- 6 days ago
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00:00Hayden Deegan, you just want to have a bounce back weekend, you know, all the stuff that's off the track, on the track, we see what happens when guys get confidence, so if you're Hayden Deegan, you want to get a bounce back, and for the other guys, when the door opens, you've got to walk through it, actually, when the door opens, you've got to kick it open and walk through it, because I don't think Hayden Deegan's going to let anybody get anything done, so they know what they've got to do, looks like we've got some trouble on the track.
00:24Yeah, yeah, one rider cannot get the bike fired, mechanics are moving away from the start gate, because the gate is about to drop, so those are the KTM keys to the moto, there's the fly racing 30 second board, four straight hours of racing coming your way, here on Peacock, 450 moto one will be up after this, and each class runs two motos, 30 minutes, two laps to distance, and 40 riders on the gate, let's get it started here in Spring Creek.
00:54Jeremy Martin, are you kidding me, Jeremy Martin, are you kidding me, Jeremy Martin, and what will be his retirement race in his home track, the whole shot, if you can hear it, it's crowd right now, they are going, none.
01:10And we just want to hear it, you couldn't have scripted that better, except half-acre, and Shimoda, second and third.
01:24Yeah, good start by Joe Shimoda, this is exactly what he did last weekend, just kind of got there, let the race go, Seth has been fast all day long, but man, I can't believe how loud this crowd is right here, we feel like we're in the Supercross.
01:34And he was quick, and he was quick, right up the top, in qualifying, third fastest, so he has speed.
01:41The two-time champion of this class, in his final run leads.
01:45That is poetic, but now Hamaker looking to make the pass, he's setting himself up on the inside.
02:06Yeah, Seth knows this might be an opportunity, J-Mart needs to go down the inside, well, I shouldn't tell him, he knows everywhere to go on this racetrack, but he should have went down the inside, I knew Seth was going to try to make that move, but let's see if Jeremy can slingshot around the outside, get back towards the inside over here, get him a lap.
02:22Almost! That's the old-school corner speed there from Martin, not quite enough this time, Seth Hamaker locks down the number one spot.
02:34It's love hearing the crowd here, so, Jeremy was going to race a couple rounds for his own team here, Star Racing Yamaha, crashed at Hangtown, said, I'll be back for one more, and he's making the most of it at Millville.
02:48And as you mentioned earlier, Jeremy has been quick all day long, so it's not like he's one of those guys that shouldn't fade back, you know, he has the speed, he might get a little nervous, but hey, it's good to see him up there, and then that's Hayden Deegan's making his way up into that fourth place right now.
03:09Deegan, Modes have been right behind him, Haram, but you've got to watch Shimoda there, last week's winner, who's up ahead of Deegan in third.
03:16Yeah, looking for Levi Kitchen, he's down in 14th right now, and so him and Tommy out, 13th and 14th, not the start they wanted to get, but you can see these guys starting to get spread out, but if I'm Hayden Deegan, I'm in a great spot.
03:29Probably going to try to make the move on Joe Shimoda early in the race and try to get him out of his normal routine, because as this race goes on, that number 30 on the HRC, I think he will get better, and with the confidence from last weekend, I feel like he actually believes he can beat Hayden Deegan.
03:43Boy, he's going to get a shot right now.
03:46Yeah, Shimoda usually gets better, as he says, if the track gets rougher later in the moto later in the day, so right now, though, Deegan is going to put the attack on.
03:57And just up ahead, you see Martin and Hamaker.
04:02JT.
04:03Watching Hayden Deegan here, I just wanted to see if he would be able to push.
04:07You know, he's dealing with that injury, just not sure how sore he's going to be.
04:10He didn't ride all week.
04:11He went through those qualifying sessions, obviously looked great, but the upside here, the positive signs, he's willing to flatland jumps.
04:18He's willing to push and get way out of his comfort zone.
04:21And as you see him make the move there on Shimoda, that is a great sign to the number one that he's feeling a lot better than he did a week ago.
04:28Yeah, JT.
04:29And actually talking with Brent Duffy, his mechanic, they actually added some foam to the bottom side of those handlebars,
04:34just in case anything were to go wrong with his leg, if it was a bumping, they just want to avoid any extra hurt for him.
04:41Of course, after last weekend, there was some questioning as to what was really going on.
04:45It turned out, in talking with Brian Deegan earlier today, there was an issue with the fascia and the leg.
04:50A lot of bruising, a lot of swelling, but nothing that's going to be damaging long term.
04:55What a move by Deegan on that outside.
04:58I mean, he just saw what happened right in front of him.
05:00But I think for Joe Shimoda, Hayden's been fast all day long, and Joe wasn't the fastest, but he's within a second.
05:08So for him, just follow him.
05:10You know, Hayden Deegan going around you is not surprising.
05:12You just don't want to lose toe.
05:14And if Hayden makes a move, you need to make a move, because I would say that's been Joe's only weakness is Hayden gets through the pack a little bit quicker,
05:21and the next thing you know, Joe has to, you know, make those passes, and that gap's already gone.
05:25But you can see Joe's even picked up the intensity, because he sees Hayden trying to get away as well.
05:31Yeah, Joe's sticking with him.
05:32There's Martin up ahead, and Hamaker has about a three-second lead on this pack.
05:37And then a little further back, bottom box, it's Moseman and Harrop.
05:41That's next in line, fifth and sixth.
