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00:00Great for that, the nine-time MXGP World Champ, making that debut for Ducati Hill Race next weekend at Redbud and again at Millville.
00:07You can watch more with him on our SMX Insider Show, JT&I.
00:11Ask him some questions, you can watch that on Thursday afternoon, the extended interview.
00:15Let's get ready again for 450 Moto2 with the KTM keys to the Moto.
00:20James, what's the difference here in this one compared to Moto1?
00:23Well, we've got to see if Lawrence can step it up.
00:26That's Hunter Lawrence, as it is.
00:27If he can improve one spot better, maybe get up there and run with his brother.
00:31And then, Eli Tomac, you heard him, he needed to get a better start.
00:34He's kind of disappointed between his mid-Moto, so can he get a better start in Moto2 and maybe go after that A-team?
00:40Because as they saw that first Moto, you cannot let him out front.
00:44Now, he did some serious damage, even more than usual.
00:47Again, JT Lawrence has won every overall this year.
00:51But Prado, right next to him, has shown a lot more fight today than the previous rounds of the championship.
00:55See what happens if they can start with him.
00:58But it has been a big if.
01:00The Lawrences and those Hondas have been crazy off the line the last couple of seasons.
01:05Will it change here?
01:06Looks like Jorge's lined up in between both guys.
01:11Shout-out to Mitchell Harrison, the FMF Privateer Power Award this week.
01:15The Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Kawasaki.
01:18Good to have him back with us in and out of the pro motocross scene for the last couple of years.
01:23But he's been rock solid this season.
01:25Fly Racing, 30-second card is up.
01:30And this is it.
01:31It could seriously all be determined by these first few moments before they hit that first turn.
01:37The Lawrence has got the jump in Moto1.
01:39What happens this time?
01:41Rebs are up.
01:44Gates down.
01:45Prado drives it in deep.
01:51They're side-by-side.
01:52He went off the track to try to get Jet.
01:56Jet to the lead again, but Prado is second.
01:58Yeah, I can just show you what that confidence does with Jorge.
02:01He tried to get in there, but that right-handed, he couldn't stop.
02:04Jet Lawrence is out front.
02:05Eli Tomac got a better start.
02:06Looks like Hunter Lawrence slots up in their third place.
02:09All right, here it is for these guys.
02:11We wanted to see.
02:12Now Hunter putting pressure on Prado.
02:14Yeah, you can already see the gap that Jet's already able to get.
02:18It's going to be important for Eli to see if he can go past Hunter Lawrence up the inside.
02:22He makes the move.
02:23Oh, James, he's got it.
02:24Can he seal the deal?
02:26Hunter's fighting back.
02:27Yeah, he's got to try to block.
02:29Nice pass by Eli now.
02:30He's got to get around to number seven.
02:32He's going to be tough, but Eli knows he had the pace in the first moto.
02:36He believes he had the pace.
02:37Now he's got to get up there and run with these guys.
02:39Have they made some work on the track?
02:40Have you made some of these lines that he easily, inside and outside?
02:45Hey, they both have a lot to prove.
02:46It's not just Tomac that wants Lawrence.
02:49Much better.
02:50Jorge Prado today.
02:51Can he keep the 18 in sight?
02:54This is as highly anticipated a battle as Tomac versus Lawrence.
02:58What does Prado have to offer?
02:59We're going to find out.
03:00Yeah, in a way, Jorge's been riding all day long.
03:03We're kind of overlooking the fact that, you know, maybe Eli needs to get around them.
03:07But, man, Jorge's been riding really good.
03:09He's got some pace.
03:10So, can he get that pace going early this moto, this second moto, and keep Jet Lawrence in sight?
03:14We're going to find out.
03:15Yeah, this is a scenario everyone wanted to see.
03:19Jet with another hole shot, but these two have clear racetrack.
03:24Hunter riding well in fourth.
03:26Barsha fifth.
03:27Barsha fifth.
03:30And they are in full set mode of this first lap.
03:34Yeah, I mean, some of this track's starting to change up a lot.
03:37And I feel like with these guys, they just got to keep Jet within three, four seconds.
03:42Even if he's able to break them here in the beginning, if you can keep it in,
03:45because that beginning part of that first moto, Jet got that huge lead and didn't stabilize.
03:50You know, you heard Hunter talk about, you know, it was just an opening couple lapses.
03:53Man, I know that hurt.
03:55Daddy Tomac right there, that overjump in there.
03:57But that lead stabilized, and those guys were able to hold that gap.
04:01But if he can get it, they keep stretching, it's going to race going to be over.
04:04So it looks like Jorge's in a better position than this moto, for sure.
04:08Okay, so, James, how does Eli play it in third?
04:10Is he as desperate to pass Prado?
04:13If he sees Prado keeping Jet in sight, how does he play it?
04:17No, I think if Jorge keeps Jet in sight, like you said, Eli would just sit back.
04:22Okay.
04:22Because he doesn't get that pressure from Hunter Lawrence.
04:24What he doesn't want is the A-team getting away from him.
04:27And it looks like Jorge right now actually has a really good pace.
04:30Actually, he's kind of closing back in on Jet.
04:32So, yeah, Eli, let him play, you know, pick-and-roll style.
04:35Let Jorge go after him.
