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00:00Just like my 250, it's statement day for a lot of these guys.
00:04All these guys.
00:05I'm Jett Lawrence.
00:06I want to let chase Sexton know I'm back.
00:08I got this speed.
00:09If I'm Eli Tomac, look, the old guy is still here.
00:11I'm not calling you old.
00:12That's just a narrative.
00:13You know how to ride.
00:14If I'm chase Sexton, I want to let everyone know it doesn't matter who is out here, I'm
00:18still the best.
00:19Let's go out there.
00:20It's statement day.
00:21Let's get it on, boys.
00:23Last couple of years, those Hondas with the Lawrences have been incredible off the start.
00:27Technology always changes.
00:28We'll see if they still have that magic combination at this track.
00:33They have all been trying to catch Jett Lawrence the last couple of years.
00:37He has never lost an overall 7-0 in his career at fox raceway.
00:44It could be different this time.
00:47Coming back from injury.
00:52This is it.
00:54Perhaps the most anticipated season opener ever in over 50 years of pro motocross in
01:00the 450s.
01:01Gets underway now.
01:02And the brothers bump off the line.
01:03They got the start dialed again.
01:04It's Jett and Hunter Lawrence.
01:05One, two.
01:06Chase Sexton, they almost clashed into each other.
01:07I would say they still got the whole shot figured out.
01:21My sleeper pick right there, Justin Cooper.
01:24Nice grub.
01:25Makes his way around.
01:26Jett in second.
01:27Nice.
01:28Closed that corner.
01:29Excuse me.
01:30Hunter right there.
01:31So it's Jett Lawrence in the lead.
01:32But look at Justin Cooper.
01:33Wants to get around.
01:34Justin Cooper, we saw how great he was riding at the end of that supercross season.
01:35Showing a lot of speed.
01:36See if that can carry on.
01:37Sexton looking to make a move on Hunter for third.
01:38Got it.
01:39One thing you don't want to do, Jett is coming back, you don't want him to ease into this
01:57thing.
01:58So put that number one plate up behind him.
02:01Hunter is trying to make a way back around him outside.
02:03It's going to be tough unless he can get up the inside of him.
02:05Almost got it, James.
02:06Yeah, that was close.
02:07Chase was able to get that burn good enough.
02:10So Hunter had to make a decision.
02:11Live to fight another day.
02:12And R.J.
02:13Hempshire, 450 from motocross debut is right behind these two in fifth ahead of Prado.
02:22Yeah, you can see how aggressive Hunter is trying to be.
02:27He really wants to get by Chase Sexton.
02:30I believe they know they can get him and get him out of his rhythm.
02:33You don't want Chase, just like your younger brother, you don't want him finding a rhythm.
02:37What they do, it's hard to beat them.
02:39Oh, a mistake, back stepped out for Sexton.
02:43Hunter not quite able to take advantage.
02:44Look at Hempshire go on that rock star Husky.
02:47Yeah, Hunter is going to go around the outside of there.
02:50Chase closes down.
02:51It's like Jorge Prado is right behind R.J.
02:53So our contenders up there, the only one we're missing is Eli.
02:56Looks like he's down in eighth place.
02:59And Sexton under fire for the 96 J.T.
03:01You see Sexton pull his goggles off there.
03:04He must have had an issue.
03:05It's way too early to be pulling his goggles there.
03:08I was going to add, though, I noticed he went with the scoop tire early.
03:11You see him getting on the edge of the tire.
03:13You saw him start to lose the rear end.
03:15In those harder sections of the racetrack, that scoop tire is not going to work quite
03:19as well.
03:20His teammate, Aaron Plessinger, went for a more traditional tire, so he's going to have
03:23more grip in the harder stuff.
03:24So just something to watch for as his track starts to harden up as the day grows long.
03:31So he went off the scoop tire because the start is a lot deeper than most of the racetrack.
03:36So he wanted to get off the start.
03:37He knows how important that is.
03:38But as his track gets in, the bottoms is so hard, so he's going to start losing some traction
03:45there.
03:46So it's going to be important for him to be cautious.
03:47But for him pulling off the goggles, what that tells me is when he put them on on the
03:51gate, he must have got dirt on the inside of it because it's too early in the race.
03:55Even if he pulled all his tear off, he would have went to wiping it off.
03:58So he must have had dirt on the inside, and that bothers you as a rider every time you
04:01jump.
04:02This is going to be a long race without some goggles.
04:05You might actually see him pulling and get him.
04:08Normally guys don't ride a full dry race without goggles out here.
04:12That's going to be dangerous and tough as well.
04:14Yeah, well, I mean, have you ever done a 30-minute photo without goggles?
04:19It's so rare, I would think.
04:20Yeah, I mean, in the mud race, you know, like, look, you end up losing your goggles, but
04:24that's a mud race.
04:25And that's later.
04:26That's later in the race.
04:28And even if it's early, everybody's going slower, so it's a lot different.
