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DirtbikeLover
  • 7/13/2025
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00:00Riders on the gate. Let's get it started here in Spree Creek.
00:09Jeremy Martin, are you kidding me?
00:12Jeremy Martin in what will be his retirement race at his home track the whole shot.
00:17If you can hear this crowd right now, they are going nuts.
00:24And we just want to hear it.
00:30You couldn't have scripted that better.
00:34Seth Hanbaker and Shimoda, second and third.
00:38Yeah, good start by Joe Shimoda.
00:39This is exactly what he did last weekend.
00:41Just kind of got there, let the race go.
00:43Seth has been fast all day long.
00:45But, man, I can't believe how loud this crowd is right here.
00:47It feels like we're in the Supercross.
00:48And he was quick, right up at the top in qualifying, third fastest.
00:52So he has speed.
00:54The two-time champion of this class in his final run leads.
01:00That is poetic.
01:16But now Hanbaker looking to make the pass.
01:18He's setting himself up on the inside.
01:21Yeah, Seth knows this might be an opportunity.
01:23J-Mart needs to go down the inside.
01:25Well, I shouldn't tell him.
01:25He knows everywhere to go in this racetrack.
01:27But he should have went down the inside.
01:29I knew Seth was going to try to make that move.
01:31But let's see if Jeremy can slingshot around the outside, get back towards the inside over here, get him a lap.
01:37Almost.
01:38That's the old-school corner speed there from Martin.
01:41Not quite enough this time.
01:42Seth Hanbaker locks down the number one spot.
01:44It's love hearing the crowd here.
01:50Yeah.
01:50So Jeremy was going to race a couple rounds for his old team here, Star Racing Yamaha.
01:57Crashed to the Hangtown.
01:58Said, I'll be back for one more.
02:01And he's making the most of it at Millville.
02:02And as you mentioned earlier, Jeremy has been quick all day long.
02:07So it's not like he's one of those guys that should fade back.
02:10You know, he has the speed.
02:11He might get a little nervous.
02:12But, hey, it's good to see him up there.
02:14And then that's Hayden Deegan making his way up into that fourth place right now.
02:23Deegan.
02:23Modes have been right behind him.
02:25Haram.
02:25But you're going to watch Shimoda there, last week's winner, who's up ahead of Deegan in third.
02:31Yeah, looking for Levi Kitchen.
02:32He's down in 14th right now.
02:34Oh, boy.
02:34Him and Tommy out, 13th and 14th.
02:36Not the start they wanted to get.
02:37But you can see these guys starting to get spread out.
02:40But if I'm Hayden Deegan, I'm in a great spot.
02:43Probably going to try to make the move on Joe Shimoda early in the race and try to get him out of his normal routine.
02:49Because as this race goes on, that number 30 on the HRC, I think he will get better.
02:54And with the confidence from last weekend, I feel like he actually believes he can beat Hayden Deegan.
02:58Boy, he's going to get a shot right now.
03:00Yeah, Shimoda usually gets better, as he says, if the track gets rougher later in the moto later in the day.
03:04So right now, though, Deegan is going to put the attack on.
03:11And just up ahead, you see Martin and Hamaker.
03:16JT.
03:17Watching Hayden Deegan here.
03:18I just wanted to see if he would be able to push.
03:21You know, he's dealing with that injury.
03:22Just not sure how sore he's going to be.
03:24He didn't ride all week.
03:25He went through those qualifying sessions.
03:27Obviously looked great.
03:28But the upside here, the positive signs.
03:30He's willing to flat land jumps.
03:32He's willing to push and get way out of his comfort zone.
03:35As you see him make the move there on Shimoda, that is a great sign for the number one that he's feeling a lot better than he did a week ago.
03:42Yeah, JT.
03:43And actually talking with Brent Duffy, his mechanic, they actually added some foam to the bottom side of those handlebars.
03:48Just in case anything were to go wrong.
03:51There was some questioning as to what was really going on.
04:02It turned out, in talking with Brian Deegan earlier today, there was an issue with the fascia in the leg.
04:07A lot of bruising.
04:08A lot of swelling.
04:09But nothing that's going to be damaging long term.
04:12What a move by Deegan on that outside.
04:14I mean, he just saw what happened right in front of him.
04:16But I think for Joe Shimoda, Hayden's been fast all day long.
04:21And Joe wasn't the fastest, but he's within a second.
04:24So for him, just follow him.
04:26You know, Hayden Deegan going around you is not surprising.
04:29You just don't want to lose toe.
04:30And if Hayden makes a move, you need to make a move.
04:33Because I would say that's been Joe's only weakness is Hayden gets through the pack a little bit quicker.
04:38And the next thing you know, Joe has to, you know, make those passes.
04:41And that gap's already gone.
04:41But you can see Joe's even picked up the intensity because he sees Hayden trying to get away as well.
04:47Yeah, Joe's sticking with him.
04:48There's Martin up ahead.
04:50And Hamaker has about a three-second lead on this pack.
