- 6/3/2025
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00:00Well, for Jorge Prado, last weekend, I think he was just trying to get his feet wet.
00:05Was it the results he wanted? Absolutely not.
00:07But I think this weekend, they're going for it.
00:09They're really going to try to lock in on the start.
00:11They've gone to the most aggressive tire, that scoop tire that we talk about all the time,
00:15which should get him a better start.
00:17Now, the challenge is going to be, I don't know that he's ever raced in conditions this hot.
00:21James talked about he already had his jersey off before the moto even started.
00:24So can he manage the conditions?
00:26Can he get the start and put himself in the best position possible?
00:30And we'll see what happens after 70 minutes this afternoon.
00:35Well, that's nice.
00:36And I'm Jet Lawrence.
00:37Look, Jorge has his shirt off.
00:39You know, he's trying to stay cool over there.
00:41Eli's talking about the past.
00:43All I remember is that I've never been beaten when I'm on the racetrack.
00:46When I finish these races, I win.
00:48So nice to see all these stories these guys keep talking about.
00:51But the only story that's going to end is with me winning, and it's going to continue today.
00:55Ready to go.
01:00For Cody Schock, we were robbed of an opportunity to see what he can do fully on this 450.
01:05He said, we're going to race our way into shape.
01:07Didn't have much time on it, but they decided we want to put together a 450 outdoor campaign
01:11about two months prior to the opening round last week in Impala.
01:15But, again, we were robbed of an opportunity to see what he could do.
01:18He had engine issues, had to pull off early.
01:20So we'll see with Cody Schock.
01:21Maybe had some more time on that 450 this week.
01:23Thanks, Haley, and high standard for him.
01:26He was good four years ago in this 450-class outdoor shock, but that's a while.
01:31Rebuilding it.
01:32Here comes Aaron Plessinger almost on the podium overall last week.
01:36Fourth, had a battle, got third in the second moto with Hunter Lawrence.
01:41He almost got a stamp it these days.
01:42Somewhere around that podium spot, the number seven is going to be there in nearly any condition.
01:48See how he does, because now the mechanics are about to move away from the line,
01:52and it will be rider against rider, 40 of them, for 30 minutes and two laps.
01:57And it's 101 degrees right now at Hagtown.
02:04We're going to bring the heat in so many ways.
02:07Eli Tomek, a legend at this track at Hagtown.
02:10It's been a while since he's been able to race here.
02:12It's the only track that Jett Lawrence has not won on a 450.
02:17Let's go.
02:25Justin Cooper.
02:26Yeah, I think that's Justin Cooper and Plessinger, I believe.
02:29One, two, off the line.
02:31Rare bad starts for the Honda teammates.
02:34Plessinger going for the lead.
02:36Yeah, we saw Aaron.
02:37He was really fast in practice.
02:39They're already trying to get around Justin Cooper.
02:41But as I mentioned, this track's going to work well for him.
02:43Good to see him up there and his teammate, Eli Tomek.
02:46He's right behind him, three.
02:47Let's see if Aaron slingshot.
02:49Woo, he did, James.
02:50Yeah, that's Cowboy style.
02:51Rope him up.
02:52I'm gone.
02:53Number seven out front.
02:54And the crowd explodes with that.
02:56Meanwhile, Lawrence pressing Tomek for third.
02:59Yeah, that's Hunter Lawrence behind him.
03:01Jett Lawrence is a position behind Hunter, so not a bad start for him.
03:05But look at the Cowboy go.
03:07He knows what time it is.
03:08Daylight out front.
03:10A couple of battles to watch, Tomek and Hunter.
03:12But now Tomek starting to close on his teammate, Justin Cooper, for second.
03:18It's the first time Eli's been in front of Jett Lawrence.
03:21Anytime he's raced him, so different position.
03:23And we know this number three, he just grows that confidence.
03:26And he's able to get around his teammate and maybe get around Aaron before Jett does.
03:31We're going to have a race, folks.
03:33On up Lawrence versus Lawrence here.
03:36It's so odd to think about this.
03:37The starts have been so consistent with Hunter and Jett lately over the last two years.
03:42This is what I would consider a bad start for them.
03:45And it's fourth and fifth.
03:47Yeah, absolutely.
03:48It's a terrible start.
03:48They need to go back and work on things.
03:51Look at Tomek on the inside with Cooper.
03:55Yeah, Tomek.
03:56He wanted to get on the gas, but you could tell they put some water down.
03:59But when you hear that number three and that bike is wide open, the clutch pulled in, he's feeling pretty good.
04:04I believe Jett Lawrence was able to get around his brother, Hunter.
04:10Yeah, saw them right there before the mechanics area battling.
04:13Meanwhile, Plessinger, two-second lead after lap one.
04:16But all eyes on this.
04:17Tomek versus Cooper.
04:19Listen to the crowd.
04:23And you know they're pulling for the three.
04:27Still not enough.
04:28Yeah, but, man, Eli looks good in the beginning part of the race.