04:31Now they're going up to speed, so you've got to worry about just the vision and having
04:35all the wind.
04:36And again, it would be like sticking your head out the window in the car and trying
04:39to look.
04:40You've got to worry about Hunter Lawrence, you've got to worry about passing and getting
04:44rocks thrown at you.
04:45It's going to be difficult for chase, and that's definitely going to hinder him as this
04:48race goes on.
04:50Hunter just cannot quite thread the needle.
04:52Does he have it now?
04:53Yes, he does.
04:55Yeah, chase, you can see him shaking his head right there, so.
05:00Oh, the frustration.
05:02First lap of the season.
05:06J.T.
05:09I want to just show you exactly what I was talking about with these tires.
05:12Now, here's the two differences.
05:13This is the scoop tire we're referencing.
05:15This is the more traditional tire.
05:17Now, you can see the change in the tread pattern.
05:19This scoop tire, you're going to be able to move more dirt.
05:22That's going to propel you forward.
05:23It's a taller knob also, so it's going to dig deeper and give you a better start.
05:28That's likely why chase Sexton went for that tire.
05:30The upside of a more traditional tire, you have more side knob.
05:33There's simply more rubber on the side of the tire to give you grip.
05:37The knob's a little bit shorter also, so it's going to dig in as much, and it's going to
05:42be able to roll over a little bit more, giving you added traction as well.
05:45So that's the choice.
05:46The difficult part about this racetrack, though, it's going to consistently get harder throughout
05:51the day.
05:52For chase Sexton's choice, that's going to be a tough one.
05:54Let's send it over to Haley Chamblee.
05:56I have eyes on chase Sexton's mechanic, Jay Dungy.
05:59There you can see the Oakley goggles on his head.
06:01He was actually holding them out just a moment ago.
06:03I interpret that as not sure if chase was going to make a stop in the mechanic's area
06:06for them, but they are at the ready should he stop by.
06:09Thanks, Haley.
06:10But the problem is, look at this group.
06:12If he pulls in, these guys are all going by.
06:15has caught fire.
06:16Power run around the outside to pass Prado and move into sixth.
06:21And he did it in that old Eli fashion, just revving the bike around the outside, beast
06:27mode-like.
06:28Yeah, I do believe the way chase has run, he probably will end up pulling in because
06:31he's going to end up continuing to go backward.
06:33What you like to do is let this gap spread out.
06:36So maybe if you can hold on another couple laps so you get a little bit of gap on these
06:40guys and then probably pull in because he's not moving forward.
06:43And even if he does close on somebody, he's going to have rocks thrown at him.
06:46So that's going to be a difficult part.
06:48And the number three is coming as well.
06:51And that's also R.J.
06:54Hempshire.
06:55Hempshire riding well here in his 450 full-time debut, looking to make a pass on Sexton, who
07:01again is riding without goggles.
07:03And it's traction treacherous over here.
07:06The reason chase is really struggling going down the hill, because as I mentioned, sticking
07:11your head out the window is a car.
07:12He's got to deal with that.
07:13His eyes are probably watering at this point.
07:15And he's got to focus in on these ruts.
07:17So he's going definitely a little bit slower than he was earlier going down these hills.
07:21And that's going to be difficult with 23 minutes left.
07:25Now when Hunter got by, his tow back is now setting up Hempshire.
07:28And just like that, he attacks.
07:30Hunter got by and pulled away quickly.
07:32If somebody passes Sexton, man, that roost is going to hurt.
07:36J.T., what do you think?
07:38This is so difficult to manage, because he basically has two options.
07:41One, stay far back from the lead rider in front.
07:44He literally cannot go up to the rear of Hunter Lawrence, or else he won't be able to see.
07:48But he also has to stay in front of Eli Tomek here, because that will put him in the same spot.
07:53If Tomek passes him, he'll immediately have to drop back.
07:56You cannot sit in the roost of anybody in front of you.
08:00So I don't know what the answer is, because as you guys mentioned, if he pulls in, he
08:04loses a ton of time.
08:05He would have to make up, I don't know, two seconds a lap to get back to this group.
08:09Or he sits here and tries to manage it from this exact position.
08:13What do you got over there, Haley?
08:15The pit board for Chase Sexton was just out.
08:17He just went by, and that pit board reads goggles next lap.
08:20We could see him soon over here.
08:22Wow.
08:23That's pretty unprecedented, as you said, James, in a non-mud race to see this.
08:27So it's hard to even guess how much time he would lose.
08:30He pulls back on the track after the goggle change.
08:33Where will he be?
08:34Top ten, top 15, and he's got to deal with Tomek.
08:38Yeah, I know.
08:39I mean, it seems like a risk, but that's the right move, because you've got to worry about
08:43the safety of Chase, you know, first off.
08:45The last thing you do is want a rock coming in, and as J.T.
08:48Has mentioned, like, yeah, you're going to get passed.