04:53And then a little further back, bottom box, it's Bozeman and Harrop.
04:57That's next in line.
04:59Fifth and sixth.
05:00Jordan Smith, Max Boland, Drew Adams, Garrett Marchbanks.
05:04Round out the top ten.
05:05Kitchen, still 14th last year's winner.
05:07Yeah, I'm curious to see how Harrop, being this close to the front, you know, this early in the race,
05:14if he can run this pace.
05:16And the guy in front of him, Michael Moseman, last weekend he had a great ride getting on the podium.
05:20And I think for him, he's been riding good, just has some bike issues.
05:26So if he can just stay with them, maybe they can just close up or at least stay in that top five.
05:29But good ride so far.
05:32Good ride by Shimoda.
05:33The way Deegan stormed around him.
05:35But he was able to get back to him, but then just that little S-turn section there.
05:39Now Deegan opens up a couple of bike lanes.
05:42Yeah, and I think this is a difference.
05:43Joe takes a little bit of get going.
05:45And that little bit of intensity is where that gap going.
05:47Hayden's willing to go down to that corner, slam into it, bike wide open.
05:51Joe's still trying to warm up, and that's what I mean.
05:53He needs to just stay on Hayden, not let him get too far.
05:55Because as the race goes on, Hayden won't be able to hit those corners that hard.
06:00And I think it plays into Joe's hand, but he's got to stay with him.
06:08As for Deegan now trying to track down Jeremy Martin, that is poetic in its own way as well.
06:12Not only has Martin put together one of the best 250 careers ever.
06:16He's top five in nearly every statistical category in this class.
06:19But he, and also Cooper Webb at that time, really kick-started this team's run of dominance.
06:25They were not a team that was winning a lot of races or any titles until 2014.
06:29When those two came out, they were going one and two consistently.
06:33That kicked off two straight titles for Martin, and that run by Yamaha has continued through this day with Deegan.
06:40And now they're battling on track.
06:42It's the Kawasaki boys who always seem to be hearing each other battle in the bottom box.
06:46It's March Banks-Adams.
06:48Yeah, and I think it's good to see Drew Adams up here.
06:51Look, he's had a good pace in qualifying.
06:54And, yeah, just going back to Jeremy, as you were saying, like, it felt like it came out of nowhere.
06:58And for two years, I mean, this dude was dominant, you know, really getting his thing and looked really comfortable.
07:03Looked like the guy that we're watching on the screen.
07:05So, no surprise, it's been a few years.
07:07So, that memory, it's there, but it's been a while since he had.
07:10But I think he's enjoying it, having a good time.
07:13And he looks good.
07:14He's not holding Hayden up, and he's keeping Seth right in check.
07:17So, he does have some pace going.
07:20But this Hayden Deegan, Hayden's got this outside figured out.
07:23See if he makes up for some time on him.
07:26Let me show you the career stats for Jeremy Martin there.
07:30And you see, he's only 16th all-time in starts.
07:34So, when you're 5th all-time in moto wins, 4th in overall wins, and 2nd in podiums, that says a lot about the kind of damage he did in this class.
07:43Not just the two title years, but year after year as winning motos was battling for the title.
07:48But he's about to pass that baton on.
07:51A little further back in the bottom box, you see Tom Vial has now caught those Kawasaki's.
07:56He's at 11th.
07:58Yeah, and Jeremy's actually starting to close in on our leader.
08:01So, he was about a half a second faster than Seth Handmaker.
08:04Made a little mistake right there.
08:05And as I mentioned in his 250 class, this track's really fast.
08:09So, any mistakes in the corner, you can lose a lot of time, especially on the bottom of Mount Martin.
08:14But, Jeremy, I believe if he stays here, he's only going to get more confidence.
08:18We know he's in shape, and he knows he's done a few laps around this racetrack as well.
08:24Well, on the right side of this section is the house he grew up in.
08:28It's his parents on the track.
08:29Back to JT.
08:31Well, James, I just wanted to add on to what you were saying there.
08:34And I agree so much, the toughest part, in my opinion, for J-Mart is to match intensity early.
08:39Because the older you get, that's just a really hard thing to maintain.
08:43So, you see him start to come back towards Handmaker.
08:45When you think about J-Mart, he's been training for marathons, so fitness shouldn't really be an issue.
08:50And if he can hang in there early, guys might be in a little bit of trouble late.
08:54Yeah, no, I agree.
08:56I mean, the older I get, I used to hop out of bed.
08:58Now, I've got to hop out of, like, roll out of bed and slowly get the coffee.
09:02And then we'd start getting it.
09:04But J-Mart, he's definitely figuring it out.
09:06And you can tell he's starting to get more confidence.
09:09And, I mean, how can you not?
09:10You're holding off Hayden Deegan.
09:11You're closing on the lead.
09:12And you know this place like the back of your hand.
09:16So, win this motor, go home, drop the trophy off, come back and hang out for the motor right here.
09:21Look at the lap time.
09:23So, last three, Handmaker was faster twice.
