- 6/30/2025
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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.
02:39Has he made some work on the track?
02:40Has he 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.
03:23Hunter riding well in fourth.
03:26Barsha fifth.
03:27Barsha fifth.
03:27And 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 opening a couple lapses.
03:53Man, I know that hurt Daddy 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 this moto for sure.
04:08Okay, so, James, how does Eli play it in third?
04:10Is he as desperate to pass Prado if he sees Prado keeping Jet in sight?
04:16How 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.
04:51But 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.
05:15Let's see if you can continue that.
05:16Well, remember back to the opening round of the championship where they didn't run that scoop tire,
05:20which is usually better for starts.
05:22And the word for the team was not ready to hold shot yet.
05:25I 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, once these guys get a sense of any kind of confidence,
05:36and I felt like with Jorge, yeah, he might be struggling on a bike, new tracks,
05:40but it really just comes down to he believes, and 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, and 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, feels like a hundred times, this 1.3-second gap.
06:04Is that right where Lawrence wants them, or are they seriously applying pressure?
06:09It's been this way so many times.
06:12Now it's time to play the game with 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, and you've got to think, it's going to be a difficult race.
06:26It's going to be tough, all three of these guys are in shape.
06:29But once you get in those lap traffic, there'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, talking to Prado before the motos.
06:48Send it to Will.
06:50Chad, you've been at Club MX.
06:53Oh, hey, 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, I've been to so many of those things that he's going through.
07:19You 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 and you wish that, you know, at 24 years old, you had somebody with knowledge that would help.
07:34And 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.
07:48So for me, as a friend, as a, you know, as a Club MX guidance guy, it's a real pleasure to see him take a step.
07:57And all that experience that you're talking about, all those laps, not 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, you know, racing the best guys in the world.
08:22Those 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, they're 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.
08:41And I feel really honored.
08:44Very well-deserved.
08:45Thank you for your time, Chad.
08:45We appreciate it.
08:48Yeah, congratulations, Chad.
08:49I mean, I know when you get up there, it is a special feeling.
08:52And what he was talking about with Jorge, you know, just helping him out, you would think, in most sports, they're talking about coaching, you know, working 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.
09:04But 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, like, look, man, if you just stayed a course, I've been there through this.
09:14Like, look, I 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 see in him today.
09:23Maybe he got that help from Chad.
09:24JT.
09:25Yeah, yeah, and 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 Prado because when Chad wasn't riding very well, I'll tell you what happened.
09:34Eli went in and gave him an earful and told him who he was, and 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, I'll tell you one thing.
09:45You can pull the pictures off the telephone poles.
09:47You can take his picture off of the milk jugs.
09:49Jorge Prado 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 cross flag.
10:17We've got a rollish 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.
10:31Oh, 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.
10:57Yep, they battled in moto one.
11:00Cooper Webb, Justin Cooper.
11:02Seventh and eighth.
11:03Oh!
11:04Hold on to that, Cooper Webb.
11:06Yeah, that's a tough one.
11:08Then it looks like Justin Cooper goes off the racetracks as well.
11:12Look at Jay Cooper, though.
11:13He'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 to 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.
11:48And you get the inside look at Yamaha's factory-supported teams.
11:51Again, that's At Yamaha Motor USA YouTube channel.
11:55New 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.
12:05Yeah, 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.
12:29He 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.
13:02I 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 ten seconds back.
13:09And a couple laps later, you know, he doesn't even look the same.
13:13So you wonder if it's he just realized Jett's on a different level.
13:18And that might be demoralized or maybe something else happened or 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, and he was able to somewhat do that.
13:31But it's a big statement here by Jett Lawrence, depending on what's going on at this moment.
13:38Yeah, we thought Eli might be smoted 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.
14:07And so, no offense, it is Eli because I feel like Hunter Lawrence, this is a good feeling for him.
14:12If he's able to get around Eli Tomac 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, but all of them are feeling completely different.
14:23Just feel like that number three, there must be something going on because, you know, I don't care beast mode or not.
14:29For him to run down Jett Lawrence, like 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 confidence to be able to give that this much gap to be able to pull him down.
