2023 Pro Motocross - Washougal National - 450MX Moto 2
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00:00 but they'll be sitting there making sure that gate drops
00:02 before they go and get stuck.
00:03 And sometimes you get caught just waiting.
00:05 And by that time you'll be coming out last again
00:07 if you do that.
00:08 - Yeah, you can not say, "Oh, just to not risk it,
00:10 "maybe I'll just hesitate a second."
00:12 And you can see Sexton there getting fired up
00:14 as he normally does.
00:15 And that's one of the big questions too.
00:17 Everybody's got to get back in the zone
00:19 in the most important part of a motocross race,
00:21 which is the start.
00:23 Fly racing 30 second card is up.
00:25 When that turns sideways,
00:26 the riders will stare down at the gate,
00:28 put the bikes in gear, pull the clutch in,
00:30 and it's wide open.
00:32 Here we go, for more sugar.
00:33 Looks good that time.
00:38 And Sexton has himself a good start.
00:40 Aaron Plessinger is gonna lead them on the KTM.
00:43 He has the motorsport.com hold shot.
00:45 It's Lawrence and Sexton battling second and third
00:47 up Horsepower Hill.
00:49 - Yeah, great start from that first one.
00:52 Great start by Chaster.
00:53 Focus in, you better cut Jed off.
00:55 You don't want him in front of him.
00:56 Great start by Aaron Plessinger, number seven.
00:59 Last time that thing was here, I was up here,
01:00 but great move.
01:02 And Jed's able to get around them already.
01:04 And that's what he needed to do if I'm Jed Lawrence,
01:07 but Chase Sexton, I can't allow that to happen.
01:10 - That was a great move.
01:11 He just jumped to the inside
01:12 and took second place away from his teammate.
01:14 But Aaron Plessinger has been looking for a start like this
01:17 all year and he has it.
01:18 The fans love this guy.
01:20 The cowboy, as they call him, is out front.
01:22 - Jason Anderson in fourth place.
01:25 So another good start by him.
01:27 Kind of replay everybody except for Dylan Ferrandez.
01:30 I'm sure he's a little bummed on that restart.
01:31 He was up there, but look at AP going from struggling
01:35 that first moto, imagine what a lead does and here we go.
01:38 Hopefully he can get back and just kind of find a form.
01:41 It's going to be hard to keep Jed Lawrence behind you
01:43 and all these guys, but AP, he's a champion.
01:45 You know he's going to try.
01:46 - Yep, that's what you said with KTM keys to the moto.
01:48 Just lead a lap against Jed Lawrence.
01:50 It's been a challenge this year.
01:52 Plessinger looking to get that done.
01:54 Sexton in third, Anderson and Ferrandez fourth and fifth.
01:57 You're right, Ferrandez looked like he had the whole shot,
01:59 but only fifth when they restarted the race.
02:02 This is the Aaron Plessinger we expected to see
02:04 the first couple rounds of the year.
02:06 He was on fire and he might've been the second best guy
02:09 in this series.
02:10 He has not been the same since.
02:12 Get that back on track right now.
02:14 And it looks like he will lead lap one on Washougal,
02:16 but here comes Jed Lawrence.
02:18 - And just like the first moto,
02:19 Jason's struggling in the beginning part of the race
02:21 and he's allowing that gap.
02:22 I mean, they got a two second lead on him
02:24 and that's even with Aaron Plessinger.
02:26 So as you can see, they put a little bit of water down.
02:30 Jed got close to losing a front end.
02:31 I believe that was because of the water
02:33 and half the track we did in our pit report
02:36 is under the shadows.
02:37 But I mean, look at Aaron Plessinger,
02:38 be able to struggle that first moto
02:40 after the first few races.
02:42 We were like looking forward to this kind of performance,
02:44 struggle that first moto and now he's out here
02:46 leading the best guys in the world.
02:48 And that's what a star do.
02:49 And that's why I said,
02:50 these guys are the best in the world.
02:51 And it really comes down to mentally what they can do.
02:54 And it's good to see Aaron back.
02:55 - Plessinger has not led laps in this series since Red Bud,
02:59 round four of 2021.
03:02 Wow, that is hard to believe.
03:03 Oh, dug in deep with the front end there, almost went down.
03:07 We head back up Horace Power Hill.
03:08 Plessinger's got a 1.4 second lead in this crowd.
03:11 Loves this guy.
03:12 Got the mullet flying, got the cowboy hat
03:14 and pretty much yee-haw and woo every time you talk to him.