09:26But the last time around, Martin was quicker.
09:29And I believe that's going to hold here.
09:30He continues to close the gap.
09:33Handmaker's career best in pro motocross is a third.
09:36He had a high point a couple of weeks ago.
09:39And he hasn't led laps since 2022 until right now.
09:43But, yeah, one thing Jeremy's always been strong at his whole career is corner speed.
09:49When he's in the zone, man, this guy can ride ruts in corners.
09:53And that's where I see him closing in on Seth Handmaker.
09:56I think the biggest thing for Jeremy, you've got to wonder where his mindset is.
10:00Is he worried about just trying to get out here and lead this race?
10:02Or is he actually concerned about getting a finish?
10:04Because I believe a finish, a top five, is in his wheelhouse pretty easy.
10:08But you know he wants to go out with a bang.
10:10And you just want to make sure you manage those expectations and not really throw this thing away.
10:14But he looks more comfortable to me than even Seth.
10:18And he's starting to get away from Hayden as well.
10:22Managing expectations for his team 2-0, Bobby Reagan.
10:25The team owner is going to get excited and say, hey, you're this fast.
10:28Can you maybe come back again next week at Washougal?
10:32They already tried that at the beginning of the year.
10:34Then the big crash at Hangtown kind of dampened any of the idea of him being back as a full-time racer.
10:40But what a way to go out.
10:42Going to be one and done is the plan here.
10:44But I don't know.
10:45It might be one, as in winning and done.
10:48Yeah.
10:49One and done.
10:50That's fine enough.
10:51But, yeah, Jeremy, you've got to calm down.
10:53You saw you overshot that corner.
10:55But so far, so good, JT.
10:57Yeah, I just watched it, Jeremy.
10:58Remember, he was in the booth with you, Weech, here in 2022, a part of the Legends Tour that we did that summer.
11:04James, your first race was Bugs Creek that year.
11:06So now the question is, James, if Bobby gives you a call this week, are you suiting up for Washougal?
11:11Because it's going pretty well so far.
11:13Yeah.
11:13Well, let's see how Jeremy finishes his moto.
11:16If he gets out there and wins, I'm still not coming out.
11:19All right.
11:20Spoiler alert.
11:21Yes.
11:21You're sure, Stu, we can encourage you like the pit boards are for Jeremy.
11:26They're saying just breathe and focus forward and talking to his mechanic.
11:30He's saying they know the track.
11:32He knows how to get the job done.
11:33He just has to make sure he's not looking behind him.
11:36Yeah, I think Jeremy right now is looking in front of him.
11:39I think for him, the closer he gets to Seth, then I see him starting to make some mistakes because I think he's getting excited, realizing that he's this close.
11:48If he just kind of calms down, let this race go, I mean, who knows?
11:52He might have a chance.
11:53But, again, he actually looks really, really good to me.
11:57The only time I see him making mistakes is when he does get that close.
12:00He gets excited.
12:01He almost runs off the racetrack.
12:03But Jeremy Martin is figuring it out.
12:04And every time he does that, he pulls away and closes in on that gap at the lead.
12:07But what's the take on Deegan here in third?
12:10Sometimes he closes, but then sometimes Martin actually pulls away from the champion.
12:14Yeah, I think it's because how good Jeremy's rotting.
12:17You know, Deegan's, Joe's still close to Hayden, so it's not like Hayden's just sitting back.
12:23He doesn't want to have to deal with Joe at the end of the moto.
12:25So Hayden's trying to get around him, but Jeremy is rotting really good.
12:29And Hayden closes in when Jeremy makes that mistake.
12:31So more about what Jeremy's doing.
12:33But Hayden does have a really good line right here.
12:35I think these outsides are still working for him.
12:39And it looks like Jeremy's going to let him go through.
12:41Wow, that happened in a hurry.
12:42And, yeah, not much fight from the number six.
12:45So Deegan now into second.
12:47By the way, we did talk to Jeremy yesterday.
12:49He just took a face to Belarus.
12:50He took a cleaner yesterday when we asked him about this weekend.
12:55It's entered my mind that it's my last race.
12:57It's bittersweet, right?
12:59And I think the biggest thing that I'm holding on to and been thinking about a lot is I was four years old when I first learned how to ride.
13:05And it was on a PW50 with my brother and my dad right back there in front of the house.
13:10You know, it wasn't even on the track.
13:12It was in the field that the people are camping on right now.
13:15And, you know, 2013, I led my first laps.
13:18And I remember the crowd just erupting.
13:22And it was insane.
13:23I won't ever forget it to this day.
13:26And it was very similar to that today when he got the lead with that hole shot.
13:31Now back to third.
13:32And Deegan going to put the attack on Hamaker.
13:35And Jeremy looks over to measure the cap between himself and Shimoda.
13:41Set it to JT again.
13:43Jeremy here, you know, no one's more comfortable than him here.
13:46We know that.
13:47But I'll tell you, I would actually rather see him behind Deegan.