04:36Jorge hasn't had any experience against Jet Lawrence.
04:38So, let him go for it.
04:41Looks good.
04:42I want to show you this start.
04:45Prado just wasn't going to let Jet Lawrence have it.
04:49Yeah, and you wonder, Jorge, he actually had to jump, but Jet was on the inside.
04:52And this is that right-handed first corner.
04:54The reason he goes out so far is because he can't stop.
04:56You know, he's got to slide that bike before he has to turn.
05:00So, you can tell by his attitude, Jorge wanted to be up front.
05:05That was the most aggressive I've seen him off the start.
05:07So, look, it started from practice, being fast.
05:10Now you're starting to see that two-time champion that we've seen out here.
05:15So, if you can continue that.
05:16Well, remember back to the opening round of the championship
05:18where they didn't run that scoop tire, which is usually better for starts.
05:22And the word for the team was not ready to hold shot yet.
05:26I think we've seen a different style off the start today.
05:28Yeah, no, you're seeing a whole different rider out here today.
05:31And just like we saw in Tom Bial in that 250 class,
05:34once these guys get a sense of any kind of confidence,
05:36and I felt like where Jorge, yeah, he might be struggling enough by new tracks,
05:40but it really just comes down to he believes.
05:42And whether he finishes this off is a good sign of what we're seeing from the Kawasaki.
05:47And that first moto, Jet Lawrence already had a seven-second lead by this point.
05:50So, Jorge's finding his form,
05:53and I do believe if he stays here, we're going to have a race here.
05:56And we're going to go back to the question we've asked.
06:00It feels like a hundred times.
06:01This 1.3-second gap, is that right where Lawrence wants them,
06:07or are they seriously applying pressure?
06:09It's been this way so many times.
06:12Now it's time to play the game of Prado.
06:14Yeah, I would say on this racetrack, that 1.3, this isn't where you want.
06:20I mean, we saw that.
06:21That's not enough.
06:21No, just because how quickly Southwick is.
06:24And you've got to think, it's going to be a difficult race.
06:26It's going to be tough.
06:28All three of these guys are in shape.
06:29But once you get in those lap traffic,
06:30there's a lot of places on this racetrack where you get stuck behind them.
06:33So that's a little too close for comfort.
06:37Interesting.
06:37That's your old buddy Chad Reed there, who he lives at Club MX.
06:41That's where Prado's been riding for the last week.
06:43And we saw Chad down at the starting line,
06:45talking to Prado before the Modos sent it to Will.
06:50Chad, you've been at Club MX.
06:53Jorge Prado's been at Club MX.
06:54There's been a lot going on there this weekend.
06:56Wow, have we seen some serious improvement.
06:59Are you officially working together?
07:01Give us the update on that.
07:02And what are you seeing in Jorge today?
07:04You know, I think Jorge's results and inoculates speak for themselves.
07:09And I don't think that that's a representative of who he has been up until this point.
07:13So, yeah, I mean, I guess when you really look at the big picture,
07:18I've been to so many of those things that he's going through.
07:20You know, a new country, a new team, new people.
07:24If I can help, I would love to.
07:26You know, like you think about your 43-year-old self
07:29and you wish that, you know, at 24 years old,
07:32you had somebody with knowledge that would help.
07:35And I'm just that passionate, crazy guy that loves coming to the races.
07:40And I have a wife at home that's just equally as passionate that allows me to do it.
07:44So he's made big progress this week, and that's flowed over to this weekend.
07:49So for me as a friend, as a, you know, as a Club MX guidance guy,
07:55it's a real pleasure to see him take a step.
07:57And all that experience that you were talking about, all those laps,
08:00not only have helped Jorge, but they've also got you into the AMA Hall of Fame.
08:05So congratulations on that.
08:06How does that feel to be in that situation?
08:08You know, that's a, it's not something that you achieve, right?
08:11Like, it's not a thing you chase as a kid.
08:13It's just something that after years and years of committed, being passionate,
08:19you know, racing the best guys in the world.
08:20Those are the, you know, the things that come your way.
08:24And it just makes me beyond, I can't even put it into words, how, like, proud I am.
08:29You know, like, my friends, my old competitors are all in there.
08:34I just raced too long.
08:35So now this was the first year that I was eligible.
08:38And so I really am appreciative of what the AMA does, and I feel really honored.
08:43Very well-deserved.
08:45Thank you for your time, Chad.
08:45We appreciate it.
08:48Yeah, congratulations, Chad.
08:49I mean, I know when he gets up there, it is a special feeling.
08:52And what he was talking about with Jorge, you know, just helping him out,
08:55you would think in most sports they're talking about coaching, you know,
08:58working on your basketball game, your jump shot.
09:00I don't think Jorge needs any help on his technique or how he rides a motorcycle.
09:03But what Chad did say right there was that experience as Eli almost goes down,
09:08it's the experience of, like, just having somebody that's like, look, man,
09:11if you just stayed a course, I've been there through this.
09:14Like, look, I've experienced this.
09:16I've moved to a different country.
09:18Like, I've struggled like this.
09:19And I think that's what Jorge needs.
09:20And maybe that's the signs of life that we've seen him today.
09:23Maybe he got that help from Chad.
09:24JT.
09:25Yeah, yeah.