03:18 And he's giving them what they want, leading this one.
03:20 Come on, Aaron, give the people what they want.
03:22 Good, nice whip.
03:23 But yeah, thanks to Jet Lawrence,
03:25 the only other person that's,
03:26 besides still a friend is today,
03:28 nobody else has led a lap that's here at this race.
03:30 So Ken Roxon, he's back at home.
03:33 He's the only person to lead.
03:34 So this season I'll let him have a pass.
03:37 We didn't expect Jet Lawrence to have this dominance,
03:38 but good to see Aaron back and, you know,
03:41 see if he can just get in the flow.
03:43 You can see how dry it is and you can watch Jet
03:45 making a few mistakes.
03:46 And again, Chase closes in up on him
03:49 and then he kind of loses that time.
03:50 But good for him.
03:52 - Yep, and could it be two laps led for Plessinger?
03:55 And yes, the way Jet Lawrence has dominated the racing
03:57 this year, that is a big deal.
03:59 And it's Sexton's opportunity to try to hang with him.
04:02 Same with Anderson in third and fourth.
04:05 Once Jet took the lead from Ferrandez in Moto One,
04:07 he was able to take off.
04:09 We'll see how he manages the situation right now
04:11 with a little bit of time to make up on Plessinger,
04:14 who came into this race with six straight fourth place
04:17 Moto finishes.
04:18 And he's just off the podium over and over.
04:21 - Well, at least he's consistent.
04:22 - Yeah, given that, he just taped in fourth.
04:24 You're just off those podium and the bonus money
04:27 that you get for that.
04:28 Jet's closing in a bit now.
04:30 - Now, if I'm Aaron Plessinger,
04:32 I'm doing something I haven't done all year.
04:34 But if I'm Chase Sexton,
04:35 these first few laps are so important.
04:36 I mean, this might be the point,
04:38 maybe you tuck the front end,
04:39 but we do know how hard it is to make time up.
04:42 So this race could be over if you don't get closer to Jet
04:47 and possibly pass him while he's behind Aaron.
04:49 'Cause we know if he gets out front,
04:51 even a two second gap is gonna be hard to close in.
04:53 And I feel like this is the perfect opportunity.
04:56 And he's gonna have to get a lot closer than this
04:58 to if he's gonna stop the streak as we watch Jet
05:00 lose the rear end coming out the corner.
05:02 - And Plessinger was seventh in Moto one earlier today.
05:05 So this is the difference that a start can make.
05:07 Got the Red Bull KTM dialed in right now.
05:10 He has never won a Moto on a 450 before,
05:13 former champion of our 250 class.
05:15 And he's keeping Jet honest right now.
05:17 Although it's the story all year,
05:19 you never quite know what you're getting from Jet Lawrence.
05:21 His way to manage the pace
05:23 and only go as fast as he needs to is quite fascinating.
05:26 Right now, another lap kicks off and more lead for AP7.
05:31 - Yeah, I think a lot of this comes down to, again,
05:33 the way his track is set up.
05:35 Like Aaron is riding really good.
05:36 If Jet could get around him,
05:37 he would pass him just because of Ruth.
05:39 So I think why Jet's hanging back
05:41 because maybe he doesn't feel comfortable
05:43 or he's not ready to get around Aaron.
05:45 So you're not gonna just stick up
05:47 and just get roosted by this guy,
05:48 but we'll see here soon.
05:50 If Chase closing in on Jet,
05:51 then you're gonna see Jet close in on Aaron
05:53 and it'll probably make that pass really quick.
05:55 Otherwise Jet's gonna sit back
05:56 and whenever he feels like doing it, then he'll go for it.
05:59 - Look and listen to this crowd for the great personality.
06:06 Aaron Plessinger leading, they love it.
06:08 And this is a pivotal moment.
06:09 Can Sexton and Anderson keep Jet in sight
06:13 while Jet's back here in the number two spot?
06:15 He has not really put the full press on Plessinger,
06:17 at least not yet.
06:18 What happened there?
06:19 - He over jumped that and he landed really hard.
06:21 So I don't know if he over jumped.
06:23 They're kind of jumping in some breaking bumps.
06:25 He over jumped it full on bottomed out, almost went down.
06:28 So that was a scary moment, but he was able to save it.
06:31 - Yeah, this is the thing.
06:32 He cannot control it right now while he's not leading.
06:36 Maybe he won't ever lead.
06:37 Maybe Plessinger is just looking at a moto win here.