13:50I was watching him there.
13:51He was pressing really hard there to try to catch that.
13:54The front stepped out multiple times.
13:57So I think at this part of the race, you're approaching halfway.
13:59Settle in a little bit.
14:00Maybe look at where Hayden's going.
14:02Let the race unfold because he was getting really close to making a critical mistake there.
14:07You can see he's relaxed a little bit.
14:09You can see Hamaker go down there.
14:11Good call, JT.
14:12We saw the yellow flags and then the green motorcycle.
14:14So now Deegan is in the lead.
14:16Martin's second.
14:18Shimoda going to get by as well.
14:19And truthfully, that should give, you know, Jeremy more confidence because those guys were pushing.
14:25Steph was pushing it.
14:26So, yeah, you start to wonder, is that a little bit of arm pump from not racing?
14:30Or he's in a weird spot, Jeremy, that is, because he doesn't want to get in the mix and get into this title and hurt his teammate.
14:36But I do believe he has the pace.
14:39And let's see what happens, how he reacts to this.
14:40But still a good, strong rod.
14:43So then Hamaker, yes, behind Shimoda at this point.
14:47And we have the Hamaker crash on a replay here.
14:49Now, this is a very fast section.
14:52Seth goes in here.
14:53Now, you can see him starting to lose the front end.
14:56Actually, a pretty good save because he started losing the front end.
14:58It hooked up.
14:59But luckily for him, he was able to get the front tire off that jump.
15:02Otherwise, he would have had a big high side.
15:03So tip over.
15:05It's going to be costly for losing that position.
15:07But he was able to get back up behind Joe Shimoda on a bad ball.
15:12Yeah, you're saying a good save.
15:14He still crashed.
15:15But he saved it from what could have been a big one.
15:18Yeah, it could have been a lot worse.
15:19You can see when he came in there, that front end started tucking, knifing on him.
15:23And it's because of how fast they're going in that section.
15:25But because that jump ran out, his front tire got off.
15:28They didn't hook him and slam him down.
15:29So he's going to be bummed out.
15:31But it would have been a lot worse if that thing would have high-sided him off that ramp.
15:36But, yeah, you go back to 2013, Jeremy Martin mentioned leading for the first time here when he was a rookie.
15:41I think that was the same year Ken Roxton had a similar crash to Handmaker, but on the bad side.
15:46And he went flying.
15:48And it was a brutal one.
15:50Deegan now starting to pull away and giving a look back.
15:54Halfway through this one, Monster Energy available now at Quick Trip.
15:58And righting all the wrongs from Redbud is the number one right now.
16:03Yeah, now Jeremy is starting to settle down.
16:05Now he's got that pace.
16:06But you can see how fast they're coming into this.
16:08You get those braking bumps.
16:09All those bikes are going in.
16:11So.
16:12But you look at the whoops.
16:14That's where Deegan has made his time.
16:16Yeah, I believe where Hayden's really making his time is the end of the second set.
16:20He's going outside.
16:21And he just carries his momentum around this.
16:23Like he still has the sweeping these corners.
16:26Got a lot more momentum.
16:27And when these guys are starting to break, Hayden's on the gas because he's going around this jump.
16:32And he's just carrying that momentum out.
16:35Which Jeremy followed that line.
16:36But you can see the gap that he's able to pull.
16:40Looks like Shimoda now closing on Martin.
16:43Yeah, Jeremy almost lost the front end right there.
16:44I think when Hayden was looking back over that finish line, he was looking at Joe.
16:50Not necessarily Jeremy.
16:51He wants to see what that number 30 is.
16:53Because he knows he's going to be strong for the end of the boat.
16:55Katie?
16:57Yeah, Sue.
16:58They were talking about how good Joe's fitness was here this week.
17:01His pace has been good.
17:02Of course, those starts is what he needed to work on.
17:04Which he had a decent one out there.
17:06However, they said around this track, the place to really keep an eye on are the hills.
17:11Joe was saying that this is one of his favorite tracks.
17:13And for that very reason, he feels he can make up a whole lot of time.
17:16So you two up there in the booth, JT, keep an eye on the hills.
17:19And see if that is where we're seeing Joe make some of these moves here moving forward.
17:23Watch it right now, Katie.
17:25Tries to close on Martin.
17:27And it is, yeah, not that big a gap.
17:30Actually, it's only 2.9 between Deegan and Shimoda.
17:33This one not over.
17:33No, and you wonder how much Jeremy is going to fight Joe.
17:38Will he let him go around like he did Hayden?
17:39And I suspect he probably will.
17:41Once Joe gets to the point where he's all over, Jeremy is not going to want to hold him up.
17:45Even though Hayden Deegan is his teammate.
17:47But at the end of the day, you've got to start wondering how Hayden's leg, you know,
17:52is that thing going to start coming into factor?
17:54Because for him, if I'm Hayden Deegan, I've got that injury, I need to get away.
17:57And this 2.5 seconds or 3.5 seconds over Joe Shimoda isn't big enough.
