At Southwick, things fell apart a little for our boy Hunter. He lost his cool and lost the red plate.
I’m not going into the details of the crash or the ensuing arguments. By the time you read this, it will have well and truly been put under the microscope by much of the moto media.
What I want to talk about is the out-of-character anger that we witnessed.
I’m no expert on being a pro motocross athlete but life experience has made me pretty knowledgeable about people and what makes them tick. When a usually mild-mannered person erupts with anger, onlookers are firstly shocked, they then dissect the situation and they do that much more thoroughly than they would if it was a dude such as say, Justin Barcia. If this was Bam Bam we would be laughing and saying, “he’s at it again”.
So why the eruption from Hunter anyway? He’s been screwed over on track before.
When someone like Hunter erupts, it's usually because “life” had them already simmering and the incident that triggers the rage, was just that, a trigger. Hunter is in a uniquely challenging situation, he has sacrificed and worked his ass off since he was a child, all for when the opportunity to be the champion he was made to be, arises. And his little brother has screwed everything up.
Maybe I’m wrong and Hunter was just having a bad day, either way, I’m sure the rage was not only about Stilez Robertsons riding.
Due to Jett’s crazy fast career trajectory, they are both hitting their peak simultaneously, think about that. Even if Hunter knew little bro might eventually get him, did he ever envisage how soon this would come? Going into this season I believe Hunter, as any title contender should, felt he was the best guy or at least on even terms with his brother.
Whether or not Hunter has accepted it, Jett has proven this season that he is the top dog.
He’s likely on his way to a 3rd championship, 3 more than big brother.
I’ve heard plenty of talk, both media and just bench racing with mates, that Hunter would be better off moving on from Honda when the opportunity arises. At least then he will be the top guy on the team. I’m not sure if I agree with this or not, a lot of pros and cons in play. The chance to be top dog is great, but HRC is a place you’d want to think long and hard about leaving.
It reminds me of super talents from the past who just had the misfortune to peak when an all-timer was also peaking. Like Jeff Emig with Jeremy McGrath and Chad Reed with Ricky
Carmichael. But it wasn’t their little brother or teammate who stole the glory.
No chance of developing a hatred to fuel the fire when the rival is a loved one. Hunter can’t even develop hatred towards the team or the bike, he can’t get away from it. It’s a uniquely awkward situation and one that Hunter is going to have to accept.
Sure, there have been many moto brothers before but there has always been an age or expectations gap big enough for things to be less weird.
Here are some notable AMA race-winning brothers of the past.
James and Malcolm Stewart, I think you know a bit about these dudes!
Tyson and Tallon Vohland, Max’s Uncle and Father, both have AMA victories to their name.
Tommy and Will Hahn, are both AMA race winners and Will is a Lites SX champion.
Josh and Justin Hill, are both AMA race winners.
Alex and Jeremy Martin, both AMA race winners, Jeremy a back-to-back 250 National champion.
Bob and Billy “Sugar Bear” Grossi, From the glorious 1970s, both AMA race winners and
Billy is the owner of one of the best moto nicknames ever! Look him up, kids.
Above – The” Sugar Bear” in flight, credit to legendary photographer Mark Kiel.
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