09:26And I don't claim to have the answers.
09:28I mean, it could be the help of Chad.
09:29It could be Eli yelling at Jorge Prada because when Chad wasn't riding very well,
09:33I'll tell you what happened.
09:34Eli went in and gave him an earful and told him who he was,
09:38and he needed to remember that.
09:39So maybe there's a little bit of that going on.
09:41But regardless, the team testing, Jorge believing in himself,
09:44I'll tell you one thing, you can pull the pictures off the telephone poles.
09:47You can take his picture off of the milk jugs.
09:49Jorge Prada is no longer missing.
09:52He has arrived.
09:52He has held Tomac back.
09:54And he's only three seconds behind the lead right now.
09:56And I cannot express how different he looks on the motorcycle than the eight motos prior.
10:01Yeah, I agree.
10:02And to take it further, I don't think Jorge has been at these first four races.
10:06We've been seeing George out there riding.
10:08Jorge's back.
10:09So it's the first time he showed up all year long.
10:11It's good to see.
10:12But, you know, really, it does come off.
10:15We've got a red flag.
10:15Oh, wait.
10:16We've got a roller's jump.
10:18Red cross flag.
10:19Meanwhile, back to this battle.
10:21This is Justin Cooper and Justin Barsha.
10:24That's eighth and ninth behind Webb.
10:26Closest fight on the track right now.
10:28Look at Jay Cooper on the outside on Barsha.
10:30Oh, that's a brave move right there.
10:32You know, Justin, he's just coming back from injury.
10:34So, you know, normally that pass wouldn't be able to be made.
10:37But, man, I know Justin Cooper is, he's obviously, he's got a lot of speed.
10:42And this might be a frustrating day to him.
10:44Because every time we've seen him, he's been moving his way up.
10:47But these stars have killed him.
10:48And that's not normal like Justin Cooper.
10:50At least one moto, he gets a good start.
10:51So, another bad start for Justin Cooper making his way up.
10:56And he's going to have to go out to his teammate next.
10:58Yep.
10:58They battled in moto one.
11:00Cooper Webb, Justin Cooper, seventh and eighth.
11:03Oh, hold on to that, Cooper Webb.
11:06He had us a tough one.
11:08Then it looks like Justin Cooper goes off the racetracks as well.
11:12Look at Jay Cooper, though.
11:14He's hanging it out.
11:16No, he's looked really aggressive.
11:19And for whatever reason, it seems like the guys who's coming up through the pack,
11:22whether it was Joe Shimoda, Tom Biao, man, they have this riding style that you look at.
11:27It's like, man, they look really comfortable and aggressive.
11:29And Justin Cooper is another one where I've seen him today.
11:32It looks like he's hanging it out a lot more and he's got some pace.
11:34So, you just wonder if he was up front, what that would do.
11:38Well, you can learn more about these two.
11:41Check out Yamaha's Beyond the Gate.
11:43That is on the At Yamaha Motor USA YouTube channel every week.
11:47And you get the inside look at Yamaha's factory-supported teams.
11:51Again, that's at Yamaha Motor USA YouTube channel.
11:55News shows weekly, including Justin Cooper and Cooper Webb,
11:59who probably battled like this a lot during the week at that star racing facility there.
12:04Yeah, you can see Justin Cooper dropping back.
12:08And I do feel like, yeah, Cooper's made that mistake and Justin was able to close up.
12:12And I wouldn't say it's necessarily Cooper picking up the pace,
12:15but just rather where Justin Cooper knows where he's going to be able to pass him at.
12:18So, if Justin's been really strong on this side of the racetrack,
12:23once it opens up, getting closer to the finish line.
12:25So, maybe there's an opportunity to make some passes.
12:27We just saw the last lap.
12:28He was able to get around Justin Barsha.
12:31We'll see what happens.
12:32So, Hunter Lawrence has caught Tomac here.
12:36They continue to have to roll this jump with the red cross flag out.
12:40So, right now, here's how the overall would break down.
12:44It would be Chet Lawrence, Tomac, and Hunter.
12:48One, two, three.
12:49But if Hunter passes Tomac, that could actually put Prado on the overall podium today.
12:55And Hunter's putting in quite a charge.
12:57Yeah, I'm not going to lie.
12:58I'm a little, like, questioning what's going on with Eli.
13:01I mean, you know, he was right there.
13:04And you asked me earlier, was he sitting behind Jorge because Jorge was keeping him.
13:08But now he's 10 seconds back.
13:09And a couple laps later, you know, he doesn't even look the same.
13:12He doesn't even look the same.
13:14So, you wonder if it's he just realized Jett's on a different level.
13:18And that might be demoralizing or maybe something else happened.
13:22Or maybe he hurt himself.
13:23But this is not the Eli that we expected to see, especially after listening to him on that podium.
13:28He knew what he needed to do.
13:29And he was able to somewhat do that.
13:31But it's a big statement here by Jett Lawrence, depending on what's going on to Eli at this moment.
13:38Yeah, we thought Eli might beast mode it here and get stronger late in the race.
13:41But instead, he's going the other direction.
13:43And Hunter Lawrence, he's not going anywhere, keeping the heat on the number three.
13:48Meanwhile, Jett has opened up an 8.6 second gap on Prado.