05:44Jordan Smith, Max Boland, Drew Adams, Garrett Marchbanks.
05:47Round out the top ten, Kitchin, still 14th, last year's winner.
05:52Yeah, I'm curious to see how Harrop, being this close to the front, you know, this early in the race,
05:58if he can run this pace.
05:59And the guy in front of it, Michael Moseman, last weekend he had a great ride getting on the podium.
06:04And I think for him, he's been riding good, just has some bike issues.
06:09So if he could just stay with them, maybe they could just close up,
06:12or at least stay in that top five, but good ride so far.
06:15Good ride by Shimoda, the way Deegan stormed around him.
06:18But he was able to get back to him, but then just that little S-turn section there.
06:23Now Deegan opens up a couple of bike lanes.
06:25Yeah, and I think this is a difference.
06:27Joe takes a little bit of get going, and that little bit of intensity is where that gap going.
06:30But Hayden's willing to go down to that corner, slam into it, bike wide open.
06:34Joe's still trying to warm up, and that's what I mean.
06:36He needs to just stay on Hayden, not let him get too far.
06:39Because as the race goes on, Hayden won't be able to hit those corners that hard.
06:43And I think it plays into Joe's hand, but he's got to stay with him.
06:47As for Deegan, now trying to track down Jeremy Martin, that is poetic in its own way as well.
06:56Not only has Martin put together one of the best 250 careers ever,
06:59he's top five in nearly every statistical category in this class.
07:04But he, and also Cooper Webb at that time, really kick-started this team's run of dominance.
07:08They were not a team that was winning a lot of races or any titles until 2014.
07:13When those two came out, they were going one and two consistently.
07:17That kicked off two straight titles for Martin,
07:19and that run by Yamaha has continued through this day with Deegan.
07:23And now they're battling on track.
07:26As the Kawasaki boys who always seem to be hearing each other battle in the bottom box,
07:30it's March Banks Adams.
07:32Yeah, and I think it's good to see Drew Adams up here.
07:35He's had a good pace in qualifying.
07:37And, yeah, just going back to Jeremy, as you were saying,
07:40like it felt like it came out of nowhere.
07:41Yes.
07:42And for two years, I mean, this dude was dominant, you know,
07:45really getting his thing and looked really comfortable.
07:47Looked like the guy that we're watching on the screen.
07:48So no surprise.
07:50It's been a few years, so that memory, it's there,
07:53but it's been a while since he has.
07:54But I think he's enjoying it, having a good time.
07:57And he looks good.
07:57He's not holding Hayden up, and he's keeping Seth right in check.
08:01So he does have some pace going, but this Hayden Deegan,
08:04Hayden's got this outside figured out.
08:06See if he makes up for some time on him.
08:10I'll show you the career stats for Jeremy Martin there.
08:14And you see he's only 16th all-time in starts.
08:17So when you're 5th all-time in moto wins, 4th in overall wins,
08:21and 2nd in podiums, that says a lot about the kind of damage he did in this class.
08:26Not just the two title years, but year after year is winning.
08:30Motos was battling for the title.
08:32But he's about to pass that baton on.
08:35A little further back in the bottom box,
08:37see Tom Vial has now caught those Kawasaki's.
08:39He's in 11th.
08:41Yeah, and Jeremy's actually starting to close in on our leader.
08:44So he's about a half a second faster than Seth Handmaker.
08:47Made a little mistake right there.
08:49And as I mentioned in his 250 class, this track's really fast.
08:53So any mistakes in the corner, you can lose a lot of time,
08:56especially on the bottom of Mount Martin.
08:58But Jeremy, I believe if he stays here, he's only going to get more confidence.
09:02We know he's in shape, and he knows he's done a few laps around this racetrack as well.
09:07Well, on the right side of this section is the house he grew up,
09:11and it's his parents on the track back to JT.
09:14Well, James, I just wanted to add on to what you were saying there,
09:17and I agree so much, the toughest part, in my opinion, for J-Mart
09:20is to match intensity early, because the older you get,
09:23that's just a really hard thing to maintain.
09:26So you see him start to come back towards Handmaker.
09:29And you think about J-Mart, he's been training for marathons,
09:31so fitness shouldn't really be an issue.
09:33And if he can hang in there early,
09:35this guy might be in a little bit of trouble late.
09:38Yeah, no, I agree.
09:39I mean, the older I get, I used to hop out of bed.
09:41Now I've got to hop out of, like, roll out of bed,
09:44and slowly get the coffee, and then we start getting it.
09:47So, but J-Mart, he's definitely figuring it out,
09:50and you can tell he's starting to get more confidence.
09:52And, I mean, how can you not?
09:53You're holding off Hayden Deegan, you're closing down the lead,
09:56and you know this place like the back of your hand.
09:59So win this moto, go home, drop the trophy off,
10:02come back and hang out for the moto right here.
10:05Look at the lap time.
10:06So last three, Handmaker was faster twice,
10:10but the last time around, Martin was quicker,
10:12and I believe that's going to hold here.
10:14He continues to close the gap.
10:17Handmaker's career best in pro motocross is a third.
10:19He had a high point a couple of weeks ago,
10:22and he hasn't led laps since 2022 until right now.
10:27Yeah, one thing Jeremy's always been strong at his whole career
10:31is corner speed.
10:33When he's in the zone, man, this guy can ride ruts in corners,
10:36and that's where I see him closing in on Seth Handmaker.