04:30Let's see if he tries to square up Justin.
04:32Oh, he missed his line, but.
04:35He's going to make a new one.
04:36Yeah, but you see how hard packed that is.
04:38You can start seeing him sliding out.
04:40If they have that paddle tire, that's the one section that is not going to work on there when that bike's leaned over.
04:48Back uphill.
04:48Oh, Justin Cooper was second in the first moto last week, but now dealing with Tomek.
05:00This is good stuff.
05:02See what Eli does.
05:03He's going to try to rail around the outside.
05:05Oh, yeah.
05:06He should have a good momentum.
05:07Get over the top of that.
05:09Yeah, there you go.
05:10Puts the power down.
05:12He's got the inside.
05:13Yeah, beautiful move by Eli.
05:15Just had to get over that big single.
05:16And he was, now he's moving forward.
05:19The bike looks good.
05:20Running down.
05:21Eli looks good.
05:24Oh, boy.
05:26Good toe back on Corkin and Hangtown.
05:28Not the leader, though, because Aaron Plessinger's throwing down early.
05:34It's a reminder, as you see these two Yamaha riders battle to check out Yamaha beyond the gate.
05:38That is the inside look at Yamaha's factory-supported race teams.
05:43Go to the Yamaha Motor USA YouTube channel.
05:46Each week.
05:48For a look at how this race team operates.
05:51And you get a good look at Eli Tomek.
05:53How he operates right now.
05:54Wide open.
05:55Yeah.
05:56And people, I see that head lean.
05:57It looks like he's got a baby with his head leaned over.
06:00When Eli, when he's in that zone, the man's here to play.
06:03But shout-out to the Cowboy here.
06:08Plessinger, 2.8 seconds.
06:10It's actually a bigger lead now than it was at the end of the first lap.
06:13He is rolling.
06:15Yeah.
06:15You know, this Hangtown, there ain't no stranger to number seven being out front out here.
06:19Oh, okay.
06:19AP's pulling his on.
06:21And we saw it last weekend.
06:22AP was able to stick with Hunter Lawrence and get that third place.
06:26So Cowboy's looking good.
06:27Now Jet Lawrence has that sense of urgency.
06:30He sees the Elock going up.
06:31And it's the one guy he's never had to race on these outdoors, and especially being behind him.
06:35He doesn't know his tendencies.
06:36So we're going to find out how that plays out.
06:38Now I erred at the start of the race.
06:41I said this is the one track Jet Lawrence hasn't won on a 450.
06:44He did win it in 2023.
06:46It's the only track where he's lost a race.
06:49He did not win it last year after a big crash.
06:51And that's it.
06:52He's won every other 450 overall in every race he's ever been in.
06:57That's a crazy stat.
06:58It is.
06:5816 out of 17.
07:00Yeah.
07:00You're talking about what race that I lost.
07:02No.
07:02Look, it's the only race that I ever lost, period.
07:05Period.
07:05Yes.
07:06But right now in fourth, closing on his old rival from the 250 class, Justin Cooper.
07:15They stretched a gap over Hunter Lawrence, which is surprising.
07:19Yeah.
07:20True.
07:20Oh, Jet looking for an opening now on the 32.
07:27Does he have a line here?
07:30Yeah.
07:31What's crazy is these two kind of ride similar.
07:34You know, Jet jumps around, both of them are very light on the bike, so they'll probably
07:37have some of the same line.
07:39But Justin Cooper, that mistake came from him looking back, wasn't really paying attention,
07:44overjumped it, and he might end up getting passed up the inside here.
07:46There it is.
07:47Jet to the inside.
07:48Man, yeah, he almost had the handlebars come loose.
07:52Yeah.
07:52In his hands.
07:53Yeah, that was a close call for Justin.
07:55But so now Jet Lawrence up to third with Tomac second, Plessinger leading.
08:01JT.
08:02Well, Jet makes the move there.
08:04You know, it's such an interesting dynamic here because I think if it was just AP out
08:08front, you'd see a very patient, very reserved Jet because he knows he has 24 minutes plus
08:13two laps to get to the front.
08:14But you simply cannot do that with Tomac.
08:17And that's the question.
08:18He doesn't have the experience, like James was saying.
08:20He doesn't know exactly how to race Eli Tomac yet.
08:24So I think you're going to see him be a little bit more urgent, press a little bit harder
08:27here early in the mid part of the race than maybe he would otherwise.
08:31Well, you look at the lap times there.
08:32He's not as fast as Plessinger or Tomac, but he was battling Justin Cooper.
08:37So it's going to be a real tale of the tape this next time around.
08:40Open racetrack for the 7, the 3, and the 18.
08:43Who's quickest?
08:44Yeah, at this moment, Jet's already starting to close that gap, and he's pushing it because
08:49he wants to close that gap because, as we were mentioning it, the one thing he doesn't
08:53know, he doesn't know if Eli's going to fade at the end of the race.
08:55Like, he doesn't know how his Eli's confidence, and all that being said, Aaron's stretching
09:01that gap out.