13:53But I would imagine if you're Prado, that's not demoralizing in the same way of at least this is a massive improvement.
13:59No, and truthfully, the only rider that's probably, you know, it's hurting and being demoralized right now.
14:05And, again, Eli's been here, done that.
14:07So, no offense, it is Eli.
14:09Because I feel like Hunter Lawrence, this is a good feeling for him.
14:12If he's able to get around Eli Tomek here at Southwick, that's a benefit.
14:15Jorge, it's a benefit.
14:17And, of course, Jett Lawrence is a benefit.
14:19So, all three of these guys are right here.
14:20But all of them are feeling completely different.
14:23Just feel like that number three, there must be something going on.
14:26Because, you know, I don't care beast mode or not, for him to run down Jett Lawrence,
14:31like if he's been saving that up, that would be probably his best ride ever in his whole career.
14:35I don't think Eli's that confident to be able to give that this much gap to be able to pull him down.
14:40Now, actually getting Prado back in sight.
14:41But here comes the 96 of Hunter.
14:44He's on the inside and makes the move.
14:49That was, like I said, you can tell by his body language.
14:52And even right now with Eli, there's definitely something going on.
14:56And, yeah, he looks tired.
14:58But I have a hard time believing that he's actually tired at this moment.
15:02So, difficult position.
15:04Now, by the way, over that jump, that red cross flag, that's why they're not clearing that jump.
15:08That is a wheels on the ground flag.
15:09You can't clear the jumps.
15:11So, they momentarily pause the charge.
15:14And then it's back up to speed for Hunter.
15:18Could be a Lawrence one-two again.
15:21Because now Prado is in his sights.
15:22Yeah, and if you look at the overall, like you said, it moves Jorge up to third position.
15:28And the way he rode that first moto, this is well-deserved if he's somehow able to finish him off, hold on to this position.
15:34Now, I think if Hunter gets Prado, that could put Tomac maybe back up on the podium, depending on how this all shakes out.
15:44Man, the 96 looks good.
15:49Yeah.
15:50No, he looks good.
15:50I mean, even that first moto, he looked good.
15:52Yep.
15:52He was just, unfortunately, his brother got out too quickly.
15:55But it just seems like these HRC Honda, these guys done figured out the way to really rod this racetrack by jumping around.
16:03And even Jorge, he looks good.
16:04But to me, it looks like Hunter's bike's not moving around that much.
16:08He's able to jump just far enough, being really patient in certain parts.
16:11And it's just saving a lot of energy.
16:13And the same thing that happened to first moto, Hunter was in a position to save some energy as well because Jet was so far in front.
16:19But Hunter had a good gap on third place, so maybe these two are probably the most fresh guys out here.
16:24And they went one and two that first moto.
16:27And saving some energy again because Jet Lawrence has opened it up to 12 seconds.
16:32So I'd assume that goes to your point of, yeah, this is not the day to manage the 1.3 second gap.
16:36Not on this track.
16:37He's opening it up at an alarming rate again.
16:39And he is.
16:41And now he has that gap.
16:42And just what we saw with Hayden Deegan and even Jet in that beginning part, that first moto,
16:46now he's able to really patient and take all the risk out if there are some rough parts at his racetrack.
16:53He'll just go a little bit slower here.
16:54He can pick his way around this racetrack to where he's saving energy.
16:58And, man, these two motos have been by far the most dominant motos that he's had probably in his 450 career.
17:05He came out here with a point.
17:07And to have Eli Tomac in third place, Jorge Rodden, as good as he is, I mean, to pull the gap on this field,
17:13I don't even know what to say with this.
17:16This is dominant.
17:17And the domination train continues for him.
17:21So we refocus on this.
17:23Prado versus Hunter Lawrence for second.
17:25And there you see the gap.
17:28JT.
17:29Well, just listening to James there, you know, talking about dominance.
17:32And it just feels like Jet's back to 100%.
17:35And I think we were fooled a little bit because he came out and won right away.
17:38And we're like, man, he looks really good.
17:40But this is just the next year that he has.
17:42And, you know, there are a lot of Tomac fans in this world, me being one of them.
17:46But you just watch Jet ride right now.
17:48And he's starting to pull away.
17:49And he's gaining more confidence as the rounds go on.
17:53And just wonder, is there a way for anybody to find a way to win here?
17:57Because I just think he's going to get better from here.
18:00And that's a very scary thing for 39 other guys.
18:03JT, to that point there, are we seeing Jet in his best light here?
18:08I was talking to his trainer, Johnny O'Meara, and asked him that question earlier.
18:12And he said, yes, as an athlete.
18:14He's like, bike aside, we're in a great place.
18:16But we're always working.
18:17We're always going to continue working.
18:19But he said, as an athlete, yes, I believe that you are seeing the best version of Jet Lawrence.
18:23And we're seeing the same sort of healthy version of him that we did see prior to the ACL injury.
18:30Scary thought for everyone if he's getting better halfway through this moto.
18:34I remember that Monster Energy available now.
18:38And let's see if Prado can prevent the Lawrence Brothers 1-2.
18:43He certainly watched them quite a bit from afar, racing MXGP.
18:48Now it's going to be one-on-one, and he goes down.
18:50Oh, that's a bummer.
18:51And that lap rotter was in front, and it looks like Jorge loses the front.