10:39I think the biggest thing for Jeremy,
10:41you've got to wonder where his mindset is.
10:43Is he worried about just trying to get out here and lead this race,
10:45or is he actually concerned about getting a finish?
10:47Because I believe a finish, a top five, is in his wheelhouse pretty easy,
10:51but you know he wants to go out with a bang,
10:54and you just want to make sure you manage those expectations
10:56and not really throw this thing away.
10:58But he looks more comfortable to me than even Seth,
11:01and he's starting to get away from Hayden as well.
11:03He's going to manage the expectations for his team 2-0, Bobby Reagan.
11:08The team owner is going to get excited and say,
11:10hey, you're this fast.
11:12Can you maybe come back again next weekend?
11:15Watch Seagull.
11:16They already tried that at the beginning of the year,
11:18then the big crash at Hagtown.
11:20Kind of dampened any of the idea of him being back as a full-time racer,
11:23but what a way to go out.
11:25Going to be one and done is the plan here.
11:28But I don't know.
11:28It might be one, as in winning and done.
11:31Yeah, go one and done.
11:34That's fine enough.
11:35But yeah, Jeremy, he's got to calm down.
11:37He saw you overshot that corner, but so far so good, JT.
11:41Yeah, just watching Jeremy.
11:42Remember, he was in the booth with you, Weege, here in 2022,
11:45a part of the Legends Tour that we did that summer.
11:47James, your first race was Bugs Creek that year.
11:50So now the question is, James, if Bobby gives you a call this week,
11:53are you suiting up for Washouga?
11:54Because it's going pretty well so far.
11:56Yeah, well, let's see how Jeremy finishes his moto.
12:00If he gets out and wins, still not coming out.
12:02All right.
12:03Spoiler alert.
12:05Yes.
12:06You're sure, Stu?
12:07We can encourage you like the pit boards are for Jeremy.
12:10They're saying just breathe and focus forward and talk to his mechanic.
12:13He's saying they know the track.
12:15He knows how to get the job done.
12:16He just has to make sure he's not looking behind him.
12:19Yeah, I think Jeremy right now is looking in front of him.
12:23I think for him, the closer he gets to Seth,
12:26then I see him starting to make some mistakes
12:28because I think he's getting excited, realizing that he's this close.
12:31If he just kind of calms down, let this race go, I mean, who knows?
12:35He might have a chance.
12:36But, again, he actually looks really, really good to me.
12:40The only time I see him making mistakes is when he does get that close.
12:43He gets excited.
12:44He almost runs off the racetrack.
12:46But Jeremy Martin is figuring it out.
12:47And then every time he does that, he pulls away
12:49and closes in on that gap at the league.
12:51What's the take on Deegan here in third?
12:53Sometimes he closes,
12:54but then sometimes Martin actually pulls away from the champion.
12:57Yeah, I think it's because how good Jeremy's rotting.
13:01You know, Deegan's – Joe's still close to Hayden,
13:04so it's not like Hayden's just sitting back.
13:06He doesn't want to have to deal with Joe at the end of the moto.
13:08So Hayden's trying to get around him, but Jeremy is rotting really good,
13:13and Hayden closes in when Jeremy makes that mistake.
13:15So more about what Jeremy's doing.
13:16But Hayden does have a really good line right here.
13:18I think these outsides are still working for him.
13:22And it looks like Jeremy's going to let him go through.
13:24Wow, that happened in a hurry.
13:26And, yeah, not much fight from the number six.
13:28And so Deegan now in the second.
13:30By the way, we did talk to Jeremy yesterday.
13:32He just took a face full of ruse.
13:33He took a cleaner yesterday when we asked him about this weekend.
13:36It's entered my mind that it's my last race.
13:40It's bittersweet, right?
13:42And I think the biggest thing that I'm, like, holding on to
13:44and I've been thinking about a lot is I was four years old when I first learned how to ride,
13:48and it was on a PW50 with my brother and my dad right back there in front of the house.
13:54You know, it wasn't even on the track.
13:55It was in the field that the people are camping on right now.
13:58And, you know, 2013, I led my first laps, and I remember the crowd just erupting, and it was insane.
14:06I won't ever forget it to this day.
14:09And it was very similar to that today when he got the lead with that whole shot.
14:14Now back to third, and Deegan going to put the attack on Handmaker.
14:18And Jeremy looks over to measure the gap between himself and Shimoda.
14:24Set it to JT again.
14:25Jeremy here, you know, no one's more comfortable than him here.
14:29We know that.
14:30But I'll tell you, I would actually rather see him behind Deegan.
14:33I was watching him there.
14:34He was pressing really hard there to try to catch Seth.
14:37The front stepped out multiple times.
14:40So I think at this part of the race, you're approaching halfway.
14:42Settle in a little bit.
14:43Maybe look at where Hayden's going.
14:45Let the race unfold because he was getting really close to making a critical mistake there.
14:50You can see he's relaxed a little bit.
14:52You can see Handmaker go down there.
14:54Good call, JT.
14:55We saw the yellow flags and then the green motorcycle.
14:57So now Deegan is in the lead.
14:59Martin's second.
15:01Shimoda going to get by as well.
15:02And truthfully, that should give, you know, Jeremy more confidence because those guys were pushing.
15:08Seth was pushing it.
15:10So, yeah, you start to wonder, is that a little bit of arm pump from not racing?