09:02So.
09:04It's true.
09:04We're hyping up Tomac and Lawrence, multi-time champs, but how about Aaron Plessinger, 3.5
09:11second lead.
09:14It's cowboy country out here.
09:17It's an old western right now in Hangtown.
09:19Every place is cowboy country.
09:21Well, true.
09:21That's the fast.
09:24The drone giving you the good idea of the gap.
09:26This is a solid lead.
09:28It's a very solid end.
09:29One thing I didn't think about was that as this track dries out, it's going to play well
09:33to the KTM.
09:33We know it's a little bit softer, you know, frame, so it gives a little bit more than
09:37the other bikes.
09:38So Aaron looks really comfortable out here.
09:40And as this day goes on, this bike's going to work even better.
09:43So might have slept on the cowboy.
09:46Yeah, we saw that real shiny rut at the top of that hill.
09:49Is that the type of section you're talking about, that hard stuff?
09:51Yeah.
09:51I mean, even right here, the chatter, the breaking bump.
09:55So Hangtown has a hard base to it, as you can see, to a slide and things.
09:58And he looks comfortable out here.
10:00So for me, Aaron looks really good.
10:03Probably the best I've seen him outdoors in a long time.
10:05What direction will it go?
10:06Plestinger over Tomac.
10:07Lawrence, Justin Cooper is fourth.
10:11There's Tomac.
10:12Got a battle here between Schock and Hampshire.
10:15Sixth and seventh.
10:18RJ has a line to the inside, but not close enough.
10:21Yeah.
10:22RJ, we heard him in the break right there.
10:24It feels comfortable.
10:25Locked calm.
10:26He's the thinking man now.
10:27Yeah.
10:28He's thinking of a line to make a move on Schock.
10:30And he finished the deal.
10:32Oh, he did.
10:33Yeah, that was a nice move.
10:34And just like Aaron's bike, the Husqvarna is a little bit softer, too.
10:38So it allows them, those guys, to land off that finish line.
10:41Because the bike flexes a little bit more in a hard pack, he's able to get underneath him.
10:45So nice move by him.
10:46And he's going after 96, which is right in front of him.
10:49Yeah, RJ looking strong on the 450.
10:51That is what he told me yesterday.
10:52He says he now has time to think about different lines and race strategy on the 450,
10:57where on the 250, it was just wide open.
11:01Don't even breathe.
11:02Don't even think.
11:03Go.
11:03And you were saying you think as wild as RJ's riding style is, it might actually be more tame on the 450.
11:12Yeah, and the reason I believe that is because the 450 has so much power on it.
11:16One, you can't ride it like a 250.
11:18And if RJ, by riding the 250 so hard, you're trying to find the power, especially dealing with these Yamaha.
11:24So he doesn't have to do that in the 450 class.
11:26So it would allow him to slow down and be more patient.
11:28And I think that's what we're seeing because he's riding really good as he's watching his teammate behind Jorge Prado right here.
11:34My brother.
11:35Yeah, that is 9th for Prado.
11:39And Malcolm Stewart there in 10th closing.
11:41And a real test for Prado, the heat, probably a little higher than most of the MXGP races.
11:49They have some hot ones when they go to Indonesia and things like that.
11:52Send it down to Haley.
11:54Thanks, Weege.
11:55When I spoke with Jorge Prado after the race last week, he was not stoked with his race finish.
12:01No, he expects to be up front.
12:02He expects to be winning.
12:04But he gave it a nod to.
12:05He is learning this season.
12:06He is learning these tracks.
12:07He's learning racing in this format and doing it with Monster Energy Kawasaki.
12:11So he just has to be a sponge absorbing so much information at a very fast pace, Jorge Prado.
12:16Yeah, and I visited a team this morning, Haley, and they said they learned a lot.
12:20The way Oscar, the crew chief, put it, he did not ride in the race like he did during the week.
12:27But they were testing.
12:28Simply put, everybody rides just a little bit harder.
12:31They race a little bit differently.
12:32So they've had to make some bike changes.
12:34And that's probably going to be a constant.
12:36He said, yeah, we'll probably be learning all year.
12:38Yeah, I mean, Jorge has got to be careful, too, because he's a two-time MXGP champion.
12:43And all he knows is winning, especially when you get outdoors.
12:45So when you're not winning, I don't care where you're at.
12:48You might be at my house or grandma's house or here in Hangtown.
12:51You want to win, and when you're not, it just hurts you as a confidence.
12:55So Jorge has got to be careful.
12:56And I know the Kawasaki guys are doing the right thing about just trying to get him set up,
13:00letting him know it's okay not to fall in the zone.
13:03And you start just racing behind you and forgetting what made you who you are.
13:07Because believe it or not, he's running in eighth place right now, ninth place.
13:10The guy wants to be winning, and he's not happy unless he's up front battling with those guys.
13:15No, it's probably been a long time since he's been in a fight just to stay inside the top ten.