18:55And, man, this is the worst position because that bike has gotten really heavy at this time of the day.
19:00But they had a pretty gap, about 10 seconds, 12 seconds on air.
19:05Oh, and that's going to cost them the moto and overall podium.
19:10Should slide Tomek back up there with the Lawrences.
19:13JT.
19:13And one of the things for those who haven't ever been in this position, racing a crash late in a moto like this,
19:19and James, you and I both have done this so many times in the course of our life,
19:23it's the things you don't think about because as he's going around the track, you know, he's averaging 30, 40 miles an hour,
19:28you have this constant breeze.
19:30There's wind always on you, cooling you down.
19:32When you stop and you're standing there and you're trying to pick up a 250-pound motorcycle,
19:37you don't get any breeze anymore, and your body temperature immediately shoots up.
19:41And that's the hardest part is to get cooled down, get your body and your heart rate back down to be manageable again.
19:47So you see him shaking his head.
19:49It's frustration.
19:50And it's also his body temperature skyrocketing in that moment.
19:53Yeah, I mean, I agree.
19:56It's, I mean, and it's weird how it hits you.
19:58It's like an instant stop.
20:00And for sure, Jorge, how's good he's been rotting.
20:04I don't care if he pulls off the racetrack at this point.
20:06I mean, it's been a successful day for him, and I think he can just continue going.
20:09But definitely going to be hard to recover after that with all that heat.
20:15I'll tell you who's recovered here, James Stewart.
20:18Eli Tomek's back.
20:19He started to close back in on Hunter Lawrence, and he was three-tenths of a second faster the last time around.
20:25I don't know what happened there for a few laps, but he's going fast again.
20:30Yeah, I bet, like, maybe the mechanics or Eli saw something.
20:33But this was really pride kicking in because, you know, Eli's goal is not to beat Hunter Lawrence and get second place.
20:39His goal is to run with Jet Lawrence.
20:41So, you know, I don't feel like he was sitting back and just like, all right, I'm going to just make my way and just get second.
20:47And there was probably some little bit of frustration going on watching Jet Lawrence pull away from him.
20:52And for whatever reason, he couldn't do anything with Jorge Prada.
20:55So now he starts dropping back, and that's not the Eli that we've seen for the last few years.
21:00So I'm sure this is a little bit of pride kicking in.
21:03Realize that this championship is still far from over, and, you know, we don't want to see those signs of where he goes missing at this point.
21:10So long race, he's got a long time to see if he can work on Hunter Lawrence.
21:16But there's just certain areas that watching Eli Rod and even with Hunter that I see with Jet, how Jet's just really attacking his racetrack,
21:23how he's just jumping out a little bit farther.
21:25That really makes the race a lot easier for Jet Lawrence.
21:28And unfortunate for these guys, they can't see that until they go back and watch the race tomorrow.
21:33But they'll see where Jet's really making his time up because if you look overall as fast as last time, I mean, Jorge with Eli, they're within a second.
21:41So it's not like he's going three, four seconds faster.
21:43But over time, jumping far and really picking his racetrack out has really gotten Jet that gap.
21:48And that's going to be frustrating for all those other guys.
21:51This battle here is Plessinger and Hampshire running fourth and fifth.
21:56These guys ride and train together during the week.
21:59So it's probably a familiar situation for them also to be season best for RJ already in fifth.
22:07He's had a lot of sixth-place finishes this year.
22:09He's fifth, but he wants fourth.
22:12Good to get him in this mix.
22:14Remember, we have the story that it's been the same top five overall in every race this year.
22:20Brado is currently fifth overall, so he's going to break that because Justin Cooper is at some bad starts today.
22:26RJ Hampshire showing he can run with that group.
22:29Yeah, RJ has been looking really good all day long.
22:32I mean, to me, he's another guy that's been charging.
22:34And ever since he got on his 450, we were talking about him earlier.
22:37So maybe I'll just calm down a little bit because we were talking about him and he fell over.
22:41But, you know, I talked to him in between the race, and he said he was just more comfortable.
22:46And he made some changes on the motorcycle.
22:48He felt better.
22:49And you can start to see it.
22:50And, you know, like you mentioned, like he gets used to riding with Aaron Plessinger.
22:54So at some point, you know, you just want to go get, I would say, his teammate, a rotten competitor.
22:59And he knows, you know, hey, Aaron's this close to him.
23:02Maybe I'll be able to get him.
23:03But I believe RJ and the Husqvarna team has stepped it up.
23:07And it's good to see him out here.
23:08Maybe he can break that spell at top five.
23:10Yeah, surprised to see Justin Cooper as the one who might not be able to keep that end of the bargain going
23:18as far as the same five being top five at every race because he was so fast this morning.
23:23But a rare day of two match starts.
23:25So he's fired at seven.
23:27Even with the crash, Prado is sixth ahead of him.
23:30And then just ahead of that, these two.
23:33And what do you see in here?
23:38How much gas is left in the figurative tank?
23:42Well, I would say Aaron the lights on at this point.
23:47The lights on because he's on E.
23:49Yeah, when you saw him land off that drop, he almost hit his head on the crossbar pad.
23:53So, yeah, I know there's some breaking bumps out here, but that body's starting to feel.