15:13Or he's in a weird spot.
15:15Jeremy, that is, because he doesn't want to get in the mix and get into this title and hurt his teammate.
15:20But I do believe he has the pace.
15:22And let's see what happens, how he reacts to this.
15:24But still a good, strong rod.
15:25So then Handmaker gets behind Shimoda at this point.
15:29And we have the Handmaker crash on a replay here.
15:34Now, this is a very fast section.
15:35Seth goes in here.
15:37You can see him starting to lose the front end.
15:39Actually, a pretty good save because he started losing the front end.
15:41It hooked up.
15:42But luckily for him, he was able to get the front tire off that jump.
15:45Otherwise, he would have a big high side.
15:46So, tip over.
15:48It's going to be costly for losing that position.
15:50But he was able to get back up behind Joe Shimoda on a bad ball.
15:55Yeah, you're saying a good save.
15:57He still crashed.
15:58But he saved it from what could have been a big one.
16:01Yeah, it could have been a lot worse.
16:02You can see when he came in there, that front end started tucking, knifing on him.
16:06And it's because of how fast they're going in that section.
16:08But because that jump ran out, his front tire got off.
16:11They didn't hook him and slam him down.
16:13So, he's going to be bummed out.
16:14But it would have been a lot worse if that thing would have high-sided him off that ramp.
16:19Yeah, you go back to 2013.
16:21Jeremy Martin mentioned leading for the first time here when he was a rookie.
16:24I think that was the same year Ken Roxton had a similar crash to Handaker,
16:27but on the bad side.
16:29And he went flying.
16:31And it was a brutal one.
16:33Deegan now starting to pull away and giving a look back.
16:37Halfway through this one, Monster Energy available now at Quick Trip.
16:41And riding all the wrongs from Red Buddy is the number one right now.
16:46Yeah, now Jeremy's starting to settle down.
16:48Now he's got that pace.
16:49But you can see how fast they're coming into this.
16:51You get those braking bumps.
16:53All those bikes are going in.
16:54So, but you look at the whoops.
16:57That's where Deegan has made his time.
16:59Yeah, I believe where Hayden's really making his time is the end of the second set.
17:03He's going outside and he just carries his momentum around this.
17:06Like, he still has to, sweeping these corners.
17:09Got a lot more momentum.
17:10And when these guys are starting to break, Hayden's on the gas because he's going around this jump.
17:15And he's just carrying that momentum out.
17:18Which Jeremy followed that line.
17:20But you can see the gap that he's able to pull.
17:23It's like Shimoda now closing off Martin.
17:26Yeah, Jeremy almost lost the front end right there.
17:28I think when Hayden was looking back over that finish line, he was looking at Joe, not necessarily Jeremy.
17:34He wants to see what a number 30 is because he knows he's going to be strong for the end of the photo of Katie.
17:40Yeah, Stu, they were talking about how good Joe's fitness was here this week.
17:44His pace has been good.
17:45Of course, those starts is what he needed to work on, which he had a decent one out there.
17:49However, they said around this track, the place to really keep an eye on are the hills.
17:54Joe was saying that this is one of his favorite tracks.
17:56And for that very reason, he feels he can make up a whole lot of time.
17:59So you two up there in the booth, JT, keep an eye on the hills and see if that is where we're seeing Joe make some of these moves here moving forward.
18:06That's where we're watching right now, Katie.
18:08Tries to close on Martin.
18:10And it is, yeah, not that big a gap.
18:13Actually, it's only 2.9 between Deegan and Shimoda.
18:16This one not over.
18:17No, and you wonder how much Jeremy's going to bite Joe.
18:21Will he let him go around like he did Hayden?
18:23And I suspect he probably will.
18:24But once Joe gets to the point where he's all over, Jeremy's not going to want to hold him up, even though Hayden Deegan's his teammate.
18:30But at the end of the day, you've got to start wondering how Hayden's leg, you know, is that thing going to start coming into factor?
18:37Because for him, if I'm Hayden Deegan, I got that injury, I need to get away.
18:40And this 2.5 seconds or 3.5 seconds over Joe Shimoda isn't big enough.
18:44Because we know how strong he is at the end of the motos.
18:48Yeah, Deegan added about two tenths to Shimoda the last time around.
18:53See the difference, 158.9 versus the 159.1.
18:57As they head to the sand wash again.
18:58Yeah, and these sand rollers is very important to kind of stay on top of those things.
19:09If you get dropped down in the middle, one, it slows your momentum down.
19:13It beats you up as a rider, but you just lose a lot of time.
19:16Now this inside is starting to play in.
19:19And why that's starting to work is because it opens up this next lane.
19:22And if you notice, Joe went inside of that corner after the rollers.
19:25He cut down on the next corner, and he's starting to open up that whole section.
19:29So as the track gets rougher, that line that Joe's having is going to play in
19:33because he's starting to miss all those bumps.
19:34You can see him closing in on Jeremy right now.
19:37I've got to imagine that's a huge adrenaline rush when Jeremy gets out front of that first lap.
19:42Can that wear off?
19:43Oh, and there it goes.
19:45There goes Shimoda up to second around Martin.
19:47Right on cue.
19:48That's what I'm saying.
19:50Is there a moment where you think reality starts to sit in?
19:52We're 20 minutes in now.
19:54Or we know he's fit, so maybe not.
19:56Yeah, well, I mean, I honestly don't think it's about fitness.