13:20A couple other riders we're going to show you here because the gaps are not changing much up front.
13:24So update you on a couple of other riders coming over from Europe.
13:26We've got Benoit Pacharel there in 15th on the Twisted T Suzuki.
13:30The Frenchman right in front of him, the Swiss native Valentin Guillaude.
13:37And these two have sure battled many, many times throughout their lives.
13:41Two veterans.
13:43And Pacharel, he actually came to California in the springtime and just started riding the local tracks out there,
13:49hoping someone would notice that he's going fast.
13:51And it worked.
13:52Ended up getting this deal with Twisted T Suzuki because Kyle Chisholm,
13:56who raced for them in Supercross, does not race full-time motocross any longer.
14:00And then Guillaude raced the first two MXGP rounds.
14:06What's up, Privateer?
14:07Wasn't making any money over there.
14:08Said in three days he got more help with Yamaha and the Rock River team over here
14:13than he did the first three rounds in Europe.
14:15So he's here for the whole summer.
14:16Yeah, it's good to see these guys out there.
14:18They've got Roman Pope behind them.
14:20And it's like the sweetest friend of mine.
14:23And the Swedish rider.
14:24Yeah, he's coming up.
14:25And these guys, they battle every weekend.
14:27And I feel like around this, anywhere from like 12th to 18th,
14:31these guys meet up and they decide to battle.
14:34So they're probably out here like, man, you really want to push that hard?
14:36It's hot out here today.
14:37Let's take it easy.
14:38So.
14:39Yeah, so that is, let's see.
14:41We've got the Swiss native, the Frenchman, the Swedish rider, another Frenchman battling right now.
14:47And also interesting, when we get back to just outside the top 20, Harry Kulas, Estonian rider,
14:56he expects to be with them.
14:58Guillaude and Patreau because he's been racing him his whole life.
15:00He knows where he normally stands.
15:02Let's send it down to Haley again.
15:03Thanks, Weege.
15:04You were talking about when Benoit Patreau came to the U.S. earlier this spring.
15:08And actually, as soon as he got here, he got linked up with Marvin Muskan.
15:11And he actually stayed at Marvin Muskan's house while Marvin was away in Florida.
15:15So we know there's a relationship there.
15:17And we know from other current riders, specifically in the 250 class with Tom Vial,
15:21they've proven that when working with Marvin Muskan, things turned out pretty well for them.
15:25Oh, yeah.
15:25Marv, one of the all-time greats out here.
15:28We talk about how great Tomac was at Hangtown.
15:30It was often Muskan who Tomac was battling with for the win.
15:34So he has a lot of knowledge.
15:36Good to see Patreau carrying the flag here for Twisted T.
15:39Suzuki up front.
15:41You can see the lap times.
15:42Tomac has inched up a little bit on Plessinger.
15:45But they have actually distanced themselves from Lawrence,
15:50who's now, well, it was 7.5.
15:52We're going to see.
15:53It just changed.
15:54We're going to find out if that's a transponder situation
15:56or if suddenly Lawrence is closing the gap.
15:59We'll let you know in a moment as Patreau, Norin,
16:04and the rest of the European contingent battle.
16:07Here's Tomac.
16:08Let's get an idea of the gap.
16:10Yeah, that gap's stretched out a little bit.
16:13It has.
16:13Yes, that was, it's not 4.7.
16:15It's 8.5 between the leader and Lawrence.
16:18So we're not even at the halfway mark, but I'll tell you what,
16:21Jett did not make up any ground at all when he got up to third.
16:24Yeah, I was kind of cheating a little bit, wondering where they were,
16:27and just looking at him make some mistakes out there.
16:29I mean, all these guys are trying.
16:30And the one guy who actually looks the most comfortable is the guy out front,
16:34Aaron Plessinger.
16:35So little mistakes like that from Eli.
16:37He went off the track at that last lap.
16:39But still, as you mentioned, we're not even halfway yet.
16:43Well, it was interesting when they all had open track for the first time.
16:47The lap times were within a tenth of each other, all three.
16:51And now Tomac has pulled away from Lawrence just a little bit.
16:55Last time around, 158 for Plessinger and Tomac, 159 for Jett.
17:01With these conditions, James, the 100-degree temperatures,
17:04do you think we're seeing maybe a little bit more strategy here?
17:08We're halfway through.
17:09So a reminder, Monster Energy available now.
17:13We're in the second half of this race.
17:14Got to wonder how these riders are managing the temperatures.
17:16Send it down to JT.
17:17Thanks, Weech.
17:19I've just been kind of racking my brain.
17:21Ever since Jett Lawrence has moved to 450,
17:24I'm trying to think of a time where he was not able to match the pace of anyone in front of him.
17:30And I simply can't.
17:31Now, we know these are extreme conditions.
17:33It's the hottest race since 2022.
17:35We also know Jett Lawrence is coming back really early from a knee surgery.
17:38But you see a huge mistake there.
17:41And I don't know if he's struggling with the bike.