08:50You really can't move forward and battle this guy.
08:52But not only that, there's roost that gets thrown off the front tire as well.
08:56So he's roosting his own self, if you can believe that or not.
09:01K.T.
09:02Knows, smartest thing and the safest thing, he's not going to be moving forward without
09:06goggles, and he's going to have to pull in.
09:09Yeah, you don't want to risk the entire season to try to do 30 minutes and hope you don't
09:13get hit in the eye with a rock.
09:15But he's still paddling, holding Tomek off.
09:18Yeah, we don't care.
09:19I know Chase in his mind, he's like, I don't need any eyeballs.
09:22I can go out here and get it done.
09:24But the safety of Chase comes first, and again, they know he needs to have some clear vision
09:28to be able to go out there and attack these guys.
09:31Meanwhile, up front, Jett Lawrence, a 3.7 second gap over Justin Cooper.
09:37Riding well.
09:38We talked about so many riders coming back, proven champions, and Cooper is ahead of all
09:43but one of them in second.
09:46Yeah, as much as Chase is, we can say struggling without goggles, he's out there.
09:51Hunter Lawrence is right in front of him.
09:54Again, just imagine how much quicker he would be if he's able to attack this.
09:58I know that's a difficult spot for him to be in.
10:00I know he does not want to pull in, but it's the right thing to do.
10:03It's a lot of time left in his motor to get back up there.
10:08It has stretched out a little bit compared to where it was two laps ago.
10:15Oh, no!
10:16Sexton has gone down!
10:18He's going to get stuck under the bike.
10:21Oh, this is even worse.
10:23Is he okay?
10:25Is he hurt or stuck?
10:26I think he knocked the wind out of him because he landed off that jump and he hit neutral.
10:30It hit him right in the stomach.
10:41It looks like he knocked the wind out of him at that point.
10:43You've got to believe, probably in his mind, he's thinking about pulling into the pits,
10:48maybe there was something in his eye.
10:49This is where, again, that decision to pull in and get that pair of goggles was the right thing.
10:56Now, he definitely will.
10:59Yes, definitely at this point, you know it's going to happen.
11:02Now, he has Sexton out of the top ten and then certainly a little bit wounded here.
11:10How many things can go wrong in such a short amount of time?
11:14Yeah, you definitely, I believe he knocked the wind out of him 100%.
11:23Will he go back out at all?
11:25I mean, this is one of the toughest riders out there.
11:32Man, bummer for your defending champion.
11:35Can you imagine if he starts in an entire moto hole worth of points in the first moto of the year?
11:44Yeah, that's it for him.
11:46I mean, I think he recognized that.
11:48Lost all of his positions.
11:50He's going back to the pit?
11:51Yeah.
11:52Unbelievable.
11:58The good thing is he's riding off, so Jason is going to have to go back to the pit.
12:04Guys, I'm here in the tower with the rest of the Red Bull KTN team.
12:08Ian Harrison, Legend, Roger DeCoster.
12:10You can see the look of shock and despair on their face.
12:13And for Chase Sexton, he was the only rider that came in here with any momentum.
12:17You think about Jet Lawrence, Eli Tomac, Jorge Prado.
12:19They're all coming off of injury.
12:21Hunter Lawrence as well.
12:22They really didn't know what to expect.
12:24Chase was the known quantity.
12:26We knew what we were going to get from him.
12:28And then here we are with Chase riding off the track.
12:31And you could almost say it wasn't even his fault.
12:33The goggles were surely the catalyst from everything we've seen since.
12:39Wow.
12:40Yeah, a shocker for them and certainly anyone watching.
12:43And through it all, how about this?
12:45No matter how much things change at Fox Raceway, they remain the same.
12:50Jet Lawrence has never lost at this racetrack.
12:53And he's leading right now.
12:54Here's the crash from Sexton.
12:56Yeah, you can see him.
12:57He lands off here.
12:58And he's just in neutral at that point.
13:00Oh.
13:01Hits his stomach.
13:03Goes in.
13:04Definitely doesn't look like a hard hit as far as anything.
13:07Like he hit his head.
13:08But you can see the bike.
13:14Ouch.
13:17You mentioned hitting neutral.
13:18Is that the foot accidentally?
13:20Yeah.
13:21The foot accidentally downshift?
13:22Yeah, he either hit neutral or when he landed, he just touched his rear brake.
13:25Okay.
13:26And threw his weight forward.
13:27And obviously he wasn't preparing for that.
13:29So stomach goes straight into the crossbar pad.
13:32And it's easy to knock the wind out of you.
13:34And then he takes a hard hit in that next section.
13:36So you can tell by the way he laid there.
13:39He was trying to catch his breath.
13:40Then he comes back up.
13:41But nonetheless, good to see him right off the racetrack.
13:44But definitely not the way he wanted to start the season.
13:47Look at this.
13:48Cooper Webb headed toward the front.
13:50The Monster Energy Supercross champ.