19:59And all of a sudden, you come off the couch, and you go up against Hayden Deegan and Joe Shimoda.
20:04These guys have been the cream of the crop in this 250.
20:06I think he's starting to tighten up.
20:08And how fast this racetrack is, it's really easy to happen.
20:10And with this hard base, and I don't care if you live here or you don't,
20:14it's just still a tricky racetrack for him.
20:16So to me, it's not fitness.
20:17It's more of him tightening up and just holding your breath, being in the lead,
20:21going that fast off coming off the couch.
20:23It didn't make anyone tight.
20:24Maybe that's what he's experiencing.
20:25Yeah, a lot of riders talking about the track a little bit harder,
20:28not as deep and fast.
20:31Faster compared to previous years.
20:32So that's what you're talking about a little bit there?
20:33Yeah, and again, for Jeremy, it's like he jumped in the middle of this thing.
20:38He comes out.
20:39He holds shots.
20:40He's leading it.
20:41And, you know, it just makes you tight.
20:42So they start holding on.
20:44And with this racetrack, we saw it quickly.
20:45Seth went down, especially this part of the racetrack.
20:48It is so fast.
20:49The front end's moving a lot.
20:50And because it is hard, like you said, Jason, the bike's always moving.
20:54So if you're a little tight on the arms, it's going to be a long moto for you.
20:58Let's see if Martin can hold on for a podium in this moto
21:02and see if Shimoda can make a run in the final 10 minutes toward Deegan.
21:08Yeah, to me right now, Joe is good around the whole racetrack.
21:11Just the entrance of his sand rollers.
21:14He hasn't figured that part out.
21:15So now he goes outside here.
21:18Let's see how this works out, JT.
21:20Yeah, Joe's trying to make a run here.
21:22And let's think about last weekend.
21:23Now, I know that was against Tom Bial.
21:25This is against Hayden Deegan,
21:26which might be a completely different conversation.
21:29But Joe had a game plan.
21:30He really wanted to keep Tom Bial in sight
21:33and withstand the intensity early.
21:36And then late in the moto, Joe really showed up
21:38and he was able to pass and displace Bial.
21:40This doesn't feel all that different than that moto.
21:43The question is,
21:45is Hayden Deegan a completely different animal than Tom Bial here?
21:48Yeah, maybe a different person,
21:49but same story in that regards, JT.
21:51Actually, talking with the team,
21:53they were saying that they want to see the battle with Joe and Deegan.
21:56And so does everybody else here in the industry.
21:58We want to see these guys go head-to-head.
22:00And as you're saying, it's happening right now,
22:02kind of unfolding in front of our eyes.
22:05Exactly what they're looking for.
22:06We got exactly what you're looking for.
22:08Super motocross playoffs.
22:10They return with racing on September 6th
22:13in Charlotte, North Carolina.
22:15September 13th in St. Louis, Missouri.
22:17And the World Championship Final in Las Vegas, Nevada,
22:21the next weekend.
22:21That's September 20th.
22:23That's where champions are going to be crowned.
22:25For tickets and information, go to supermotocross.com.
22:29Especially that finale in Vegas.
22:30Folks probably see it on social media
22:32with these riders with titles,
22:33the big celebrations, the burnout, the team.
22:36Go to the finale.
22:37Boy, someone's going to be crowned champion
22:39in each class there.
22:41And you can be part of that celebration.
22:43Right now, it's all about this individual moto
22:45at Spring Creek.
22:46And Joe Shimoda and Hayden Deegan,
22:48they're digging the last two laps.
22:49Shimoda was actually about two tenths quicker than Deegan.
22:53Yeah, I think, Joe, you can start to see Hayden.
22:56Maybe at one point, if I was Hayden,
22:59if I'm starting to feel like I can't get away from him,
23:01you almost start waiting for him.
23:03You know, not slowing down, but start relaxing
23:05because you know that battle's going to come.
23:07And I feel like the difference that's going to be
23:09between last weekend, Joe battling Tom Vial
23:12and Hayden Deegan, once Joe gets there,
23:14Hayden's going to put up a fight,
23:15you know, a different type of fight than Tom did.
23:17So this race might not be over,
23:20even if Joe closes him.
23:21I don't think he's going to get around him
23:22and just pull away like he did
23:24with Tom Vial without a fight.
23:25But he's closing the gap for sure.
23:28Yeah, that was a new theory I had not heard
23:29that you've explained to me many times.
23:31You almost save your energy for the battle.
23:33If you're not going to be able to avoid the battle,
23:35just be ready when it happens.
23:37It's like the Muhammad Ali, you know, fight.
23:39Sometimes you've got to do a rope-a-dope, you know.
23:41At the end of the day, if you don't feel like
23:42you knocked the guy out,
23:43well, you've got to do a different tactic.
23:45You wear him out.
23:46And at some point in this race,
23:47Hayden realized that Joe,
23:49he's not going to be able to pull away from him enough
23:51to where he's going to be able to relax.
23:52Joe's going to be there the whole time.
23:54So just kind of wait for him.
23:55And you can see how quickly Joe is closing his lap.
23:57And I can tell by Hayden's body position,
23:59he's not attacking the same way.
24:01Tracking is getting rougher.
24:03These outsides are going,
24:04but it seems to me he's just starting to wait for him.
24:13And Shimoda continues to close.
24:15He has taken 3.2,
24:17down to 1.3.