23:57And, again, that's kind of expected here at Southwick.
24:00He's still fighting.
24:02He's going to have some motivation fighting against his teammate, RJ.
24:05But, yeah, the gaslight zone for sure.
24:08Meanwhile, Anderson, Jason Anderson, who will talk to between motos,
24:12he has pulled out of this moto, dealing with the stomach issue, growing up in the races.
24:17Tried, not going to be able to finish this one.
24:19Made it 20 minutes.
24:21Plessinger still digging.
24:23Actually opened it back up.
24:25Yeah, as quickly as we're sitting here talking about Aaron and how quickly RJ got to him.
24:30You know, you look at that gap, and it's been like that all day long.
24:33Guys, once they close in him, that gap just stretches out.
24:36So, yeah, it seems like if Aaron would just jump out another 10 feet,
24:40it would make that racetrack so much easier.
24:42It would be a lot smoother, and that momentum would carry up.
24:45But, again, you know, not picking on him because, look, I've been in that same spot.
24:49But, just hindsight, you can kind of see it from this point of view,
24:53and it makes life easier for these guys.
24:57JT.
24:58Well, for AP here, James, you know, I watch him ride here.
25:01It's not like he's doing poorly.
25:02He's in fourth place.
25:03But I think AP is the classic example of a guy who really didn't grow up in the sand.
25:07Oh, JT, maybe the lack of experience showing there.
25:11We're cursing everyone with the announcer's currency today.
25:14Yeah, no, that wasn't JT.
25:15But I can tell when you saw when AP fell, he slid down.
25:19It was like he was in slow motion at that point.
25:21That body and that sudden heat that hits you, it's tough, JT.
25:26Yeah, and the point I was going to make before I jinxed him there was
25:29he just looks like a guy who is incredibly good,
25:32but is not a naturally gifted sand rider.
25:35Like, he's just fighting the motorcycle.
25:36He's fighting the racetrack.
25:38Because you think about a race like High Point, you think about Colorado.
25:41He was working with the racetrack.
25:43He looked so comfortable, and this is the exact episode of that,
25:46and now he's got Jorge Pryor to contend with.
25:49Yep, they're all past him now.
25:51That humidity catches up, and you can see the aggression is gone,
25:55and here comes Justin Cooper.
25:57Yeah, I mean, and when we talk about that heat
25:59and that Kawasaki signs of Supercross,
26:02this is what they're talking about, how that body reacts
26:04when the heat and all that stuff gets to him.
26:07Because I'm sure Aaron at this point is starting to feel lightheaded,
26:10like, you know, things that hit him,
26:11and, you know, that fall really just kind of caused that
26:15because he was already on the limit, as all these guys is.
26:18But when you stop, you've got to pick that bike up.
26:20It's really hard for him, but it shows you how dedicated all these athletes are
26:24because he'll recover, and he'll still stay out here for his moto.
26:28And, man, that's just tough.
26:32So we'll review some of these errors here.
26:34That's what's allowing Jay Coop to move toward the front.
26:36Here's Grotto's troubles.
26:39This is the first moto battling with Tomac over the bars.
26:44Yeah, it loses that front end.
26:45I actually believe his front end went over that berm, that one.
26:48And then here at Moto2, running second.
26:55Yeah, it looked like he actually might have ran into that lap rotter
26:59or he was trying to get out of that rut that was built.
27:00But either way, two costly mistakes because, I mean, he was riding really good.
27:05But still, still two crashes, got the fight on really tough conditions.
27:11I mean, if you hear Kawasaki, you see how Jorge jumped out that distance.
27:16That's where I was mentioning with Aaron and those guys.
27:18And even Jorge came up shorter.
27:20So if he jumped out another half a foot, it would be a lot smoother.
27:22But what it really helps him, one, it's a lot smoother because you are jumping,
27:26but it carries your momentum up so you don't have to pick that speed back up
27:29and fight that next corner.
27:31So it makes that whole section a lot easier.
27:33Like I said, a lot easier on this side of things.
27:36It's just a difference between what you're seeing from these guys and Jet Lawrence.
27:39And I think that's where that gap really comes from,
27:41that 15-second lead this guy's got over these guys.
27:44Prado getting through lap traffic while dealing with the pressure of Justin Cooper.
27:48They just got around Josh Toth, who we mentioned earlier.
27:52It's the Rocky Mountain ATVMC privateer of the week.
27:54Gets extra $2,000 to the local, but he's an off-road racer.
27:58Won the big GNCC at Snowshoe Mountain last week,
28:01but wanted to come out and race his local motocross qualified.
28:04The Toth is in 27th.
28:06They also just got around Joey Crown,
28:08who was once a big-time prospect for Kawasaki as an amateur.
28:12He's into retirement.
28:13He's coming back to race here and next week at Redbud.
28:16Crown now a lap down.
28:17And through that, Prado is having to negotiate those riders.
28:21Justin Cooper just not giving up.
28:23Bottom box is the leader, Jet Lawrence, who has lap traffic.
28:27More of it to deal with.
28:30Yeah, I mean, all these guys are out here surviving.
28:34And one guy that looks like he's having fun, I would say two guys,
28:36both Lawrence, Hunter, and Jet.
28:39I mean, Hunter was able to get around, I mean, pull away from Eli Tomac,
28:42actually passed him earlier.