18:01Because we know how strong he is.
18:02At the end of the motos.
18:05Yeah, Deegan at about two tenths to Shimoda the last time around.
18:10See the difference, 158.9 versus the 159.1.
18:14As they head to the sand wash again.
18:15Yeah, and these sand rollers is very important to kind of stay on top of those things.
18:26If you get dropped down in the middle, one, it slows your momentum down.
18:30It beats you up as a rider.
18:31But you just lose a lot of time.
18:34Now this inside is starting to play in.
18:36And why that's starting to work is because it opens up this next lane.
18:39And if you notice, Joe went inside of that corner after the rollers.
18:42He cut down on the next corner.
18:45And he's starting to open up that whole section.
18:46So as the track gets rougher, that line that Joe's having is going to play in.
18:50Because he's starting to miss all those bumps.
18:51You can see him closing in on Jeremy right now.
18:54I've got to imagine that's a huge adrenaline rush when Jeremy gets out front of that first lap.
18:59Can that wear off?
19:00Oh, and there it goes.
19:02There goes Shimoda up to second around Martin.
19:04Right on cue.
19:05That's what I'm saying.
19:06Is there a moment where you think reality starts to sit in?
19:09We're 20 minutes in now.
19:10Or we know he's fit, so maybe not.
19:13Yeah, well, I mean, I honestly don't think it's about fitness.
19:16And then all of a sudden you come off the couch and you go up against Hayden Deegan and Joe Shimoda.
19:20These guys have been the cream of the crop in this 250.
19:23I think he's starting to tighten up.
19:24And how fast this racetrack is is really easy to happen.
19:28And with this hard base, and I don't care if you live here or you don't, it's still a tricky racetrack for him.
19:32So to me, it's not fitness, it's more of him tightening up and just holding your breath, being in the lead, going that fast, coming off the couch.
19:40It didn't make anyone tight.
19:41Maybe that's what he's experiencing.
19:42Yeah, a lot of riders talking about the track a little bit harder, not as deep and fast, faster compared to previous years.
19:49So that's what you're talking about a little bit there?
19:50Yeah, and again, for Jeremy, it's like he jumped in the middle of this thing.
19:55He comes out, he holds shots, he's leading it, and, you know, it just makes you tight.
19:59So they start holding on, and with this racetrack, we saw it quickly, Seth went down, especially this part of the racetrack.
20:05It is so fast.
20:06The front end's moving a lot.
20:07And because it is hard, like you said, Jason, the bike's always moving.
20:11So if you're a little tight on the arms, it's going to be a long moto for you.
20:15Let's see if Martin can hold on for a podium in this moto and see if Shimoda can make a run in the final 10 minutes toward Deegan.
20:25Yeah, to me right now, Joe is good around the whole racetrack.
20:28Just the entrance of his sand rollers, he hasn't figured that part out.
20:32So now he goes outside here to see how this works out, JT.
20:37Yeah, Joe's trying to make a run here.
20:39And let's think about last weekend.
20:40Now, I know that was against Tom Bial.
20:42This is against Hayden Deegan, which might be a completely different conversation.
20:46But Joe had a game plan.
20:47He really wanted to keep Tom Bial in sight and withstand the intensity early.
20:53And then late in the moto, Joe really showed up and he was able to pass and displace Bial.
20:57This doesn't feel all that different than that moto.
21:00The question is, is Hayden Deegan a completely different animal than Tom Bial here?
21:05Yeah, maybe a different person.
21:06But same story in that regards, JT.
21:08Actually, talking with the team, they were saying that they want to see the battle with Joe and Deegan.
21:13And so does everybody else here in the industry.
21:15We want to see these guys go head-to-head.
21:17And as you're saying, it's happening right now, kind of unfolding in front of our eyes.
21:21Exactly what they're looking for.
21:23We got exactly what you're looking for, Super Motocross Playoffs.
21:27They return with racing on September 6th in Charlotte, North Carolina.
21:32September 13th in St. Louis, Missouri.
21:34And the World Championship Final in Las Vegas, Nevada, the next weekend.
21:38That's September 20th.
21:40As for champions are going to be crowned for tickets and information, go to supermotocross.com.
21:46Especially that finale in Vegas, folks probably see it on social media.
21:49When these riders put titles, the big celebrations, the burnout, the team, go to the finale.
21:55Someone's going to be crowned champion in each class there.
21:58And you can be part of that celebration.
22:00Right now, it's all about this individual moto at Spring Creek.
22:03And Joe Shimoda and Hayden Deegan, they're digging the last two laps.
22:06Shimoda was actually about two tenths quicker than Deegan.
22:10Yeah, I think, Joe, you can start to see Hayden.
22:13Maybe at one point, if I was Hayden, if I'm starting to feel like I can't get away from him, you almost start waiting for him.
22:20You know, not slowing down, but, you know, start relaxing because you know that battle's going to come.
22:24And I feel like the difference that's going to be between last weekend, Joe battling Tom Bial and Hayden Deegan.