24:19That's the gap now.
24:20J.T.
24:25Just thinking about Deegan here
24:26and the theory that James has said,
24:28it reminds me of Top Gun a little bit
24:30where Maverick says,
24:31it's no good,
24:32I'm going to bring him in closer.
24:34And his navigator says,
24:36you're going to do what?
24:37That's probably what the team is thinking right now
24:39listening to James.
24:41I have to wonder also, James,
24:42what about the leg?
24:43Could this be strategy
24:44or could he just be hurting a little bit
24:46from that injury last week?
24:47Yeah, I mean,
24:48after looking at the Instagram post,
24:50he might be hurting.
24:51That leg looked pretty bad.
24:53So I would 100% say,
24:55if it wasn't for his leg possibly hurting,
24:57he's doing no rope.
24:58It'll bring him in.
24:59And I know I've been there on both sides.
25:01The worst thing to do
25:02if you're in Joe Shimoda,
25:04as you see Hayden's leg comes out,
25:06as you catch a guy,
25:06then all of a sudden he picks up the pace.
25:08It's very frustrating.
25:09Oh, Joe goes right by.
25:11I think this might be different.
25:12Shimoda to the lead,
25:13just like that.
25:14Yeah, okay.
25:16Then the way Hayden's body language,
25:18this is a leg.
25:19I think so.
25:19He would fight harder than that, right?
25:20Yeah, he would be fighting for himself.
25:24But that's why he does all the work,
25:25because now he's got a point sleeve,
25:26so he can afford to get this gap.
25:28But at the same time,
25:30Hayden's Hayden.
25:31He still wants to fight this thing with Joe.
25:35It might be mind over matter now
25:37for Degan,
25:37if he can overcome the pain in that leg.
25:39Jerry Martin's only two seconds behind him,
25:43so it's a good ride by the hometown.
25:48And the fans responding,
25:50by the way,
25:50to Shimoda,
25:51as he merges with the lead
25:52after the Sandwhoops.
25:55Well,
25:55anytime anybody catches Hayden Deegan,
25:58you know,
25:58that's an accomplishment itself,
26:00especially at the end of the moto.
26:02So they're giving them props for that.
26:04But you can see Hayden,
26:04when he's hitting some of these,
26:05these G-outs going down the hill,
26:08it seems like his body's kind of collapsing.
26:10You're starting to see him sitting down.
26:11And if you've got any kind of leg issue,
26:13especially at this speed,
26:14that would be a problem.
26:17The left leg,
26:18talked to his dad,
26:19Brian,
26:19yesterday,
26:20actually tore some of the fascia
26:22off of the thigh.
26:24And I said,
26:25does that hurt just when you have an impact,
26:27or does it actually hurt squatting and riding?
26:29He said,
26:29no,
26:29it hurts.
26:30He's just got to try to grit his teeth,
26:31JT.
26:32Well,
26:32you can see it in his riding.
26:34If you look closely,
26:35I touched on this early in the moto.
26:36You can see how aggressive he was,
26:38his body language.
26:39He was overjumping everything,
26:40really manipulating the motorcycle with his body.
26:43Now he's much more relaxed.
26:44He's kind of working with the motorcycle.
26:46And what happens is,
26:47your leg is just screaming out in pain.
26:49He doesn't want to take any hard hits.
26:51He's probably losing strength in that leg,
26:54pushing so hard early.
26:55It's just a completely different riding style.
26:57The important thing here, though,
26:58if he's going to find any way to try to win this moto,
27:01he's got to stay close here in the next lap or so,
27:03and try to make a run out in the last two laps.
27:06There he saw some of the bruising of the Instagram post.
27:08And Jeremy Martin's still back in third.
27:10And by the way,
27:11we've lost Moseman,
27:12who was fourth and closing on Martin.
27:14He has now gone back to fifth.
27:16Martin has a big gap built up on Haram,
27:18who's fourth, Katie.
27:20Yeah,
27:20but you know,
27:20Deegan,
27:21he might be hurting right now,
27:22but the team is continuing to push him.
27:24They're saying reset and hammer.
27:26Both of those comments were on his last pit board.
27:28Meanwhile,
27:29with Joe Shimoda,
27:29Ben Griffith,
27:30the mechanic over there,
27:31the pit board said stay smart.
27:33So two very different conversations going for these two riders.
27:37And here's what's interesting, Katie.
27:38Look at this.
27:39Deegan is still right there.
27:41Joe has not pulled away.
27:42Yeah,
27:43and I agree with both those things,
27:45and I think Hayden's mechanic was telling him,
27:47like,
27:47Joe wasn't getting away,
27:49and Hayden,
27:49and his mechanic knows Hayden,
27:50if you sniff it,
27:51you're going to go there,
27:52and Hayden's going to keep pushing,
27:53so stay there.
27:55Joe should have put in a couple hot laps to break Hayden,
27:57because it looked like at one point,
27:58Hayden was going to just take a second at this moto,
28:01but since he stayed there,
28:02relaxed,
28:02maybe got that leg recovered,
28:04now looking at the pass.
28:06What problem?
28:07What injury?
28:08What pain?
28:09Deegan back to the lead.
28:10Man,
28:11the way he passed Joe,
28:12and the way that Joe looked and responded,
28:14I don't even know if he knew he was that close,
28:16because Joe went outside,
28:17didn't really give any kind of fight.
28:19I mean,
28:20yeah.