14:40Now actually getting Prado back in sight, but 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.
14:52I mean, right now with Eli, there's definitely something going on.
14:56Yeah, he looks tired, but 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.
15:17Could be a Lawrence 1-2 again, because now Prado is in his sights.
15:23Yeah, 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.
15:36Now, 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, no, he looks good.
15:50I mean, even that first moto, he looked good.
15:52Yep.
15:53He was just unfortunate.
15:54His 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.
16:12And the same thing that happened in the first moto, Hunter was in a position to save some energy as well because Jet was so far in front.
16:19Hunter had a good gap on third place.
16:21So 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, first moto, now he's able to really patient and take all the risk out.
16:50If there's some rough parts at his racetrack, he'll just go a little bit slower here.
16:54He can pick his way around this racetrack to where he's saving energy.
16:57And, 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 Rotten, as good as he is, I mean, to pull the gap on this field, I don't even know what to say with this.
17:16This is dominant.
17:17And the domination train continues for him.
17:20So 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.
18:02JT, 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, 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.
18:31If he's getting better halfway through this moto.
18:34Reminder, 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 it goes down.
18:50Oh, that's a bummer.
18:51That lap rider was in front, and it looks like Jorge loses the front.
18:54And, 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.
19:02About 10 seconds, 12 seconds on air.
19:04And that's going to cost him 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,
19:26he's averaging 30, 40 miles an hour, you 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, his frustration, and it's also his body temperature skyrocketing in that moment.
19:54Yeah, I mean, I agree.
19:56It's, I mean, and it's weird how it hits you.
19:58It's like an instant stop, and for sure, Jorge, how's good he's been riding?
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 Tomac's back.
20:19He started to close back in on Hunter Lawrence, and he was 3 tenths of a second faster the last time around.
20:25I don't know what happened there for a few laps.
20:28But 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 in second place.
20:39His goal is to run with Jett 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.
20:47There was probably some little bit of frustration going on watching Jett Lawrence pull away from him, and 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.
21:13He's got a long time to see if he can work on Hunter Lawrence.
21:16But there's just certain areas that watching Eli ride and even with Hunter that I see with Jett, how Jett's just really attacking his racetrack, how he's just jumping out a little bit farther.
21:25That really makes the race a lot easier for Jett Lawrence, and unfortunately for these guys, they can't see that until they go back and watch the race tomorrow.
21:33But they'll see where Jett's really making his time up.
21:36If you look overall as fast as lap time, I mean, Jorge with Eli, they're within a second, so 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 Jett that gap, and 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, so 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.
22:11Good to get him in this mix.
22:14Remember, he has a 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.
22:31I mean, to me, he's another guy that's been charging, and ever since he got on his 450, we were talking about him earlier, so 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, and he made some changes on the motorcycle.
22:48He felt better, and you can start to see it.
22:50And, you know, like you mentioned, like he gets used to riding with Aaron Plessinger, so at some point, you know, you just want to go get, I would say, his teammate or riding competitor.
22:58And he knows, you know, hey, Aaron's this close to him, maybe I'll be able to get him, but I believe RJ and the Husqvarna team has stepped it up, and it's good to see him out here.
23:08Maybe he can break that spell at top five.
23:12Yeah, surprised to see Justin Cooper as the one who might not be able to keep that end of the bargain going as far as the same five being top five at every race because he was so fast this morning.
23:22But a rare day of two bad starts, so he's fired at seventh, even with the crash.
23:28Prado is sixth ahead of him, and then just ahead of that, these two.
23:36And 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 if he's on E.
23:49Yeah, when you saw him land off that jump, 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, and again, that's kind of, that's expected here at Southwick.
24:00He's still fighting.
24:02He's going to have some motivation fighting against his teammate, RJ, but, yeah, the gaslight zone for sure.
24:08Meanwhile, Anderson, Jason Anderson, who will talk to between motos, he has pulled out of this moto, dealing with the stomach issue, growing up in the races.
24:16He's tried, not going to be able to finish this one, made it 20 minutes.
24:21Plessinger still digging.
24:23Actually opened it back up.