22:29And once Joe gets there, Hayden's going to put up a fight, you know, a different type of fight than Tom did.
22:34So this race might not be over even if Joe closes him.
22:38I don't think he's going to get around him and just pull away like he did with Tom Bial without a fight.
22:42But he's closing the gap for sure.
22:45Yeah, that was a new theory I had not heard that you've explained to me many times.
22:48You almost save your energy for the battle.
22:50If you're not going to be able to avoid the battle, just be ready when it happens.
22:54It's like the Muhammad Ali, you know, fight.
22:56Sometimes you've got to do a rope-a-dope, you know, at the end of the day.
22:58If you don't feel like you knocked the guy out, well, you've got to do a different tactic.
23:02You wear him out.
23:03And at some point in this race, Hayden realized that Joe, he's not going to be able to pull away from him enough to where he's going to be able to relax.
23:09Joe's going to be there the whole time.
23:11So just kind of wait for him.
23:12And you can see how quickly Joe is closing his lap.
23:14And I can tell by Hayden's body position, he's not attacking the same way.
23:18Tracking is getting rougher.
23:20These outsides are going.
23:21But it seems to me he's just starting to wait for him.
23:24And Shimoda continues to close.
23:32He has taken 3.2 down to 1.3.
23:36That's the gap now.
23:40JT.
23:41Just thinking about Deegan here and the theory that James has said, it reminds me of Top Gun a little bit where Maverick says, no good, I'm going to bring him in closer.
23:51And his navigator says, you're going to do what?
23:54That's probably what the team is thinking right now listening to James.
23:57I have to wonder also, James, what about the leg?
24:00Could this be strategy or could he just be hurting a little bit from that injury last week?
24:04Yeah, I mean, after looking at the Instagram post, like, he might be hurting.
24:08That leg looked pretty bad.
24:09So I would 100% say if it wasn't for his leg possibly hurting, he's doing no rope.
24:15It'll bring him in.
24:16And I know I've been there on both sides.
24:18But the worst thing to do if you're in Joe Shimoda, as you see Hayden's leg comes out, as you catch a guy, then all of a sudden he picks up the pace.
24:25It's very frustrating.
24:26But he goes right by.
24:28I think this might be different.
24:29Shimoda to the lead just like that.
24:32Yeah.
24:32Okay.
24:33Then the way Hayden's body language, this is a leg.
24:35I think so.
24:36He would fight harder than that, right?
24:37Yeah, he would be fighting for it.
24:38So.
24:41But that's why he does all the work.
24:42Because now he's got a point sleeve.
24:43So he can afford to get this gap.
24:45But at the same time, Hayden's Hayden.
24:48He still wants to fight this thing with Joe.
24:52It might be mind over matter now for Deegan, if he can overcome the pain in that leg.
24:58Jeremy Martin's only two seconds behind him.
25:00So it was a good ride by the hometown.
25:05And the fans responding, by the way, to Shimoda.
25:08It emerges with the lead after the sand whoops.
25:11Well, anytime anybody catches Hayden Deegan, that's an accomplishment itself.
25:17Especially at the end of the moto.
25:18So they're giving him props for that.
25:20But you can see Hayden, when he's hitting some of these G outs going down the hill,
25:25it seems like his body's kind of collapsing.
25:26You're starting to see him sitting down.
25:28And if you've got any kind of leg issue, especially at this speed, that would be a problem.
25:32It's the left leg.
25:35Talked to his dad, Brian, yesterday.
25:37Actually tore some of the fascia off of the thigh.
25:41And I said, does that hurt just when you have an impact, or does it actually hurt squatting and riding?
25:45He said, no, it hurts.
25:47He's just got to try to grit his teeth, JT.
25:48Well, you can see it in his riding.
25:51If you look closely, I touched on this early in the moto.
25:53You can see how aggressive he was, his body language.
25:56He was overjumping everything, really manipulating the motorcycle with his body.
26:00Now he's much more relaxed.
26:01He's kind of working with the motorcycle.
26:03And what happens is your leg is just screaming out in pain.
26:06He doesn't want to take any hard hits.
26:08He's probably losing strength in that leg pushing so hard early.
26:12It's just a completely different riding style.
26:14The important thing here, though, if he's going to find any way to try to win this moto,
26:18he's got to stay close here in the next lap or so and try to make a run out in the last two laps.
26:23There you saw some of the bruising on the Instagram post.
26:25And Jeremy Martin's still back in third.
26:27And by the way, we've lost Moseman, who was fourth and closing on Martin.
26:31He is now going back to fifth.
26:33Martin has a big gap built up on Harrop, who's fourth, Katie.
26:36Yeah, but you know, with Deegan, he might be hurting right now, but the team is continuing to push him.
26:41They're saying reset and hammer.
26:43Both of those comments were on his last pit board.
26:45Meanwhile, with Joe Shimoda, Ben Griffith, the mechanic over there, the pit board said stay smart.