28:44Now he's got a five-second gap on him.
28:46And Jet looks like he's having a Saturday cruise out here.
28:49It's a big day for all these guys.
28:54No cruise for J. Coop, though.
28:56He is powering down to try to get Prado.
28:58And he's currently tied for sixth overall with Hampshire.
29:06Hampshire has the edge.
29:07So this would move him to sixth if he could make this path.
29:10But I don't know if it has anything to do with that.
29:12You just see someone in front of him.
29:14And just wants to make moves.
29:15Yeah, he wants to make moves.
29:17And, you know, sometimes you can feel it out.
29:20You've got a guy in front of you.
29:21But I would say J. Coop hasn't raced this.
29:25You know, he's been racing George, not Jorge.
29:27So for him, again, I still say this is a good win for Monster Energy Kawasaki
29:32and stuff like that.
29:34And J. Coop, it's going to be a good day the way he rode.
29:37But really just difficult position for him to be in,
29:40given all that track position up those first few laps.
29:44Yeah, not the typical good start for him.
29:46But there he is, right there, on Prado's rear wheel now.
29:51This is for fifth.
29:52Hampshire's fourth.
29:55Plus it goes behind him because he crashed.
29:59Yeah, J. Coop knows, like, all right, if I can get Jorge now,
30:03I might be able to pull away from him
30:05because I don't think Jorge too much fight.
30:06There you go.
30:08No fight.
30:08So J. Coop makes a pass into fifth.
30:13And he's still going to miss that top five overall.
30:18It'll still be fifth for Prado that's going to break that string
30:22with the same five.
30:24So Lawrence is Tomac, Plessinger, and Justin Cooper.
30:27They've been top five in every race this year.
30:32It's going to be fourth overall now for Cooper.
30:35Wow, that changed in a hurry.
30:36Yeah.
30:38A couple guys go down.
30:39There you see on the left side.
30:40That's the overall.
30:42Lawrence, Lawrence, Tomac.
30:45Justin Cooper now tied with Prado, but the tiebreaker is that pass.
30:48Second moto.
30:48Yeah, so overall, I mean, kind of where he's been at all year long.
30:53Yeah.
30:53Good start, good start, bad start.
30:57Now here's something incredible, James.
30:59I don't know if it's good news that you want to hear, but if Jet Lawrence holds on to win this overall,
31:04I mean, it's 20th career win.
31:06And it's going to tie you for eight all-time in this 450 class.
31:11It's happening in a hurry.
31:12Yeah, I feel like we had such a good flow going today.
31:15Okay.
31:15It's just kind of something.
31:16Yeah.
31:17I mean, but look, something changed.
31:19Hey, you know what?
31:21I mean, when the guy wins, what, it would be 20 out of 21?
31:24Yes.
31:24The way he does, I mean, eventually the record was coming down.
31:27So, man, I'm just impressed watching the kid ride.
31:31And I would say, again, this is probably the most dominant ride that he's had his whole career, by far the best.
31:37And just like we talk about in Supercross, going to somebody else's favorite track,
31:42I believe he showed up here, meaning business life, and he gave him boys business so far today, if he can keep it going.
31:51One other story I want to tell.
31:52They're lapping, let's see, 214 to the Lawrences right now.
31:56Tome back at 218.
31:58Qualifying, they were running 201.
32:00What's the fast time for Justin Cooper?
32:03Just talk about that.
32:05Yeah, I mean, this track breaks down.
32:07And we saw from the advantage that you can get from being, you know, the beat practice, like we like to say.
32:13These guys have an opportunity to get out on the track and how smooth it is.
32:16But, yeah, a lot of that goes for the track super rough.
32:19And this is the only racetrack you'll go to all year long that you'll see the differences in lap times.
32:23And, one, the track has gotten a lot rougher.
32:28That's one.
32:29But all tracks do that.
32:30They all start off smooth.
32:32But I really think it comes down to just the fitness and just how hard it is to race this racetrack.
32:37And not only are you dealing with all the bumps, but you're dealing with the bike moving quite a bit because it is so hard back and, you know, slippery.
32:44So, just a lot of mental power.
32:47I think that's the lap times, Jake.
32:49Yeah, Justin Cooper, 19 seconds slower than he was in qualifying.
32:53That's not him.
32:53That's the track.
32:54This battle, now you've got Plessinger and Webb with Prado in sight.
32:58But Webb versus Plessinger is big.
33:00Justin Cooper, Webb, and Plessinger are 1-2-3 in the SMX combined playoff rankings.
33:07Webb's ahead of them, but they keep closing the gap.
33:11Yeah, and I believe this would change that fourth-place overall position because they're all tied at this point, too.
33:17Oh, that's right.
33:18They can take points away from Prado.
33:20Plessinger on the inside.
33:22Look at Webb.
33:23Hey, this is Cooper Webb.
33:25So, again, the last guy, just like Supercross, the last guy you want to have to deal with at the end of the race.
33:30And, you know, I'm sure Aaron's going to look back, see that number two, but, man, here we go again.
33:35So, Cooper Webb charging.
33:38Lap and a half to go at Southwick.
33:40Makes the pass.
33:42Yeah, I mean, he sees the number 70 in front.
33:44You know Cooper's going to try to go after him.