13:52And the reason we have not really mentioned Webb much,
13:55he just doesn't have the resume in 450 motocross that he does in Supercross.
13:59Only one career win.
14:01And that was back in 2019.
14:04Battling Prado right now for seventh.
14:08Uh-oh.
14:09He's smoking.
14:10I was about to say, I'll take his resume if that's the case.
14:14Three-time Supercross champion.
14:16Just outdoors doesn't have the resume.
14:18Yeah.
14:19Supercross.
14:20Impressive.
14:22Now, what is interesting, I think a lot of people were worried he wouldn't race here at all
14:27because of the thumb injury.
14:28But he's got a serious issue here with this motorcycle.
14:31But he told me this time, the thumb, compared to last year, which required surgery,
14:35it wasn't fully torn.
14:36It has healed.
14:37He's healthy.
14:38But I don't know about that bike.
14:40Yeah, you can tell, like, when he's coming down the hill,
14:42you can see his feet slipping off.
14:44Like, he can't even grip it.
14:45So I'm sure that's oil or radiator fluid.
14:49Looks like it's coming from more of the shock area than the front
14:53because it's coming out both sides of the motorcycle.
15:01Wow.
15:02How much else could unravel in this first moto of the year?
15:06The two title contenders from Supercross, Sexton and Webb, having their problems.
15:11Hey, every round of the Supermotocross World Championship
15:14will be available to listen on XM radio.
15:17That's NBC Sports Audio Channel 85.
15:21I've listened to it myself driving down the road when I wasn't at a Supercross.
15:24Got to listen to you and Diff and RC on the Supercross call.
15:27So that's really cool.
15:29So no excuses.
15:30You can watch or listen anywhere you go.
15:32There is a bit of an excuse for Webb here.
15:34This is getting worse.
15:36Yeah, I don't know if he even knows what's going on at this point.
15:41Normally, as a rider, if you feel like it's an engine part,
15:43at least maybe he knows what it is
15:45because as a rider, if it's an engine and that thing's smoking,
15:48you're not going to jump anything.
15:50And he's scrubbing, so clearly he's not thinking that.
15:53He's worried about the bike stopping on him.
15:56And that is Jet Lawrence unchallenged up front at the bottom box.
16:01Five-second lead now over Justin Cooper.
16:05Yeah, what a great ride by Justin.
16:08A little sleeper pick right there.
16:10And with this track and all this stuff,
16:12as we get to the halfway point here,
16:14it's slowing down.
16:15And I think that helps a rider like Justin Cooper
16:17being very patient in these corners,
16:19standing up and allowing the stuff.
16:22Halfway through, a reminder that Monster Energy
16:24is available now at Stater Brothers.
16:27And we send it down to JT again.
16:30Down here in the mechanics tower, guys,
16:31all you can smell is the coolant from Cooper Webb's bike overheating.
16:35And we're trying to figure out, is that oil, is that water?
16:37Well, oil typically wouldn't steam like that,
16:39so it's got to be some sort of coolant leak somewhere in here,
16:43which makes it a little bit worse because,
16:45as you see, it starts to steam a little bit less.
16:47That could be him running out of water.
16:49So just something to watch on Webb.
16:50But there's a lot of tense faces down here
16:52on the Monster Yamaha All-Star Racing team.
16:56Yeah, and the point you made before, James,
16:58is you wouldn't be jumping things if you knew there was a problem.
17:01Unlike pavement racing, where you don't have jumps.
17:04In motocross, if that bike starts to come to a halt at the wrong time,
17:07it's a serious problem.
17:09Yeah, and it's not only just jumping.
17:11Even us riders, we can just somewhat feel it.
17:14So we jump front and high.
17:16You saw Cooper, he was scrubbing,
17:18and I just noticed going down the hill the lap before,
17:20his feet was coming off.
17:21So I was thinking maybe it was oil or something like that.
17:23But as JT mentioned, it's when this bike stops smoking
17:26that becomes an issue.
17:28And with these 450s, they come to abrupt stop.
17:31When they go, they go.
17:33So that's why I'm thinking Cooper Webb probably knows what it is
17:36or he doesn't know it's smoking at all.
17:39Either way, got to keep an eye on that number 2 Yamaha.
17:42Yeah, if it started to run much worse,
17:44he wouldn't be riding like this.
17:46No, he wouldn't.
17:47Or if he thought it was the engine part,
17:49then he would know at some point this thing's going to blow up.
17:51So I don't think he really knows exactly where it's coming from.
17:54But I'm sure his team's going to let him know.
17:56A couple battles to watch here.
17:58That is Lorenzo Licorcio that you're watching right now.
18:02A couple of these privateers we talked about.
18:04Licorcio ahead of him is Kulas.
18:07That's your brother Malcolm.
18:09Malcolm Stewart up ahead of this one.
18:11The nickel shock is 13th.
18:13Yod, 12th.