06:39 He just never know when someone's gonna catch fire.
06:42 And we've seen this from Plessinger before.
06:44 He led every lap except the last one
06:47 at the Detroit Supercross earlier in the year.
06:49 He simply wheelied away from everyone
06:52 in 450 Monster Energy Supercross until a late crash.
06:55 He has the talent to do it.
06:56 - He's led more laps today than anybody, like I said.
07:00 And coming into this moto, we didn't even mention him.
07:03 And I think that's, again, all these guys,
07:07 Aaron's the champion, he knows how to do it.
07:08 It's just about getting his confidence
07:10 and feeling like he can.
07:11 And I know for Aaron,
07:13 it's probably gonna be a little bit more,
07:14 take a little bit more time than the other guys
07:17 as far as confidence, 'cause he's had some struggles.
07:18 But every lap these guys lead and Jet doesn't,
07:21 it just gives them an opportunity
07:23 to feel like they can do it.
07:25 And Chase saw Jet almost fall.
07:27 Chase is seeing Jet make these mistakes.
07:29 So even though he's not right there,
07:31 it's giving him confidence.
07:33 And Aaron's like, "Dude, yee-haw, I'm out front.
07:35 Nobody's coming to pass me."
07:37 So it's all good right now.
07:39 - Oh yeah, and he's got the fan support as well.
07:41 You can hear the air horns going.
07:43 Sexton did close a little bit on Lawrence
07:46 the last time we saw them.
07:48 And now Lawrence able to pull back away a bit.
07:50 - Yeah, Chase is losing a lot of time
07:52 in the beginning part of this,
07:53 this beginning part of the lap.
07:55 He was close to Jet by those finish lines.
07:57 And I think what he's doing,
07:59 he's taking a little bit more chances in those shadows.
08:01 Maybe he's more confident, so he's closing in.
08:04 But he loses it going up in the front.
08:06 - Thor BattleBox showing you Phil Nicoletti
08:09 and Ty Masterpool.
08:10 That is eighth and ninth up horsepower hill.
08:13 As we go back to this,
08:14 as Lawrence begins to close on Plesinger.
08:17 - Yeah, that didn't sound right.
08:19 We were watching Ty battle another privateer.
08:21 That's not right.
08:22 We haven't seen that.
08:22 Usually it's the factory car.
08:24 As you can see, Chase was right there
08:26 and he lost a lot of time.
08:27 Now he's going to have to make that up.
08:28 The best opportunities in these woods
08:31 because one, Jet gets stuck behind Aaron
08:33 and if he's not able to get him before,
08:36 Chase can't catch that gap.
08:37 And I think he takes some chances where maybe--
08:39 - Chase right there now putting the attack on Plesinger.
08:41 Here we go.
08:42 Not much room for passing here
08:45 as you also watch that Masterpool and Nicoletti battle
08:48 just inside the top 10.
08:50 And now we'll go into the shadows,
08:51 working your way back downhill toward the finish line.
08:54 - All right, Jet's trying to set him up.
08:56 Maybe he'll go around the outside,
08:57 dive around the inside.
08:58 - Go inside.
08:59 Can he cut him off at the entrance?
09:00 He does, Jet Lawrence to the lead.
09:02 - Yeah, that's what I was saying.
09:03 Like you're staying back.
09:04 There's no sense of following him that closely.
09:06 And then when he gets close, then you can see it.
09:08 So now let's see what Chase Sexton done.
09:10 He just saw what he did and it's gonna be the carbon.
09:13 A replay of the first moto
09:15 if he's not able to get around AP, but.
09:18 - Unbelievable.
09:19 Jet Lawrence setting sail the way he has all year long.
09:23 Took a little longer to get the lead in this moto,
09:24 about nine minutes.
09:25 But it is incredible what the 19 year old has done.
09:30 So he's trying to do it again.
09:31 - Takes three laps and we're saying,
09:32 hell man, he's struggling.
09:33 - Yes, exactly.
09:34 The standard is high.
09:35 - He's struggling.
09:36 So yeah, now you see Chase Sexton,
09:39 that sense of urgency is now he knows
09:42 he has to get around Aaron right now.
09:45 Otherwise he's gonna watch that 18 do the same thing
09:47 he's been doing to him all season.
09:48 He can get that gap.
09:49 And here at Washougal, we know how hard it is.
09:52 So Chase Sexton, now I believe he can get around Aaron
09:56 if he gets close enough to him, which is a good pass.