26:50So two very different conversations going for these two riders.
26:54And here's what's interesting, Katie.
26:55Look at this.
26:56Deegan is still right there.
26:58Joe is not pulled away.
26:59Yeah, and I agree with both those things.
27:02And I think Hayden's mechanic was telling him, like, Joe wasn't getting away.
27:05And Hayden, and this mechanic knows Hayden, if you sniff it, you're going to go there.
27:09And Hayden's going to keep pushing, so stay there.
27:11Joe should have put in a couple hot laps to break Hayden, because it looked like at one point Hayden was going to just take a second for this moto.
27:18But since he stayed there, relaxed, maybe got that leg recovered.
27:21Now, look at the pass.
27:23What problem?
27:24What injury?
27:25What pain?
27:26Deegan back to the lead.
27:27Man, the way he passed Joe, and the way that Joe looked and responded, I don't even know if he knew he was that close.
27:32Because Joe went outside, didn't really give any kind of fight.
27:36I mean, yeah.
27:39Okay.
27:41That's the second time Deegan has passed Shimoda in this moto.
27:44Once early, now late, and time is running out.
27:47Two minutes and two laps to go.
27:49Yeah, Joe needs to respond quickly here.
27:56Is it possible to relax for a lap and then feel a little better than re-attack?
28:02I've got a lot of questions now.
28:04Well, Joe ran a two-minute that last lap, and it looked like he...
28:07Oh, yes.
28:08It was actually Shimoda slowing up.
28:09Yeah.
28:10And because of that, Hayden was like, well, all right, I was going to take the second, but you're going to stay in here.
28:16You know, I'm not about letting anybody go.
28:18So you can see Joe's intensity.
28:20He's starting to pick it up.
28:21It's almost like if Joe thought Hayden gave up.
28:24Yeah.
28:25And, you know, Hayden was still right there.
28:28And this is what I was talking about, the difference between him and Tom Deale.
28:31I mean, they just ride differently.
28:32And I feel like with Hayden Deegan, if you allow him to stay there, he's going to fight you leg, one leg, no leg.
28:38He's going to continue to fight.
28:39Now you see Joe starting to pick up the pace and try to get back around him.
28:44And Deegan's bike, by the way, Martin, and the rest of the team, they're all running white.
28:4870th anniversary edition of the Yamaha today.
28:51So they got the retro colors, and you can take an inside look at Yamaha's factory-supported race teams on their YouTube channel.
28:58That's at Yamaha Motor USA.
29:01New episodes of Beyond the Gate every week.
29:03Get to see Hayden Deegan and the rest of the squad that they deal with on race day and beyond.
29:08But the question is, will they be covering a Moto win or not?
29:12Because Shimoda is going to try one more time.
29:15Yeah, now the same thing is starting to happen.
29:17If Hayden would have got away from Joe, maybe he would have done the same thing.
29:21You know, Joe would have took second.
29:23But since he's right there, he's going to keep fighting.
29:25This race is going to go all the way down to the end, I believe.
29:27Yeah, look at the fastest lap times last time around.
29:32Shimoda, that two-minute, absolutely killed him and gave the lead back.
29:37Let's see what the time is at the end of this lap.
29:39Send it back, JT.
29:41Well, James touched on something really important there.
29:43I just want to reiterate it.
29:45When Joe got to the lead, if he did not put in his best laps and break Hayden right there,
29:49this is what you risk.
29:51And you'll see, you'll see the best of the best.
29:53Anytime they get to the lead, their best laps are soon to follow because they want to get a gap.
29:58They want to break the spirit of the rider behind them where they start racing behind them
30:01and they forget about that guy out front.
30:03This is what happens when you don't do that.
30:05You allow the rider to get back into the picture.
30:07Their confidence grows.
30:08And Hayden Deegan now fully believes he's going to win this moto again.
30:11Yep.
30:12Absolutely.
30:14Now, Joe's going to have to go to work because at the end of the day,
30:17if you let Hayden get to the two-lap board and he's still winning,
30:21then I believe he's going to go for it, the whole moto.
30:23You can see Hayden making some mistakes, I mean, as both of these guys are.
30:26But, yeah, Joe had an opportunity.
30:29He didn't take it.
30:29And now he's going to have to fight this whole race because of that.
30:33And I think Hayden was able to figure out some lines while he was somewhat relaxing.
30:37He was figuring out some better lines, maybe some smoother lines,
30:39figuring out a way to ride around that injury, not putting so much weight on it.
30:47Clock's ticking.
30:48Going to be two to go next time around.
30:51Checking in with Levi Kitchen here.
31:00Not the performance expected from the rider who won both motos here a year ago.
31:04Started 14th.
31:06Has taken a while to get going.
31:07Now challenging Max Boland for ninth.
31:12Yeah, Levi was just in 12th.
31:14I looked down at him a couple laps ago.
31:17So either he went down again and we just didn't see it.
31:20But I thought he would move up a lot quicker, especially the last few weekends.
31:24He's had a lot of speed.