18:15And Benoit Pacherel, Frenchman,
18:18is now racing in the United States for the Twisted T Suzuki team.
18:21He is 11th.
18:22Jason Anderson, 10th.
18:25Sivaccia on the quad lock Honda is 9th.
18:28Webb, who we've been watching, is 8th.
18:32And the reason we want to show a lot of these battles is it's really cool.
18:3511 different countries are represented in this moto right now.
18:39As you look at the roster of different nations
18:45and how many riders held from there.
18:47She's almost half the field.
18:49Our international riders here in California today.
18:52Licorcio is a wildcat racing team back for the summer.
19:01Still got 12 minutes left in this race, plus two laps.
19:04Seems like we've been out here racing a long time already.
19:07Well, so much unfolded so quickly with the Sexton situation.
19:10The bad start for Tomac.
19:12And it's all spread out.
19:14It's about five seconds between each position right now.
19:19This is Kulas, rider out of Estonia,
19:24who came here two years ago, rode well.
19:28He's been working his way for SMX points.
19:30Also decided to come back again this year.
19:34Looking good on the track.
19:36And he's looking good, period, in that kit.
19:38So, good job for him.
19:42Yeah, we love having these guys over here, these veterans.
19:45Pacherell, who I mentioned, is up ahead in 11th.
19:48His move was he actually just came to California about two months ago.
19:52As you watch it, Pacherell's teammate Colton Nichols there on the 45,
19:56battling with Malcolm Stewart and Cody Schoch.
19:59Pacherell just came to these tracks in California
20:02and just rode at them every day,
20:03figuring someone would see him going fast and sign him.
20:07And they did.
20:09So, he's just ahead of this battle, Schoch.
20:12His first 450 outdoor race, Cody.
20:15In a while.
20:16No, he did it.
20:17It's been four years, I think, 2021.
20:19Yeah, for a while.
20:20And Malcolm's coming up.
20:22Yep.
20:24Battles Stewart and Schoch right now.
20:27Yeah, I believe this is like the 250 class in the back of the day.
20:31The field is so deep.
20:32But you're like, man, you got like 10th.
20:34And normally, you'd be like, what happened?
20:36But 10th place, a better start.
20:38That's a top five.
20:39So, I mean, a lot of these guys just finish might not be where they want.
20:43But they rode a lot better than what the results say sometimes.
20:46And Malcolm makes the move on Schoch.
20:48Bottom box, Plessinger and Hampshire fighting for fifth.
20:53Yeah, I was keeping an eye on the lap times.
20:55They've been this close for a while, for a couple laps.
20:57So, great ride by RJ in his first 450 outdoor.
21:00To be in the top five.
21:02Holding off Aaron Plessinger.
21:08Oh!
21:10And Aaron makes it happen.
21:12Yeah.
21:13I mean, they might as well be teammates.
21:15They ride together during the week.
21:16A lot of these guys.
21:18But clearly, the teammate stuff doesn't really...
21:20Some teams and some people don't really matter if that's your teammate or not.
21:24You'll knock them down for a win.
21:27Well, building a little momentum.
21:28Plessinger now into the top five.
21:33Still, I'm impressed with Hampshire here.
21:37Wrist surgery 11 days ago.
21:40Riding a 450 motocross for the first time and riding well in sixth.
21:44Yeah, you must think like that wrist injury is probably like going to the dentist.
21:48And you got a cavity.
21:49You know, it hurts so bad.
21:51You go to the dentist and get it pulled out.
21:53And you're like, I feel better.
21:54So, you'd be like, yeah.
21:55He just had surgery and he's back out here.
21:57It must feel a lot better than it did prior to the surgery.
22:00So, good ride by him.
22:01Uh-oh.
22:04More problems for Webb.
22:07Geez.
22:08Yeah, now he knows it's smoking.
22:10And I don't know where he was.
22:13Maybe that was just him making a mistake going off the racetrack.
22:16Rather than something happening with the motorcycle.
22:22Yeah, right.
22:23Accidental to the bike that's smoking.
22:25He has been passed by Anderson.
22:27Who's up to ninth.
22:29Webb is tenth.
22:32A check-in with the Monster Energy-backed riders are check-in here.
22:36You got Cooper.
22:37Justin Cooper in second.
22:39Tomac in fourth.
22:41Webb's listed as ninth.
22:43But he just went back to tenth as Anderson got around him.
22:48Yeah, now you can tell Cooper knows.
22:50Now you notice how when he's jumping, he's a little bit farther on the back.
22:53Throwing that front end high.
22:55So, clearly he knows what's going on.
22:57In the beginning part of that race, we were saying he was still scrubbing.
23:02And why would you jump a little more front end high if you're unsure of the bike?
23:06Because in case that thing shuts off, you want to have a little bit of wiggle room.
23:11You do not want to go over the front.
23:13JT.
23:14Hey, guys, I was just looking at the pit board.
23:16And they were telling him to roll the clutch.