17:43But, guys, I've never seen him not be able to close a gap.
17:47And that has to be notable.
17:49Yeah, I'm with you, JT.
17:51And like those mistakes that you're seeing, I was watching him.
17:53And, you know, again, it's a unique place for him to be at because, yeah, as you mentioned,
18:00he wasn't able to close the gap.
18:01So all the things, him being able to jump around,
18:03you can't do that when you're trying to have to close a gap because it's not that fast.
18:08It's not faster.
18:09It's just overall it's a lot more consistent.
18:11But when you're almost 10 seconds behind a guy, you're going to have to push.
18:14You're going to have to ride more like Eli.
18:16And he's never been in this position.
18:18So I don't know if this is playing the alone game.
18:21I think this is a little bit more of just different scenarios.
18:23And we're going to find out.
18:26Oh, I feel like we've seen more mistakes in this half a lap from JT.
18:30We've had the camera on that you'll see in an entire race sometimes.
18:33And now he's 10 seconds back.
18:36Yeah.
18:36And I believe a lot of that's because normally he's dictating the pace.
18:40And like I said, last weekend he was able to almost pull Eli into trapping him almost when he's going in the corners.
18:46By being so patient, Eli slamming into it.
18:49But now he's got to do the pushing.
18:51And you're starting to see the mistakes.
18:53So the race ain't being dictated by him.
18:55It's being dictated by the number seven out front.
18:57Might be the first time, to JT's point, that we have seen Lawrence go into points mode.
19:02I don't know if he's going to make a run at it.
19:03Look at the lap times.
19:05That lap eight, those mistakes really cost him.
19:08But those 159s aren't getting it done because for a while Tomac and Plessinger were still doing 158s.
19:14And that's why the lead has gone back to 11.4 for Lawrence up front.
19:18And we still have not given enough love to Aaron Plessinger because even beast mode Eli Tomac is not there yet.
19:24He has not been able to make a dent in Plessinger's gap.
19:28Does he have a run at him now?
19:30Yeah, Eli's been, I believe Eli's faster.
19:33But Aaron, they're pretty close in speed.
19:35But Aaron's bike just looks better.
19:37Is he able to get in these corners?
19:38And as I mentioned, just the KTM just seems a little bit softer.
19:41So when he's leaned over, his bike has more traction, which is allowing him to be more Jett Lawrence-ish,
19:46not making some mistakes, like coming out of that corner.
19:49His bike's hooking up.
19:50He's able to get there.
19:51And when you see Eli, he gets close, but then he makes a mistake.
19:54He slams it in the corner, kind of like what we saw last weekend.
19:56So we're going to be interested to see with 12 minutes left, is he able to close that gap without making the mistakes?
20:01Bottom box, Jorge Prado makes the move on Cody Schock.
20:05That'll put him up to eighth.
20:07Haven't mentioned Cooper Webb.
20:08He's running strong in seventh place.
20:11The new champion of Monster Energy Supercross, Hampshire.
20:14We saw him earlier, sixth.
20:15Hunter Lawrence, fifth.
20:17Justin Cooper, fourth.
20:19All right, James, I was getting at a couple of minutes ago.
20:21Is there a little bit more management of energy reserves and things like that because of the temperatures in this moto?
20:28Yeah, absolutely.
20:29As you can see, Aaron's hand kind of blew off at that point as that bike is getting to the point.
20:34But, yeah, it is.
20:35But you can see the mistakes that all these guys are making.
20:38I mean, Aaron was making the least out of all those.
20:40But, you know, Eli's making mistakes.
20:42We saw Jett making mistakes.
20:43So, it's not like they're in cruise mode.
20:46So, even Jett running to 159s, it seems tough for him to do that.
20:50So, imagine him trying to pick up the pace and go to 157s to be able to catch these guys.
20:54He might not be able to do it.
20:55So, I don't think they are in that mode yet.
20:57Okay.
20:58Meanwhile, Plessiger has stretched it to 4.3.
21:02A bad lap for Tomac.
21:04A two-minute flat for Plessiger.
21:06A 2.01 for Tomac and Jett Lawrence.
21:09Chase Sexton, the defending champion, not here.
21:12Banged up.
21:13Not 100%.
21:14But Red Bull KTM's got a runner anyway.
21:17How about Plessiger if he can put both Tomac and Jett Lawrence away straight up?
21:21Yeah.
21:22And I think a lot of that comes down.
21:24These next three laps are going to be very important for AP if he's able to win this race.
21:29JT.
21:30Yeah, I echo that sentiment, James.
21:32You remember last year when Chase Sexton came from last to first.
21:35Well, guess who was winning that race the entire way?
21:37That was AP.
21:38And you know he hated giving up the lead on the very last lap.
21:42Even though it was to his teammate, that has to be fresh in his memory.
21:45He's like, I'm not going to relent again.
21:48Somewhere in his psyche, last year's second place is lingering.
21:53And Plessiger still looking for his first career 4.50 moto win.