28:23Okay.
28:24That's the second time Deegan has passed Shimoda in this moto,
28:27once early,
28:28now late,
28:28and time is running out,
28:30two minutes,
28:31and two laps to go.
28:34Yeah,
28:34Joe needs to respond quickly here.
28:39Is it possible to relax for a lap,
28:43and then feel a little better,
28:44then re-attack?
28:45I've got a lot of questions now.
28:47Well,
28:47Joe ran a two-minute that last lap,
28:49and it looked like he...
28:50Oh, yes.
28:51It was actually Shimoda slowing up.
28:52Yeah,
28:53and when,
28:54because of that,
28:55Hayden was like,
28:56whoa,
28:56all right,
28:56I was going to take the second,
28:58but you're going to stay in here.
28:59You know,
28:59I'm not about letting anybody go,
29:01so you can see Joe's intensity.
29:03He's starting to pick it up.
29:04It's almost like if Joe realized,
29:06thought Hayden gave up.
29:07Yeah.
29:08And,
29:08and,
29:08you know,
29:09Hayden was still right there,
29:10so,
29:10and this is what I was talking about,
29:12the difference between him and Tom DeAl.
29:14I mean,
29:14they just ride differently,
29:16and then I feel like with Hayden Deegan,
29:17if you allow him to stay there,
29:19he's going to fight you leg,
29:20one leg,
29:20no leg.
29:21He's going to continue to fight,
29:22and now you see Joe's starting to pick up that pace,
29:25and try to get back around him.
29:27And now Deegan's bike,
29:28by the way,
29:28Martin and the rest of the team,
29:29they're all running white.
29:3170th anniversary edition of the Yamaha today,
29:34so they got the retro colors,
29:36and you can take an inside look at Yamaha's factory supported race teams,
29:40on their YouTube channel,
29:41that's at Yamaha Motor USA.
29:44New episodes of Beyond the Gate every week,
29:47get to see Hayden Deegan,
29:48and the rest of the squad,
29:50they deal with on race day and beyond,
29:51but the question is,
29:52will they be covering a Moto win or not?
29:55Because Shimoda is going to try one more time.
29:59Yeah,
29:59now the same thing is starting to happen.
30:01If Hayden would have got away from Joe,
30:02maybe he would have done the same thing.
30:05You know,
30:05Joe would have took second,
30:06but since he's right there,
30:07he's going to keep fighting.
30:08This race is going to go all the way down to the end,
30:10I believe.
30:13Yeah,
30:13look at the fastest lap times last time around.
30:15Shimoda,
30:16that two minute,
30:17absolutely killed him,
30:19and gave the lead back.
30:20Let's see what the time is at the end of this lap.
30:22Send it back,
30:23JT.
30:24Well,
30:24James touched on something really important there.
30:26I just want to reiterate it.
30:28When Joe got to the lead,
30:29if he did not put in his best laps,
30:31and break Hayden right there,
30:33this is what you risk,
30:34and you'll see,
30:35you'll see the best of the best.
30:36Anytime they get to the lead,
30:37their best laps are soon to follow,
30:39because they want to get a gap,
30:41they want to break the spirit of the rider behind them,
30:43where they start racing behind them,
30:44and they forget about that guy out front.
30:46This is what happens when you don't do that.
30:48You allow the rider to get back into the picture,
30:50their confidence grows,
30:51and Hayden Deegan now fully believes
30:53he's going to win this moto again.
30:54Yep.
30:55Absolutely.
30:57Now,
30:57Joe's going to have to go to work,
30:58because at the end of the day,
31:00if you let Hayden get to the two lap board,
31:03and he's still winning,
31:04then I believe he's going to go for the whole moto.
31:06You can see Hayden making some mistakes,
31:08I mean,
31:08as both of these guys are,
31:09but,
31:10yeah,
31:11Joe had an opportunity,
31:12he didn't take it,
31:13and now he's going to have to fight this whole race,
31:14because of that,
31:16and I think Hayden was able to figure out some lines,
31:18why he was somewhat relaxing,
31:20he was figuring out some better lines,
31:21maybe some smoother lines,
31:22figuring out a way to ride around that injury,
31:25not putting so much weight on it.
31:30Clock's ticking,
31:31going to be two to go next time around.
31:35Round.
31:35Check it in with Levi Kitchen here,
31:43not the performance expected from the rider,
31:45who won both motos here a year ago,
31:48started 14th,
31:49has taken a while to get going,
31:50now challenging Max Boland for 9th.