23:18And he's basically disengaged and trying to keep that motorcycle cooler.
23:21So, I don't know that they necessarily know what's wrong with the bike at this point.
23:24But they're just trying to reduce engine temperature at all costs.
23:29And every point could count.
23:31For a motocross, that's an exceeding point, etc.
23:34So, wants to try to finish it off.
23:36But there's still a long way to go.
23:38Seven minutes at this pace.
23:40Yeah, you got to wonder if it's clutch-related.
23:42Maybe it's slowing down.
23:44But, yeah, as I mentioned, this is what you would think.
23:47Oh, this could be the end.
23:50It sounded like something was happening different to it.
23:56Oh, somebody got a nice video on their phone camera there.
24:01Which says, no, don't shoot that.
24:03And to be honest, that's rare to have a bike, you know, in that situation, shut off like that.
24:08Normally, they just stop.
24:10So, that was good to hear.
24:13Well, beginning of the moto, KTM keys to the moto.
24:17James, make a statement.
24:19Is that what this is right here?
24:21I mean, that's not making a statement.
24:23I don't know what else is.
24:25And, you know, Jet looks better now than he did last year when he was racing outdoors.
24:30And we haven't mentioned this, but remember they switched over to the 25 bike.
24:35So, last year, he kind of struggled a little bit.
24:37The bike looked a little bouncy.
24:40Now, just like his brother, he looks pretty confident, comfortable on it.
24:45It looks like he has more in the tank.
24:47So, this is a statement, Rob, on him.
24:49And the way he did it, he looked like he was out there trying to.
24:53This is huge.
24:55And bad news for the other guys, I can tell you that much.
24:57A long walk back to the pits now for Cooper Webb.
25:01Now, here's something incredible about Lawrence on this track.
25:03I said that he's never lost an overall here.
25:06Lawrence has also LED every single lap he's ever raced on a 450 here.
25:12He's LED every lap in 2023, 2024, and so far in 2025.
25:18That is nuts.
25:20Yeah, and I would say, look, all right, it's the racetrack.
25:23You know, he's pretty comfortable here.
25:25Clearly, he's won everything.
25:27But when you're coming off an entry and not really knowing where you are,
25:30and the guy hasn't had a lot of time on the motorcycle.
25:33So, for me, you can almost erase that.
25:35I would say those two equal out, and it gives everybody else just a chance.
25:38But the way he looks on it, I would say he's probably one of the better rides,
25:43better overall package, motorcycle, the way he looks.
25:47Probably one of the best rides I've seen him in the outdoors since he's been on the 450.
25:51Just how easy and clear it looks.
25:55That's saying a lot right there, because he's won all but one overall ever
26:01that he's competed in on a 450.
26:05And we show you some graphics here to illustrate the stats.
26:11Throughout both classes, seven starts, seven overalls here.
26:14And I think it's 11 out of 14 moto wins.
26:17And headed toward another one here.
26:19Oh, so he's not that good here.
26:21He only won 11 out of 14.
26:23Yeah, he's been beating three motos.
26:24Terrible.
26:26You know, I know you don't want to talk about yourself too much here,
26:30but you had ACL surgery, came back, and launched a perfect season in this championship back in your time.
26:37How confident did you feel that morning that you were ready?
26:40How quickly can a rider know, okay, I'm in a pretty good spot?
26:44Yeah, I would say once I got back on the motorcycle, like the first day,
26:48my knee wasn't bothering me.
26:50You know, at some point, you guys are doing a lot of training,
26:52and once you get that note from the doctor saying, hey, you can go,
26:56I don't think it, I was pretty confident at my leg.
26:59I wasn't worried about, you know, something happening.
27:01Compared to having like a wrist injury, you know, you hit a bump, it's still pretty sore.
27:06So for Jet, it really just came down to, you know, how he felt on the motorcycle.
27:11I didn't think he would come in here playing like I'm not 100% on my knee.
27:16I'm sure he's confident on that.
27:17It looks like it.
27:18And again, he looks like the complete package.
27:20His body language, he just looks like he's more of one,
27:24even compared to last year, throwing a leg out there.
27:26So you can see him, he's resting up.
27:29So to answer your question, he knew he was ready physically coming into this race,
27:33and I don't think this motor could have went any better for him
27:36because he's getting the opportunity to learn the motorcycle,
27:39he's not being pressured, and be able to get a win.
27:41So he looks good, JT.
27:43He sure does, James.
27:44And think about last September.
27:46We weren't sure if he would be able to make the opening round
27:48of the SMX World Championship playoffs.
27:50Well, not only did he make it, he came out and won.
27:52The same thing happened this past January.
27:55Late January, he goes down with an ACL surgery,
27:57and everybody immediately, I don't know,
27:59can he make the opening round of the Pro Motocross Championship?
28:02There was a lot of doubt in a lot of people's minds about that.
28:05And I would just say the same thing.