22:01Still 10 minutes set up, two laps to go.
22:04And we'll give you an idea of the gap.
22:08Yeah, that's not much.
22:09No, it's not much.
22:11And when you're watching AP, I actually think he's now starting to get in that management mode,
22:16as you were talking about.
22:17Okay.
22:17Really just consistent.
22:18Just try not to overwhelm yourself.
22:21You've still got 10 minutes left in here.
22:23So what you might see is Eli might be able to close that gap pretty easily.
22:27But if AP is just trying to manage this thing and not trying to make the mistakes,
22:31he might be able to hold on to it because Eli is definitely pushing still.
22:34Give you the tip check-in for the Monster Energy Yamaha star racing team.
22:38Tomac second, Cooper fourth, and Cooper Webb is seventh.
22:45Now we'll give you the gap between Tomac and Lawrence.
22:50And that is sizable.
22:51Let's send it down to Haley.
22:52Thanks, Weege.
22:54You and I were catching up with Darren Lawrence, the father of Jet and Hunter Lawrence, this morning.
22:58And he was saying that the issues they're sensing with that bike is not when they're simply on pace.
23:04It's when for Jet specifically that when he's pushing north of 100%, 102, 103%, is where he really has to assert more effort to control that bike.
23:14He hasn't had the comfortability when he's pushing north of 100%.
23:16So, guys, I'm just curious to see, what's your read on his body English now?
23:21Does he look like he is pushing more than 100% or is that even necessary here in Moto1?
23:26No, I think that's what we were seeing earlier when he was making those mistakes,
23:30that now, you know, being out front, he's able to dictate the pace, but he lost that time.
23:35So, now he's going to have to push himself, and he's starting to make a lot of mistakes.
23:39So, I think Darren is right.
23:41Doesn't look that good when they're trying to push, but, you know, still third place.
23:46Offer 32 of Justin Cooper, which we're going to get to here in a second.
23:49I actually really like the way he looks.
23:51You know, he got the start that he was looking for,
23:54and I think it's just really important for Justin Cooper to stay here in this top five.
23:59The more he can do that, he's become more and more comfortable.
24:02There he is coming down the hill towards the mechanics area.
24:05But he looks the part, and that's what he wants to do.
24:07He wants to establish himself as a podium, weekend, week-out guy,
24:11and a true championship contender.
24:13And I'll be honest with you guys.
24:14If he hangs in there, he can drop some really fast laps.
24:18I don't think Jet Lawrence is out of the question.
24:20Jet's laboring pretty bad when he can't pass here.
24:27Let's go back to fifth here.
24:29It's going to be Hunter Lawrence.
24:31Yeah, Hunter Lawrence.
24:32Probably not the ride that you want,
24:34but when you're looking at Jet Lawrence and your brother struggling,
24:36I'm assuming that they're probably having some of the same issues as well.
24:40And if you've got to remember, as dominant as they were last weekend,
24:43these guys are coming off the couch.
24:45And maybe that fitness and with this heat is probably getting to him,
24:48as you can see, made a mistake.
24:50He's not the same Hunter Lawrence as he was last weekend.
24:53And when these races get long like this and that heat gets up,
24:56it is hard being out here by yourself in no man's land.
24:59And I would say that's where Hunter Lawrence is.
25:01No one in front of him.
25:02No one right behind him.
25:03Hard to keep charging.
25:04Well, you don't have to worry about the charging from the sixth-place rider,
25:11RJ Hampshire.
25:11He'll always give you everything he has.
25:13And because of that, he has started to close.
25:16And now has Hunter Lawrence in his sights.
25:19This is quite the 450 debut for RJ,
25:22especially considering wrist surgery Monday after the Salt Lake City Supercross finale.
25:28That's only two weeks ago.
25:29They took a bone out of his wrist.
25:32And he's riding this well, sixth and could be fifth before it's over.
25:39Hold on to that, RJ.
25:43And still digging.
25:44There we see on our screen Cooper Webb.
25:51In my interactions with him this outdoor season,
25:53I like the mood from this guy.
25:55I like how he's approaching things, just his personality this weekend.
25:59You know, last week when I spoke to him,
26:01he was pairing himself and keeping tabs on Jorge Prado.
26:05And he was really stoked to be ahead of pace with Jorge or just on pace with him.
26:09Well, he's doing it right now, Haley.
26:10He is seventh.
26:11Prado is eighth.
26:13Webb did say he made some changes.
26:14This week to the motorcycle, things are better.
26:17Things are better for his teammate, Eli Tomek, as well,
26:20because he has cut the gap in half to Plessinger.
26:23Yeah, you're talking about on pace.
26:24I mean, Eli's been looking the same way this whole race.
26:27And as I mentioned, AP started to look like he was starting to try to save his energy,
26:31make his way around the racetrack, be real consistent about it.
26:34So I felt like Eli, if you just got a clean lap,
26:36you'll be able to close that gap.
26:37And that's exactly what happened.
