Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1416659
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 5, 2021 P125 scenery, and I'm sure Kawasaki is looking into the future, even though they hired a veteran rider in Jason Anderson to take his place. Still, you know Kawasaki has a long-term plan in place, and Anderson is a part of that plan and for Kawasaki, he's the ideal guy for now. Maybe by the time Anderson is ready to retire, Forkner will be ready to step in. Tomac's decision to go to Yamaha had to have been tough on Tomac but also must have been put at ease when he saw Ferrandis win the opening round of the Nationals at Pala on the YZ450F this season in his first outdoor race on a 450. I happened to be standing near Ferrandis when he greeted one of his team members seconds after taking the checkered flag, and the first thing Ferrandis said to him was, "See, I told you if you built me a good motorcycle, I would win." Still, as good as the Yamaha might be, it's still not a Kawasaki, a bike Tomac is very familiar with. So, it will be interesting to see how Tomac adapts to the Yamaha with its "backward" motor, not to men- tion his new team and him no longer being on top of the totem pole anymore. Anderson's move to Kawa- saki is interesting, as well. Like Tomac, he, too, probably just needs a change of scenery; af- ter all, he's been with the same primary team throughout his professional racing career. An- derson has always said having fun was a significant part of his racing and success. Now that the Rockstar/Husqvarna squad has a taste of winning champi- onships ever since Anderson gave the team its first Super- cross title in 2018, and that his original team manager Bobby Hewitt is no longer there, maybe the environment he experienced at his "old" team just isn't there anymore, the kind of environ- ment he feels he needs to win another championship. However, not all anticipated announcements have been made yet, like the one from Red Bull KTM heralding the arrival of former Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team rider Aar- on Plessinger. All we know for sure is that he is no longer with Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. He recently thanked the team via social media, say- ing, "So honored to have been a part of this amazing team for so long... I can't thank these guys enough." Definitely sounds like they are finished. He did not reveal, however, what his future is, but he did say that we will know in a few more days "...we have something good in store." Well, I do hope it is some- thing "good," and I do hope we are surprised at least once this off-season. Plessinger and Triumph, perhaps? CN "When you think about it, however, it's not all that unusual for an elite veteran superstar to make a team change late in their career after being associated with one brand/team for a long time like Tomac is doing." "I happened to be standing near Ferrandis when he greeted one of his team members seconds after taking the checkered flag, and the first thing Ferrandis said to him was, 'See, I told you if you built me a good motorcycle, I would win.'" N G D A Y tion his new team and him no N G D A Y tion his new team and him no longer being on top of the totem N G D A Y longer being on top of the totem pole anymore. N G D A Y pole anymore. Anderson's move to Kawa N G D A Y Anderson's move to Kawa saki is interesting, as well. Like N G D A Y saki is interesting, as well. Like Tomac, he, too, probably just N G D A Y Tomac, he, too, probably just career after being N G D A Y career after being associated with N G D A Y associated with one brand/team N G D A Y one brand/team for a long time like N G D A Y for a long time like