all give up that many points to him? No way..
Where Eli, Kenny & Hunter will destroy him (and maybe Prado).
Maybe like Eli is doing it..
I had the same thought. A little Mitch Magic couldn't hurt.
Pit Row
Chase will be at star in 2028. Let Mitch run the kawi team.
On the current bike that Chase won I think 7times last year. In a current gen frame that has tons of data from its riders.
Enter Kawi, it’s obvious that team doesn’t have the data the other teams have when it comes to setup.
These guys are at the edge of elite speed. If it’s not right they end up 5th and apparently they suck and the team is a complete failure.
If you made a list with the other brands from the same time frame and their riders, Kawi is still probably the most successful in wins and titles thru all those years lol
He was flying the second half of his heat race. The track was hammered then also.
For some reason he was just riding cautious in the main. Wasn't even attempting one of the combos everyone in front of him was doing. And barely hit the other big combo section.
Hard to say. But he is still only 18 points back 7 races in with mostly mediocre starts. (He has been ridiculously cautious on the starts also for whatever reason)🤷♀️
5th doesn’t tell the full story though does it?
The issue here is that he looks nothing like the rider we are used to seeing.
To put it in some context, Hunter passed Sexton on lap 10. He pulled so much of a gap on him that he lost 17 seconds in a crash and still beat him by 10 seconds. That is a complete disaster
Also worth mentioning a fair deal of the guys listed were fill ins (as noted) and #2 riders. Still a very telling list for the team, though, and solid effort from @bestmx to pull together.
At what point does it start looking bad for Kawi as a brand ? I mean I am not on that train I believe it's a good bike I mean it's Factory Kawasaki. But Prado looking like a privateer barely making nationals and saying this bike sucks and he's been a new rider on that KTM. We know chase could win on the KTM and now he's just out there cruising looking around .Personally I think Chase looked the best on the KTM. Yes he had some phenomenal rides at HRC but he looked solid on KTM anytime he wasn't on the ground .
That Kawi run from RC/Stew through RV was pretty awesome. Ktm team was pretty successful from that RV era till a year or two ago though (maybe this corresponds to Jett’s arrival?).
Not from acquiring data it isn’t.
This whole first year for SX and MX will be trying a different setup for each race.
Towards the end it will get closer to the base for NEXT year.
You can see Ducati doing the same.
Chase is a head case AND the factory Kawi might suck.
Absolute nightmare scenario.
I reckon Chase's main problem is between his left and right ear and if he doesn't get his issues figured out soon then I forsee things getting worse.
There is always room for a former SX/MX champ. I think it’s all mental with Chase. He needs to get his mentals in order.
IMO he should take Eli’s approach and do way less media and go ride train in private and disconnect.
Post a reply to: Panic Button for Chase/Kawi?