24:25Yeah, as quickly as we were sitting here talking about Aaron and how quickly RJ got to him, you 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.
24:35So, yeah, it seems like if Aaron would just jump out another 10 feet, it 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.
24:49It's just hindsight.
24:51You can kind of see it from this point of view, and it makes life easier for these guys.
24:54J.T.
24:58Well, for A.P. 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 A.P. is the classic example of a guy who really didn't grow up in the sand.
25:07Oh, J.T., maybe the lack of experience showing there for cursing everyone with the announcer's curse today.
25:14Yeah, no, that wasn't J.T., but I could tell when you saw when A.P. 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, J.T.
25:26Yeah, and the point I was going to make before I jinxed him there was he 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 because you think about a race like High Point.
25:39You 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 whole heat prior to contend with.
25:49Yep, they're all passing him now as that humidity catches up,
25:53and you can see the aggression is gone, and here comes Justin Cooper.
25:57Yeah, I mean, and when we talk about that heat and that Kawasaki signs the Supercross,
26:02this is what they're talking about, how that body reacts when the heat and all that stuff gets to him
26:07because I'm sure Aaron at this point is starting to feel lightheaded, like, you know, things that hit him,
26:11and, you know, that fall really just kind of caused that because he was already on the limit,
26:17as all these guys are, but 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 this moto, and, man, that's just tough.
26:29So we'll review some of these errors here.
26:34That's what's allowing J. Coop to move toward the front.
26:36Here's Prado's troubles.
26:39This is the first moto battling with Tomac over the bars.
26:44Yeah, he loses that front end.
26:45I actually believe his front end went over that berm, that one.
26:50And then here, Moto 2, running second.
26:52Yeah, 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, but either way,
27:02two costly mistakes because, I mean, he was rotting 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, and even Jorge came up shorter,
27:19so 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, like 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 Jett 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 ATV MC Privateer of the week.
27:54Gets extra $2,000 to Toth, a local, but he's an off-road racer.
27:58Won the big GMCC at Snowshoe Mountain last week,
28:01but wanted to come out and race his local motocross qualified.
28:04Toth 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.
28:24Bottom box is the leader.
28:25Jett Lawrence, who has lap traffic, more 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,
28:35I would say two guys, both Lawrence, Hunter and Jett.
28:39I mean, Hunter was able to get around,
28:41I mean, pull away from Eli Tomac, actually passed him earlier,
28:43now getting a five-second gap on him.
28:46And Jett 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
29:30for Monster Energy Kawasaki and 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.
29:43Yeah, 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.
29:55Plessinger's 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, a 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,
30:46but the tiebreaker is that pass second moto.
30:49Yes, overall, I mean, kind of where he's been at all year long.
30:53Yep, 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,
31:01but if Jet Lawrence holds on to win this overall,
31:04I mean, it's 20th career win.
31:06It'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...
31:16Something?
31:16Yeah, I mean, but look, something changed.
31:19Hey, you know what?
31:21I mean, when the guy wins, what, it'd 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,
31:32this is probably the most dominant ride that he's had his whole career,
31:36by far the best.
31:37And just like we talk about in Supercross,
31:40going to somebody else's favorite track,
31:42I believe he showed up here, meaning business life,
31:45and he gave him boys business so far today,
31:48if he can keep it going.
31:51One other story I want to tell.
31:52They were laughing, let's see, 214 to the Lawrences right now.
31:56Tomek at 218.
31:58Qualifying, they were running 201 was 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,
32:11you know, the beat practice, like we like to say,
32:13these guys have an opportunity to get out on the track,
32:15and 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
32:21that you'll see the differences in lap times.
32:24And, 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
32:34and just how hard it is to race this racetrack.
32:37And not only are you dealing with all the bumps,
32:39but you're dealing with the bike moving quite a bit
32:42because it is so hard back and, you know, slippery.
32:45So just a lot of mental power.
32:47I think that's the lap times, Jake.
32:48Yeah, 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.
33:01Justin Cooper, Webb, and Plessinger are 1-2-3
33:04in 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
33:16because they're all tied at this point, too.
33:17Oh, that's right.
33:18They can take points away from Prado.