31:56Yeah,
31:56Levi was just in 12th,
31:57I looked down at him a couple laps ago,
32:00so either he went down again,
32:02and we just didn't see it,
32:03but I thought he would move up a lot quicker,
32:05especially the last few weekends,
32:07he's had a lot of speed,
32:08but that just shows you how fast this racetrack is,
32:11and we saw in practice,
32:13all these guys are within,
32:14you know,
32:14a second,
32:15the top 10,
32:16so maybe it's a little bit harder to get around,
32:18as you can see,
32:18now Levi's starting to move forward,
32:20this is what I thought would happen,
32:21when I saw him at 14th,
32:22at least getting up,
32:23but he stayed there for a while,
32:24and makes a move,
32:25oh no,
32:26goes down,
32:27and takes Boland with him,
32:28and it's going to be Drew Adams going by,
32:33oh,
32:33bad to worse,
32:34for Kitchen,
32:36wow,
32:37yeah,
32:38bummer for Levi,
32:38it just seems like the last few weekends,
32:40that's been the issue,
32:42especially last weekend,
32:43that second moto,
32:44you know,
32:45a mistake,
32:46you know,
32:46a few mistakes,
32:47and going into pits,
32:48he had to speed to win that race,
32:50but another,
32:52another issue,
32:52yeah,
32:53it's Nate Thrasher goes by,
32:54and now,
32:55Kitchen has real problems,
32:56not sure what has happened,
32:58he's trying to hammer on the motorcycle,
33:00back to the leaders,
33:01Deegan,
33:01with a lap rider,
33:02between himself and Shimoda,
33:04two to go,
33:06very impressive,
33:06yeah,
33:07very impressive race,
33:08by Hayden right here,
33:10and this is where,
33:10guys,
33:11when you get into 450,
33:12fail to recover,
33:13not lose your patience,
33:14you know,
33:15Joe Shimoda's been on a roll,
33:16you know how fast he is,
33:17but Hayden to be able to recover,
33:19this is what he's been,
33:19I've been impressed with this kid,
33:21his whole career,
33:21but to be able to do that,
33:23while injured in mid-race,
33:25pretty special,
33:26some serious grit,
33:30from the 2024 champ right here,
33:38lap and a half left,
33:42yeah,
33:42you can see Hayden sitting down right there,
33:48off those landings,
33:50normally he would stand up,
33:51keep that bike light,
33:52but because his leg,
33:53starting to bother him,
33:54he's just starting to absorb that,
33:55with his whole body,
33:56take that weight off that leg,
33:58so,
33:58again,
33:59these are the things,
34:00that all these athletes,
34:00they are adjusting,
34:02not only at line,
34:03body wise,
34:04how the bike is working,
34:05you know,
34:06you don't figure that stuff out,
34:07until you're out here,
34:08and the one that can adjust the best,
34:10is usually your winner,
34:12and Hayden Deegan's figured it out,
34:13better,
34:14quicker than everybody else,
34:15I think he's put Shimoda away,
34:17yeah,
34:17incredible,
34:20Shimoda had him on the ropes,
34:21multiple times,
34:22couldn't quite finish it,
34:25and now the white flag,
34:26is flying,
34:28now,
34:29so far today,
34:29Hayden's had a little bit more speed,
34:31than Joe,
34:32and when I'm watching the race,
34:33Hayden can slow down a little bit,
34:35and he's got about a second and a half,
34:36on Joe,
34:37oh no,
34:37Hamaker from fifth,
34:39early race leader,
34:41down and down hard,
34:42yeah,
34:43and I can tell where he's at right now,
34:44this is that triple uphill,
34:46going up Mount Martin,
34:47and the way those handlebars look,
34:49and where he's laying,
34:50I think he probably got cross-rutted,
34:52and now it looks like an endo there,
34:53so,
34:54tough break for a guy,
34:55that was leading this race,
34:57yeah,
34:57and was headed toward a top five,
35:00and that has been the story,
35:02for that Monster Pro Sorted Kawasaki team,
35:04like you said about Kitchen,
35:05they've shown speed,
35:06every time they get a run together though,
35:09something seems to undo it,
35:12March Banks top on that squad,
35:13and this one's seventh,
35:14he has been mired in traffic,
35:16especially the last couple of weeks,
35:18March Banks who's been fast all year,
35:20Bial has worked his way all the way to sixth,
35:23Moseman fifth,
35:24Deegan still looking back to see the gap,
35:26to Shimoda,
35:26it's 1.7 now,
35:28yeah,
35:28and what I was saying about Hayden,
35:29Hayden's had about a second and a half on Joe,
35:31all day long at speed,
35:33so when Hayden slows down,
35:34he's got a little bit of gap to play with,
35:36or for me,
35:37Joe's riding as hard as he can,
35:39and that pace that he's not able to catch Hayden,
35:42which is,
35:44well,
35:44they got to not jump here,
35:45because of Hatmaker,
35:46good to see,
35:48Hatmaker getting back on the bike,
35:49did Shimoda roll both of those or not,
35:51yeah,
35:51he did,
35:51but where the cross flag was,
35:53oh,
35:54battle for the lead James,
35:55yeah,
35:55so what do you think happened on the jump,
35:56with the flags out,
35:57well,
35:57Hayden slowed down,
35:58because he's the leader,
35:59so he rolled that first jump,
36:00and the cross flag wasn't there,
36:02so Joe doubled,
36:04but it's going to be,
36:06I don't know,
36:06we're going to have to go back,
36:07that's going to be a judgment call,
36:08could be a penalty coming Shimoda's way,
36:10meanwhile,
36:11he almost took the lead,
36:12we got a battle on the last lap,
36:14yeah,
36:14if Hayden can get to the inside,
36:16on this next jump,
36:17he'll have Joe covered,
36:18one turn remains,
36:24at the bottom of the hill,
36:27Hayden Diggins,
36:28hurting,
36:29and winning,
36:31the first moto at Millville,
36:34and Jeremy Martin,
36:35is going to put it on the podium,
36:43yeah,
36:44yeah,
36:4490th career moto podium,
36:48and that might feel better,
36:50than all of them,
36:51the home track hero,
36:56literally,
36:56in his retirement race,
36:58whole shot,
36:58leads,
36:59and finishes third,
Recommended
37:12
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