09:58 And I don't think Aaron's gonna try to block him too much.
10:01 Aaron's gonna race him, but maybe Chase can square it up.
10:03 - Nice move by Sexton going from outside to inside.
10:06 Now who's got the horsepower up horsepower hill.
10:09 Lessinger will be on the inside, the left side at the top.
10:12 - There you go.
10:13 - Sexton lets it fly.
10:14 He's got to grease this corner on the outside
10:16 and stay with him.
10:17 Wheel to wheel and Sexton got it done.
10:20 - Yeah, that's what I kind of figured out.
10:21 I didn't think Aaron would fight him too much.
10:22 He knows that Chase is on a different pace
10:25 and all these guys like if Aaron was feeling
10:26 like he had a chance to win, then he probably would race him.
10:29 But Chase, good pass by him.
10:31 He knows that it's time to go.
10:33 Got any chance, his right now, baby.
10:35 - Yup, this is gonna be a two and a half seconds
10:38 between Sexton and Lawrence.
10:40 Can Sexton keep him in sight?
10:42 Now that he's got clear racetrack,
10:44 he's up to second ahead of Lessinger.
10:46 Anderson's only two seconds further back.
10:48 Then it's Miranda, Cianciarulo, March Banks,
10:51 Masterpool ahead of Nicoletti.
10:53 Kyle Chisholm is 10th on the twisted T Suzuki
10:57 as they head uphill.
10:58 - Now Chase said after that first motor,
11:00 he didn't seem that happy with the motorcycle.
11:02 So they were gonna make some changes.
11:03 So we're about to find out,
11:05 was what Jet Lawrence was able to do,
11:06 was that just no matter what he does,
11:08 that's gonna happen or was it the bike?
11:10 Did Chase really struggle with the motorcycle?
11:13 Or, you know, so we're about to find out next few laps
11:15 as to Honda, was able to make those changes
11:17 to allow Chase to be a little bit more comfortable
11:19 to run that pace with Jet.
11:20 - Yeah, it's unbelievable what Honda has done this year.
11:22 They're looking to potentially sweep all the championships
11:26 in the regular Monster Energy Supercross
11:28 and Pro Motocross Championship this season.
11:30 They won all three Supercross titles
11:32 for the Lawrence brothers and Sexton indoors.
11:36 And here outdoors, the Lawrence brothers lead
11:38 both 450 and 250 classes.
11:41 And you could probably argue that Chase Sexton
11:42 is the second best 450 rider.
11:44 He's not second in points
11:45 'cause he missed a bunch of races,
11:47 but it has been an all Honda show lately in this sport.
11:51 And Sexton is there.
11:52 He took it from 2.8 to 2.3.
11:54 - Yeah, Jet ran a 2.17.2
11:56 and Chase ran a 2.17.1.
11:59 And this beginning part of lap,
12:00 that's where Chase was losing a lot of time
12:02 earlier in this race.
12:03 So he was able to close in to 1.6.
12:07 So let's see what he does.
12:09 - There's the mechanics, Jason Thomas, what are you seeing?
12:11 - Well, I'm with Christian Ducharme down here
12:13 in the mechanics area.
12:14 Christian, we're on the precipice of 16 and 0.
12:16 I keep asking you this question,
12:18 has there been a conversation yet?
12:19 Like we're getting closer and closer.
12:21 It's gotta come up at some point.
12:22 - I'm still not really.
12:24 I mean, I main focus is week to week,
12:26 every photo and go out there and put the best effort forward
12:28 see what we end up with.
12:29 So we're gonna let the season go as it comes,
12:32 let him do his work and whatever he ends up with
12:34 is what the end of season result will be.
12:36 So hopefully it's good for everyone.
12:38 - Fair enough.
12:39 I look forward to having this conversation week after week.
12:42 - Thank you.
12:43 - Well, to get to 16 and 0 though,
12:44 he's got to hold Sexton off
12:45 and Sexton has taken it down to 1.4 seconds.
12:49 It was 2.8 a lap ago at this juncture.
12:52 We knew Sexton should be good at this track.
12:54 We did not see a challenge in the first moto,
12:57 a little bit better this time.
12:58 Now Jet has closed it or pulled it back out to two seconds,
13:02 but it is on right now.
13:03 - Yeah, it's on.
13:04 You can tell Jet's trying to pick that pace up
13:06 for whatever reason, Chase is a little bit quicker.
13:09 Again, I think he's maybe taking a little bit more chances
13:11 in these shadows, but Jet's trying to set that pace
13:15 and make Chase have to ride hard.