28:06I learned my lesson from James Stewart in 2007
28:11when this same exact thing happened.
28:13James Stewart left the series early, came back,
28:16and then what happened that summer, James?
28:17You fill us in on how that went,
28:19and then we can compare that to what John Lawrence is doing.
28:22Yeah, that was the end of, because I got hurt in 2007,
28:26tearing my ACL, leaving the championship.
28:28And in 2008, yeah, I left it early and came back,
28:31and I won a few races.
28:33But just as I mentioned...
28:35All of them, okay.
28:37I didn't try to go there.
28:39I'll do it for you.
28:40But my point is, is what happened in practice
28:43when Jet came out that first one and he was two seconds faster,
28:46that's when you know as a rider, like, okay, I got the speed.
28:49Because for me, it was the same thing.
28:51I didn't come here worried about whether my knee was going to last.
28:54It was like if I had the speed, and I had it in first practice,
28:58and then the rest was history, and you're seeing the same thing.
29:01But still got this number three coming up, trying to chase down.
29:04He's like, if I can't beat Jet,
29:06I'm going to beat one of these Lawrence boys on there,
29:08and that's Hunter right in front of him.
29:09That's for a Moto podium.
29:10So a battle has rematerialized.
29:12It had been five seconds between these two, Hunter and Eli, for a while.
29:16Now, Eli has Hunter in his sights.
29:19Yeah, good ride by Eli.
29:21You know, it's hard to come up and catch these guys when you lost a toe,
29:25because as you mentioned, he had five seconds.
29:27So he was further up the back where they were right in front of him,
29:30but he couldn't see him.
29:31So it was hard to gauge that.
29:32Now he's got him in sight.
29:34Eli will probably get around him if he gets a little bit closer.
29:38Yesterday, we asked Eli about his level of preparation for the season.
29:43I believe I'm 100%.
29:45It's always unknown until you get off that gate.
29:48But I've had a lot of great Moto time leading up to this in training.
29:54So I was at a point where I was kind of considering a couple of rounds of
29:58Vanity Supercross there.
29:59But I was like, well, it's probably better off just doing Motos at home.
30:04So overall, the recovery has been really good.
30:11That being the fibula recovery.
30:15I actually haven't had this much pure motocross preparation leading up to a
30:20series.
30:21So I'm interested to see how it goes in the first couple rounds here.
30:24But I think it's going to be good.
30:27Yeah, I mean, just listening to Eli right there,
30:29you could tell he was confident at least coming back off that injury.
30:32And, you know, last time he raced here,
30:34he went up to a gnarly battle with Chase Sexton in 500-degree weather.
30:39But before that, we were questioning how is Eli good on this racetrack?
30:43And statistically, this isn't Eli's, one of his better racetracks.
30:47So, yeah, he won the last time he was here, but he didn't have no choice.
30:50He wanted to win the championship.
30:52But prior to that, we thought it actually favored Chase Sexton coming into
30:55this race because of how good he was and how much Eli struggled.
30:59So to see him up here in fourth place coming off an injury, you know,
31:03not knowing that this is his best track, I think Eli's doing a great job.
31:08Yeah, actually, that 2022 season started and ended at this track.
31:13They had two races here that year.
31:14He did win that finale to win the title, but the opening round was not good.
31:19He had hurt his knee, even though he won the Supercross title that year.
31:23And this is actually an improvement on how the 2022 season started for him.
31:27But you know he wants one more spot here, two to go.
31:30Can he get to Hunter Lawrence?
31:32Yeah, Hunter did a good job at almost breaking Eli,
31:36getting that gap again.
31:38And as a rider, when you get to this point, Eli knows, like,
31:41oh, look, if he just stays there and Hunter was right in front of me,
31:44he'll just ride with him and try to get him towards the end.
31:46But Hunter knows if he puts just a straightaway or two, get that gap,
31:50almost make Eli just say, all right, fourth place is good for this moto.
31:54And so that's kind of that tug of war you're going.
31:56And Hunter did a good job of responding.
31:59And Hunter also coming back had the shoulder surgery
32:02that ended his Supercross campaign.
32:06And how about Justin Cooper, man?
32:08In second, and these guys have not been able to gain on him.
32:12We were walking the track yesterday, and I'm going to just say,
32:15what did I tell you about Justin Cooper?
32:17I'm like, feeling like Justin Cooper.
32:19I had a dream that he actually went out there and won it.
32:22If you take Jet Lawrence out of the race, that's my dream came true.
32:25But I just had a feeling that Justin was going to ride good here
32:29because of the way he's ended his 450 Supercross season,
32:32showing some speed and the way his track layout.
32:35He can get a start.
32:37He can be up there competing in second place so far.
32:41Yeah, that's a career best if he holds on to it.
32:44He's got six-thirds in 450 motocross in motos.
32:48Justin Cooper now working on a career best second
32:52with just over a lap to go as we watch Tomac.
32:56Yeah, Eli's able to close in on him.
