He's Roger's Jeff Ward, and a marketing dream for the youth program, he ain't goin' nowhere. The Red Bull deal also limits his options, just like JS.
Not sure if you can blame the KTM for going slower in the whoops,Roczen seems to flit through them just fine,as do the 250 KTM's. You can kinda see Dungey just doesnt have the intensity except in short bursts,he likes to be smooth. RV hits the gate flatout intending to win and its easy to tell hes at the edge when he needs to be. Stewart wants to finish some races,no way to do well on the ground. I hope Chad wins!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is hauling ass.
Interesting. It's almost impossible to see this level of detail on TV. Dungey has been saying (complaining?) they are working on his suspension, it's been sounding like he isn't confident enough in his suspension to really hammer it through the whoops. .
There may be more than spots open. MM is for sale for $500,000,000. If it sells who knows what that could mean for Honda's SX/MX endeavors.
It's more than you could ask for as a fan. When you consider Reed/Stewart running strong and Canard/Tomac/Milsapps all hopefully coming back asap this may end up being the season for the ages. So what is the general consensus on the new 450 format with taking the top 4 and running semi's plus the LCQ. I think it's great and should continue to provide better racing where the 4/5 riders duke it out.
This is turning out to be an excellent season for the fans. We keep hearing the tracks are more difficult/technical than in years past so that likely has a big role with minimizing the point spread at the top of the pack. It could be that riders did their homework over the off-season. The new seeding process does create more intensity in the heats. Case in point, Dungey taking out Tickle in the last turn of the heat a few weeks back. The introduction of the semi was to provide more exposure to riders deeper in the ride list, and yet here we are still talking about the top 6. To be honest, without a big name in the semi I find I skip it. I'm not sure if we've yet seen any come from behind stories, where a race winner had to come up through the semi to podium. When that happens, the announcers will surely thank the new format for making that happening. -Scott
Agreed, although I suppose you could also argue the same about Roczen. So what's the skinny on why Dungey would depart the team? He worked with Decoster at Suzuki, and then Decoster brought him to KTM. I don't read into how Decoster could be a reason, unless there is more to the story. The suspension? It's not like last season where he blew out the air shock in the first race. He's sitting in 4th place and posed to do quite well in the rest of the series. Is his contract up at the end of this year? -Scott
Maybe not in the new format, but at A3 last year, Dungey DNFed his heat due to the air shock failure, came through the LCQ (which had it's own challenges), and then won the main. It can happen.
This, three top tier riders not even on the track and we still have 6-7 riders capable of winning. If Villipoto will give those other guys a break that is. Word here is that Carnard isn't going to be ready until after Dallas. Surely he will make the Honda look better than Barcia has been doing. I'm liking the new format, I think it will be even better in person. I'm betting that we'll see a winner come through a semi more than once this season. I'll be at Dallas to check it out, maybe Houston or St. Louis also if I can get my riding buddy to go and share some costs. .
Geeze, all this KTM/Dungey/DeCoster talk...we're not even close to silly season. But I see no real reason why any of them would want to part ways with the others at this time. It's quite possible - maybe even probable - that KTM will get win it's first U.S.supercross championship this year, either in the 450s or 250s; this is a prospect that excites me greatly. I do like KTM as a manufacturer, but moreso I like that there is a viable option beyond the just the Japanese 4. Honda/Suzuki/Kawasaki seem to me to just produce me too bikes...different versions of vanilla with sprinkles. KTM and Yamaha are more like a vanilla with a chocolate or strawberry swirl - neopolitan even - still with sprinkles. Now I want ice cream.
I like the new (old) format, though I wish they only brought two out of the LCQ or even one if possible. Really make it do or die. I think you do hear names you might not normally hear this year, with more races. They seem to focus more on the transfer spots imo in terms of camera and announcer work.
I like the semi's,its more racing and can be great racing even if it isnt the top guys doing it. + All the guys out there have sponsors of one kind or another and it gives them more chances to get on camera. I dont really like how the take outs are getting more and more blatant,if a guy needs a spot its too easy to take a guy down and continue on fat and happy. Its not real racing and the more that guys see they can get away with it the more they will do it. I guess its good for the show.