33:46And where was this?
33:48Cooper Webb all day.
33:51Now, really, these last two laps has uncorked it.
33:55He was good, but this is great.
33:56But isn't it Cooper Webb, though?
33:57Yeah.
33:58Like, exactly him.
33:59You're like, where was this guy?
34:01And all of a sudden, we've been talking about how good Jorge has been riding all day long.
34:04And that number two, pesky old number two, just comes through with the dad vibe, comes through, like, I'm going to get you guys out of business.
34:10But it just shows you, man, that Cooper's a champion, and it doesn't matter what position it is.
34:14He always goes out there and he races to compete.
34:17I love it.
34:20White flag should be coming out here.
34:22There's the gap.
34:23Actually, as they battled each other, Prado answered the call, pulled back away just a tad.
34:33Yeah, Cooper knows.
34:34He's got a lap and a half to kind of get him back.
34:38If he can kind of keep Jorge inside, keep this gap, then I believe he'll really go after him that last lap for sure.
34:49White flag now out for the Lawrence's up front.
34:51Oh, Webb's still lurking.
35:00Oh, the foot came off right there.
35:03He's hanging on his bike.
35:05Something hanging.
35:06Yeah, on the bottom there.
35:08Yeah.
35:08Even the bike's got the tongue out in the chain, right?
35:10Okay, so there's Jett Lawrence.
35:15He looks fine.
35:16Yeah, and you saw over our drone shot right there where Jett jumped out.
35:21But, you know, again, man, I think it just shows you how focused and talented this kid is.
35:28Just all these little bit of jumps and hopping around this racetrack, I mean, that just takes dedication and talent.
35:34But also, you know, studying this racetrack and kind of knowing, you know, these positions and really kind of changing that up.
35:42I mean, this is poetry in motion.
35:45We just saw Cooper Webb go through that same section and it looked like Cooper was in a whole different zip code.
35:49And this guy's just cruising.
35:51Last lap on the way at another 1-1.
35:55Dominant.
35:55Dominant.
35:56You say maybe his best ride ever?
35:58Yeah.
35:58Like you said.
35:59Yeah, just some of the circumstances.
36:00And, you know, you can look at it and you'd be like, all right, all of a sudden is he going, does he got a lot more speed than these guys?
36:08Well, when you look at the lap times, say it's the same speed that he has over these guys all year long.
36:13But just the way, the reason I say this is more of a dominant is because we know there are certain tracks hanged down, you know, southway where Eli Tomac is his biggest threat coming into this.
36:23And it just seems like when, just like, hey, Deacon in a 250 class, when anybody has, he goes to a place where they think they might have a chance, this dude just shows up.
36:32And the way he did it today by being super quick in the beginning part of the race is really impressive because that's not normally how he does it.
36:40But just over time, like, you just watch this guy build up.
36:43They were close to him.
36:44And all of a sudden it gets up to 10 seconds.
36:46I mean, it's 20 seconds, 32 seconds over Eli Tomac on southway, second moto, and he looks like he's on the Sunday crew.
36:52So if you're asking me, this is by far his dominant ride and the most complete I've seen this guy ride on his 450 career.
37:00Well, that's impressive if you are that impressed.
37:02But the numbers don't lie.
37:04Big gaps in both motos.
37:06Jet Lawrence, 1-1 on southway.
37:09Absolute domination for the number 18.
37:15And the cherry on the sundae, Lawrence's and Honda going to go 1-2 in both motos.
37:23Yeah, good route by Hunter making those passes after getting passed early.
37:29Got to be impressed with the HRC Honda guys.
37:33Eli Tomac, I think this is going to be a little head scratcher for him.
37:36I'm pretty curious of what happened.
37:41Yep.
37:42Ends up being a distant third.
37:44Had that one little surge get back to Hunter at one point.
37:46But he's going to be 12 seconds behind him at the end.
37:50The never-ending charge for Cooper Webb will get you back in touch with that.
37:55Prado is up the road now about six seconds.
37:58There you see them still battling.
38:01Checkered flag is waving.
38:04Racers are racers, man.
38:06Yeah.
38:07No matter what position it is, they're going for it right down to the wire.
38:10Yeah.
38:10And, again, we've been talking about it all day.
38:13But I do want to give Jorge a shout-out, man.
38:16I mean, I know I've been in that position.
38:18I actually came to this track in 05.
38:20And because of what happened in the first three rounds, I couldn't even finish this race because I was so demoralized, though.
38:25Not being able to win.
38:26And it was such a change for me.
38:27So for him to be out here fighting, especially what we saw a couple weekends ago, shout-out to him, the whole Kawasaki team.
38:33I know a lot of those guys over there.
38:34They put the effort into it, no matter what the results say.
38:37And I'm just happy to see this whole team just have some success with them.
38:42So good job, Jorge.
38:43Absolutely a sign of life there for Prado, who is fast in qualifying and in both motos today.
38:50And Cooper Webb showing his old grit.
38:52And that could help him in the SMX points when we combine Supercross and Motocross together.
38:58Because he did best at least Plessinger in that one.
39:00And look at that.
39:03Overall wins in this Premier class all-time.
39:06Just now tied with you.
39:08And moving up on Ken Roxton.
39:09You guys still could have put me here.
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