33:21Let's take her on the inside.
33:22Look at Webb.
33:23Hey, this is Cooper Webb.
33:25So, again, last guy, just like Supercross,
33:28last 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,
33:33see that number two, but, man, here we go again.
33:36Cooper 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.
33:47Where was this?
33:49Cooper Webb all day.
33:50Now, 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.
33:57Like, exactly him.
33:59He's like, where was this guy?
34:01And all of a sudden, we've been talking about how good
34:02Jorge's been riding all day long,
34:04and that number two, pesky old number two,
34:07just comes through with the dad vibe,
34:08comes through, like, I'm going to give you guys
34:09a lot of business,
34:10but I mean, it shows you, man, that Cooper's a champion,
34:12and 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,
34:24Prado answered the call, pulled back away just a tad.
34:28Yeah, Cooper knows he's got a lap and a half
34:36to kind of get him back.
34:38If he can kind of keep Jorge inside, keep this gap,
34:41then I believe he'll really go after him
34:42that last lap for sure.
34:49White flag now out for the Lawrences 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, even 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
35:19where Jett jumped out.
35:22You know, again, man, I think it just shows you
35:25how focused and talented this kid is.
35:28Just all these little bit of jumps
35:30and hopping around this racetrack.
35:32I mean, that just takes dedication and talent,
35:34but also, you know, studying this racetrack
35:36and kind of knowing, you know, these positions
35:39and 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,
35:46and 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. Dominant.
35:56You say maybe his best ride ever?
35:58Yeah.
35:58Like you said.
35:59Yeah, just some of the circumstances,
36:01and, you know, you can look at it,
36:04and you'll be like, all right,
36:04all of a sudden is he going,
36:06does he got a lot more speed than these guys?
36:08Well, when you look at the lap times,
36:09say it's the same speed that he has
36:11over these guys all year long,
36:13but just the way,
36:15the reason I say this is more of a dominant
36:16is because we know there are certain tracks,
36:19Hangtown, you know, Southway,
36:20where Eli Tomek is his biggest threat coming into this,
36:24and it just seems like when,
36:25just like Hayden Deacon had a 250 class,
36:27when anybody has,
36:28he goes to a place where they think
36:29they might have a chance,
36:30this dude just shows up,
36:32and the way he did it today
36:34by being super quick in the beginning part of the race
36:36is really impressive
36:37because that's not normally how he does it,
36:40but just over time,
36:41like 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,
36:47I mean, it's 20 seconds,
36:4832 seconds over Eli Tomek on Southway,
36:50second moto,
36:51and he looks like he's on the Sunday cruise,
36:52so if you're asking me,
36:53this is by far his dominant ride
36:55and the most complete I've seen this guy ride
36:58on 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,
37:081-1 on Southway,
37:10absolute domination for the number 18,
37:15and the cherry on the Sunday,
37:18Lawrence's and Honda going to go 1-2 in both motos.
37:22Yeah, a good ride by Hunter,
37:25making those passes after getting passed early.
37:29Got to be impressed with the HRC Honda guys,
37:32and Eli Tomek,
37:34I think this is going to be a little head-scratcher for him.
37:39Be curious of what happened.
37:41Yep, ends 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.
37:49But the never-ending charge for Cooper Webb
37:52will get you back in touch with that.
37:55Prado is up the road now,
37:57about 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,
38:08they're going for it right down to the wire.
38:10Yeah, and again,
38:11we'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,
38:22I couldn't even finish this race
38:23because 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,
38:28especially what we saw a couple weekends ago,
38:31shout-out to him, the whole Kawasaki team.
38:33I know a lot of those guys over there.
38:34They put the effort into it,
38:36no matter what the results say,
38:37and I'm just happy to see this whole team
38:39just have some success with them.
38:42So good job, Jorge.
38:45Absolutely a sign of life there for Prado,
38:47who 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
38:55when we combine Supercross and Motocross together
38:57because he did best at least Plessinger in that one.
39:01And look at that.
39:03Overall wins in this Premier Class all-time.
39:06Jeff's now tied with you,
39:08and moving up on Ken Roxton.
39:09You guys still could have put me here.
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