26:39So if I'm Eli, I'm going to try to make the pass now,
26:41because it feels like, for me, I'm taking some chances to get to AP.
26:45It might be easier for him to do it.
26:46I've got to get him now.
26:47Oh, it's on right now.
26:52And still plenty of time for Tomek to make the move, slicing through some lap traffic.
26:56And these fans who braved the 100-degree temperatures on their own to come out here
27:03and watch this, it's what they wanted to see, the return of ET3 to Hangtown.
27:08Yeah, I love that inside going down that hill by Aaron, man.
27:11He cuts off half the track, and it looks a lot smoother.
27:14And I don't know if Eli just can't get there or what,
27:16but he's definitely losing some time for sure right there.
27:21Yeah, last two laps.
27:22You see that lap time comparison there.
27:24Tomek has put a bunch into Plessinger.
27:26So the key is, is that 2.04, that lap time drop-off,
27:29was that just one bad one for AP, or is he starting to labor?
27:34Yeah, we don't know.
27:35Maybe Aaron got caught up with some lap riders,
27:37because, I mean, as quickly as Eli's got there, that gap's kind of stabilized.
27:40Well, last year when Sexton caught him on the final lap
27:47in that amazing last-to-first charge, Plessinger said he was cramping up.
27:52He had nothing left to fight with.
27:53It's hot today.
27:55This is only the first moto, but he's proving strong right now.
27:58Yes, not letting Tomek get any closer.
28:02Yeah, you can see that gap go again.
28:04And as I mentioned, when you watch AP,
28:07it just looks like he's able to do it easier.
28:09And even though Eli's there, the bike's bouncing around,
28:12it's just a little bit harder for him.
28:13So unless both these guys are riding really good,
28:17any time you can put that much time on Jet Lawrence, it's a win.
28:22Yeah, as JT said, any time, it's almost been never time
28:25that we have seen that, or Jet cannot get there.
28:28So it is going to be, it looks to be, down to these two.
28:32And Plessinger, well done.
28:34He stretched it.
28:35Yeah, I felt like Eli, the only chance he really had
28:40was once he got close to him, because, you know,
28:43as quickly as he got there, you could just tell,
28:45like, it was hard for him to do it, really to be consistent with him.
28:48And that one corner previous to this, his hand came off.
28:51So he's definitely charging.
28:55See if he has one more good run with him.
28:57And remember, it's a two-moto format,
28:59so the overall still up for grabs later today in moto two.
29:03And as they say, a motocross, a second is as good as a first
29:07if you win moto two.
29:10A 2-1 gets it, the overall.
29:11So how will these two play it?
29:15Yeah, Eli, you don't want this to happen.
29:18I mean, it'll be two weeks in a row that,
29:20some might say you're able to close in on a leader,
29:22but be that close and not be able to get him.
29:25But Aaron Plessinger, I don't think we picked this one coming in.
29:29Kids run great.
29:30Yeah, so much talk about Lawrence versus Tomac after last week,
29:35after their history is so many race wins and titles between the two of them.
29:40And Plessinger might get his first ever 450 moto win against them both right here.
29:45Two and a half minutes and two laps left.
29:53Three seconds, the gap.
29:55Yeah, they both on the breaking point.
29:57If Eli can close the gap, it'll give him some motivation to maybe push towards the end.
30:03If I'm Aaron, man, if I don't make a mistake and this gap stays the same,
30:07once that two-lap board comes out,
30:08it's going to have close to three laps, maybe four laps,
30:12depending on how fast they hit this next lap.
30:16Once that two-lap board comes out, I'm going to hold this thing off to the finish.
30:18And you hear the fans still powering Tomac forward.
30:25He's got it back down.
30:26It was almost three seconds.
30:28Now it's 1.6.
30:31Oh, Plessinger almost went for a ride.
30:33Big mistake.
30:34Yeah, now Eli senses that he needs to go out and hit this berm.
30:37There you go.
30:38Not try to make that inside.
30:40Because if he has that paddle tire, it's not going to work on that hard pack.
30:42And so he's got to be patient.
30:45So a nice adjustment from the three.
30:48Oh, another mistake from seven.
30:51Yeah, Eli knows it.
30:55Plessinger lost traction at the beginning of the uphill.
30:57Now Tomac has him.
31:01Let's see how much this line works out for Aaron.
31:03It's inside.
31:08Tomac sends it.
31:10Sends it down that hill.
31:11And loses time.
31:13Yeah, just my inside lines.
31:16Aaron's crushing that.
31:17He's able to get that bike leaned over.
31:19And that's so frustrating if I'm Eli because I'm like right there.
31:22But look how quickly he's able to catch back up.
31:26Yeah, there are a couple of insides.
31:28Plessinger looks very smooth.
31:31That's a good line by Aaron.
31:32Just went in the middle.
31:33Missed all those bumps.
31:37Tomac's got it in his sights.
31:38Time running out, 100-degree temperatures.
31:42Who's going to dig deepest here?
31:45That corner right there.