31:25But that just shows you how fast this racetrack is.
31:28And we saw in practice all these guys are within, you know, a second, a top ten.
31:33So maybe it's a little bit harder to get around.
31:35As you can see, now Levi's starting to move forward.
31:37This is what I thought would happen when I saw him in 14th, at least getting up.
31:40But he stayed there for a while.
31:41And makes a move.
31:42Oh, no.
31:43Goes down and takes Boland with him.
31:45And it's going to be Drew Adams going by.
31:50Oh, bad to worse for Kitchen.
31:53Wow.
31:54Yeah, bummer for Levi.
31:55It just seems like the last few weekends, that's been the issue, especially last weekend.
32:00That second moto, you know, a mistake, you know, a few mistakes and going into pits.
32:05He had the speed to win that race.
32:08But another issue.
32:09Yeah, it's Nate Thrasher goes by.
32:11And now Kitchen has real problems.
32:14Not sure what has happened.
32:15He's trying to hammer on the motorcycle.
32:17Back to the leaders.
32:18Deegan with a lap rider between himself and Shimoda.
32:21Two to go.
32:23Very impressive.
32:23Pulling away.
32:24Yeah, very impressive race by Hayden right here.
32:26And this is where, guys, when you get into 450, be able to recover, not lose your patience.
32:31You know, Joe Shimoda's been on a roll.
32:33You know how fast he is.
32:34But Hayden to be able to recover.
32:35This is what I've been impressed with this kid his whole career.
32:38But to be able to do that while injured in mid-race, pretty special.
32:45Some serious grit from the 2024 champ right here.
32:55Lap and a half left.
33:03Yeah, you can see Hayden sitting down right there off those landings.
33:06Normally, he would stand up, keep that by light.
33:09But because his leg is starting to bother him, he's starting to absorb that with his whole body.
33:13Take that weight off that leg.
33:15So, again, these are the things that all these athletes, they're adjusting.
33:19Not only at lines, body-wise, how the bike is working.
33:22You know, you don't figure that stuff out until you're out here.
33:25And the one that can digest the best is usually your winner.
33:29And Hayden Deegan's figured it out better, quicker than everybody else.
33:32I think he's put Shimoda away.
33:33Yeah.
33:35Incredible.
33:37Shimoda had him on the ropes multiple times.
33:40Couldn't quite finish it.
33:42And now the white flag is flying.
33:44Now, so far today, Hayden's had a little bit more speed than Joe.
33:49And when I'm watching the race, Hayden can slow down a little bit.
33:52He's got about a second and a half on Joe.
33:53Oh, no.
33:54Hammaker from fifth.
33:56Early race leader.
33:58Down and down hard.
33:59Yeah.
34:00And I can tell where he's at right now.
34:01This is that triple uphill going up Mount Martin.
34:04And the way those handlebars look and where he's laying,
34:07I think he probably got cross-rutted.
34:09And now it looks like an endo there.
34:10So, tough break for a guy that was leading this race.
34:13Yeah.
34:14It was headed toward a top five.
34:17And that has been the story for that Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki team.
34:21Like you said about Kitchen, they've shown speed.
34:23Every time they get a run together, though, something seems to undo it.
34:28Marchbanks top on that squad.
34:30And this one's seventh.
34:31He has been mired in traffic, especially the last couple of weeks.
34:35Marchbanks, who's been fast all year.
34:37Viala's worked his way all the way to sixth.
34:39Moesman fifth.
34:41Deegan still looking back to see the gap to Shimoda.
34:43It's 1.7 now.
34:45Yeah.
34:45And what I was saying about Hayden, Hayden's had about a second and a half on Joe all day long at speed.
34:49So, when Hayden slows down, he's got a little bit of a gap to play with.
34:53Or, for me, Joe's riding as hard as he can.
34:56And that pace that he's not able to catch Hayden, which is...
35:01Well, they've got to not jump here because of Hamaker.
35:03Good to see Hamaker getting back on the bike.
35:06Did Shimoda roll both of those or not?
35:07Yeah, he did, but where the cross flag was.
35:09Wait a minute.
35:10Oh, battle for the lead, James.
35:12Yeah, so what do you think happened on the jump with the flags out?
35:14Well, Hayden slowed down because he's the leader.
35:16So, he rolled that first jump and the cross flag wasn't there.
35:19So, Joe doubled.
35:21But it's going to be...
35:22I don't know.
35:23We're going to have to go back to this game.
35:24That's going to be a judgment call.
35:25Could be a penalty coming Shimoda's way.
35:27Meanwhile, he almost took the lead.
35:29We got a battle on the last lap.
35:30Yeah, if Hayden can get to the inside on this next jump, he'll have Joe covered.
35:36He's there.
35:40One turn remains at the bottom of the hill.
35:44Hayden Diggins hurting and winning the first moto at Millville.
35:49And Jeremy Martin is going to put it on the podium.
36:00Yeah!
36:0390th career moto podium.
36:06And that might feel better than all of them.