32:59I believe Eli's faster, but just like those,
33:02he's been messing up the corners kind of all day.
33:04We saw this in practice, slamming into the corners,
33:06and it almost seems like if he's just a little bit more patient,
33:09he's clearly got the pace to be able to close in on these guys.
33:15He's close back in on Hunter again.
33:17It is that yo-yo battle.
33:19Stretches out, shortens up.
33:21Stretches out, shortens up.
33:22Yeah, and then he just makes a mistake in the corner
33:24and just loses that toe.
33:27That makes me wonder.
33:28We have seen those mistakes from Tomac in those turns,
33:30qualifying and in the moto.
33:32Everyone is always guessing at round one with the bikes,
33:36so could there be some changes coming for a lot of riders,
33:39moto two and also next week?
33:40Yeah, I mean, if I were to have to critique Eli's bike,
33:43what I see is that his rebound kind of looks a little fast to me,
33:46so when he gets into those corners,
33:48unlike if the bike was dead, the bike would get in there
33:51and it would compress, wouldn't rebound as quick.
33:54To me, when he slams into it,
33:56the bike is actually coming back on the inside of him,
33:58which makes these corners hard.
34:00So, yeah, he might try to slow down,
34:02but the bike's rebounding quicker than he wants to
34:05and it's obvious he's throwing it off.
34:06The one guy that doesn't have problems is this one right here.
34:09Looks pretty dialed.
34:10One lap to go for Jet Lawrence.
34:14And we had to carve out a place.
34:16We knew how exciting this opener could be
34:19and how deep the field definitely was.
34:22You cannot forget that this rider has won
34:24all but one 450 motocross race he's ever been in.
34:27That's when he crashed big time at Hangtown last year,
34:30but he still came back and won the next three
34:33before exiting with another injury.
34:36And this is a level that
34:39you just want to see if other guys can get there.
34:41We're not saying they can, but so far,
34:44he's answered pretty much every question
34:46since he's entered this class.
34:48Yeah, and the beauty part is he's able to relax,
34:51he's able to start to recover,
34:52just like Hayden Deegan in that first moto.
34:54Now, you can't even say, like if I'm Chase Sexton,
34:57I can't even rely on him riding so hard.
34:59He might be a little tired because now he's recovering.
35:02So everything looks good to me.
35:04And again, once you come off these injuries,
35:06sometimes I believe it makes you a lot smarter as a racer.
35:10And to me, it looks a little bit more complete.
35:12Look, Justin Cooper's 10 seconds behind him.
35:14There's no rush on it.
35:15He knows he has the pace.
35:17Honda and HRC, they've done their homework
35:19and Jet Lawrence has done it as well.
35:20Great job.
35:22And actually, that 10-second gap,
35:25and Lawrence, we've seen him manage
35:27two three-second gaps and bring it home.
35:29This is a comparatively large lead for him.
35:34Just like 2023 and 2024,
35:37he's led every lap on a 450 at this racetrack.
35:41This time, just over three months out of ACL surgery.
35:50And now, he can see it.
35:54Just like the last two years.
35:56Doesn't matter if he's coming back from injury.
35:58Jet Lawrence takes the first photo at Fox Raceway.
36:03I'm going to show the veterans here battling.
36:05You've got Guyot of the Yamaha going around the outside.
36:07Oh, no, wait.
36:08That is Tomac and Hunter again.
36:11Oh, we thought we were going to get that battle for 10th,
36:13but how about how close Tomac got it at the end.
36:16There's that battle.
36:18Guyot, the rider out of Switzerland,
36:21has caught Jason Anderson in a battle for 9th.
36:24And then you've got the Frenchman, Benoit Pacherel,
36:27in 11th on the Twisted T Suzuki.
36:30Yeah, he's caught Jason.
36:31Did you see his line on those off-cameras?
36:35The way he put those corners together,
36:37that was beautiful.
36:38So, Alhambra, don't watch out.
36:40He's going to be getting passed again right here.
36:43Oh, mistake.
36:45See if Guyot can get him.
36:47And Valentin Guyot, great starter in his MXGP days,
36:51a veteran of that circuit in Europe.
36:54And then Pacherel, same thing, right behind him.
36:57You see him on that yellow Suzuki.
36:59And, man, this track looks hammered.
37:02Yeah, he's getting those L-shaped.
37:04Those bikes are just rebounding.
37:0635 minutes into this race.
37:08These guys are probably feeling it in the first one,
37:10but good job by Jason to hold on to the end
37:13and keep him behind him.
37:15Nice top ten finish.
37:17Yep, he is ninth.
37:19Subachi and Anderson's teammate just ahead, Prado.
37:23Anderson looks over, has him covered.
37:27And that's an example of that deep field
37:29that we're talking about.
37:30Great to have Anderson back,
37:32and Guyot and Pacherel joining the championship.
37:36And Jet Lawrence has rejoined it.
37:38Looks like he never left.