31:46Plessinger greases it.
31:50At the top of the hill, he's been good, too.
31:52Oh, not that time.
31:56Yeah, that's the hard part.
31:57I think Eli made a mistake, too, from seeing him.
31:59But as a rider, being 30 minutes into it, when that bike slides out there, you're just like, oh, my gosh.
32:05This thing's 500 pounds.
32:06But still, you're so close.
32:08And I think, Jason, it might be three laps left.
32:11I can get to that pinner slot.
32:12Oh, it's going to be so tight, James.
32:14Clock, watch closely.
32:16It's the last turn.
32:17Will it be two to go or not?
32:19It is two to go.
32:21That is going to help Plessinger big time.
32:23It could have been three.
32:25The clock just expired.
32:27Oh, Aaron couldn't even get the bike turned over.
32:32Beast mode now.
32:33Tomac with two to go, finding strength.
32:36Eli, you've got to funnel back into this outside.
32:40Good move right there.
32:41You know that bike ain't going to work.
32:43We saw Aaron make it.
32:44Maybe charge down this inside because you know Aaron ain't going to hit it.
32:48He tried.
32:49Plessinger is going to block the inside.
32:51Can Tomac get a run?
32:53Here he comes.
32:55There he goes.
32:56Eli Tomac to the lead.
33:01Big power move by the three.
33:03And the old hang town spirit for Tomac is back.
33:08Man, what these athletes.
33:10Nice line by Eli.
33:11He saw it go to the inside where he was losing all that.
33:14And that might be all she wrote.
33:17Look at him go.
33:20And pulling away.
33:22Tomac saved it to the end.
33:25And this is beast mode at his finest.
33:29Bay begin the new crib if I hold this off.
33:31And here's what's crazy.
33:34Plessinger has led the last 32 laps of this track.
33:37He led every lap except the checkered flag.
33:4129 of the last 32.
33:43Last time.
33:44And now down to the two laps to go in the first moto this time.
33:49But he is still, it looks to be denied, as far as that first career moto win at a 450.
34:00Wow, man.
34:00What a ride by Eli.
34:01Man, he is exhausted.
34:03You can tell by him going up that hill.
34:05He had to just sit down going up that step up because those guys are so tired.
34:09But, I mean, look at the gap already.
34:11He was able to pull on Aaron about five seconds in that one lap.
34:14But still, great ride by the number seven.
34:17Want to get the idea of the gap between Plessinger to Lawrence.
34:21Everyone laboring now in these conditions.
34:24But Tomac is so strong.
34:27One to go.
34:28It's been about 1,000 days since Eli Tomac has won a moto in the ProMotoCross Championship.
34:38And you want to talk all-timer.
34:40He gets this one.
34:41He's going to break a multi-weight tie and become the second highest career moto wins list.
34:50With none other than Rick Johnson or Ryan Dungey.
34:52Two other all-timers.
34:55Okay, people.
34:56You want to know why we call him beast mode?
34:57Did you see how he came down that hill when everybody else is laboring?
35:01Even he went down that hill last lap.
35:03The fastest he has all race long.
35:05And he's putting it on these boys.
35:07He's got about 10 seconds over Aaron in this last lap.
35:10That's why we call him beast mode.
35:12When everybody else is feeling it, this dude comes out.
35:15And you're witnessing Bigfoot right here.
35:17He's out here.
35:18And that has always been it.
35:20The late race endurance that has led to four championships in this series.
35:25And we might add that the last time he did win, that thousand days ago, missed a lot of races with injury in between.
35:32And it was brutally hot that day.
35:34And a title was hanging in the balance between he and Chase Sexton.
35:37And he got it done.
35:38Yeah, when Eli, prior to Jet Lawrence, this was almost a foregone conclusion that he was going to win on these hot days.
35:46Jet Lawrence has just been so dominant, he had to question him.
35:48But there ain't no question whether this guy came here to any series about winning this championship.
35:53Oh, yeah.
35:54And at this age, 32, when most riders are, well, even he had been considering retirement at one point.
35:59He says he wants back next year.
36:01And it's because of rides like this.
36:03Why step away when you still might be the best in the business?
36:11He weighed a little bit.
36:12Was there some patience?
36:14He took it down to two laps.
36:15No, I think Aaron was just riding really good.
36:17Really?
36:17I see.
36:17Yeah, but Eli's definitely the strongest one so far today.
36:21He's got that for sure.
36:22And we're going to see how well these guys can recover from Moto2.
36:26Can Tomek get the overall?
36:28Right now, Eli Tomek's back on top with a Moto win at Hangtown.
36:35Jet Lawrence, third.
36:37Where is Plessinger?
36:40They are cruising to the end.
36:42Oh, he didn't realize that Jet was that close.
36:45I mean, he almost got him.
36:46Plessinger will hold on for a second with a 2.10 final lap.
36:51That's about 12 seconds off of race pace.
36:54Eli Tomek, though, turned it up when the heat was on.
37:00And gets it done.
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