13:18 Maybe he makes a mistake and both these guys.
13:21 So it's good to see.
13:22 I like his mechanic because it's almost like
13:24 you're listening to Jet Lawrence as far as the mechanic.
13:27 He seems really confident.
13:28 He's like, "Oh, no, we haven't thought about it."
13:30 Just real smooth, just like his rider.
13:32 But of course, they've been thinking about it.
13:35 To get 16 and 0, you got to get 15 and 0
13:37 and he's able to do that.
13:38 So let's see if he rolls through this one as well.
13:40 - Well, it is shocking how lighthearted Jet Lawrence
13:42 has been even though he's got
13:44 such serious business ahead of him.
13:45 And we asked him about dealing with the pressure
13:48 from Sexton last week.
13:49 We asked him this yesterday and again,
13:51 pretty lighthearted with his response here.
13:53 - I haven't really felt too like,
13:57 like not out of control, but like not too much pressure.
14:01 I mean, last weekend, the first moto,
14:03 Chase was doing a little bit faster
14:05 and he was catching bit by bit.
14:06 I could see him there and I ended up,
14:08 it probably sounds bad, but I ended up slowing up
14:11 a smidge for a few laps, like really kind of,
14:14 what do you say, like, not recover,
14:17 but really try and get a very deep few laps
14:19 with a deep breathing, make sure I'm fully recovered.
14:21 And then once I knew it was right there,
14:23 I felt more safe when he was right there
14:25 instead of having that three to five second gap.
14:28 So, especially with Chase, it's good in Chase,
14:30 I have a mistake where you can just kind of
14:31 do a surprise attack.
14:33 So I ended up slowing up a little bit,
14:34 make sure he's right on my butt.
14:36 And then I just kind of laid my ears back,
14:39 all right, let's see if we can keep that speed going.
14:41 And thankfully we ended up just pushing
14:43 to a bit of a limit and I'm making a mistake
14:45 and was able to get away with that one.
14:48 - All right, what do you think about that?
14:49 Almost letting Sexton creep up to him last week,
14:52 prepare for the battle.
14:53 - Well, it seems like that's the first time
14:54 I heard that full interview
14:55 and it's exactly what I thought.
14:57 And Jet Lawrence, by what he's saying right there,
15:01 Chase was coming, Chase had a good pace
15:04 and I feel like if Jet Lawrence could keep Chase
15:07 at 10 seconds, he woulda, but he knew Chase was coming.
15:10 So what he's decided to do was, okay, let him come.
15:13 And once he gets here, I'm gonna pick up the pace.
15:16 And my boy, Chad Reed, used to do this to me all the time.
15:18 He used to drive me nuts.
15:19 It's like, I'll make that time up on him,
15:22 catch him for a ways back.
15:24 Soon as I got to him, he starts picking the pace
15:26 and what it did, it just, it rattled me.
15:28 You just feel like once you catch somebody
15:29 from that far back, you can get around them,
15:32 but it shocked him.
15:33 And that's what Jet was saying.
15:34 He allowed Chase to come,
15:36 not saying that he was like playing with him,
15:38 but he knew Chase was coming.
15:39 So rest up, let him come up here and then fight him.
15:43 And then also you heard him say that I picked it up.
15:46 We made that, we got to our limit and we,
15:49 he wanted to find out, could Chase keep that limit up?
15:51 And could he run that pace?
15:53 Because Chase was going, Jet was going,
15:55 and we're gonna see who has the best,
15:57 who can run this pace and Chase went down.
15:59 So just smart riding and just tactical really,
16:03 when you're in situations.
16:04 And I feel like with each one of these riders,
16:06 each lap, they're changing.
16:08 What they went in his moto,
16:09 then whatever the start dictates this, you know?
16:12 So they're able to adjust and Jet Lawrence
16:15 just basically gave you his plan.
16:16 His plan was to run away with it,
16:18 but when that wasn't happening and he saw Chase coming,
16:20 then he went to the other plan and ended up working.
16:22 So smart, kid smart.
16:25 - JT, we'll go to him in a second,
16:27 but I do want to mention we're already halfway
16:29 into this moto, 15 minutes to go.
16:31 You can save 15% or more on your insurance
16:33 with a 15 minute call to Geico.
16:35 What do you see in trackside, Jason Thomas?
16:37 - Well, those comments from Jet to me,
16:39 that's all about confidence.
16:40 There is no way that most people would ever allow
16:43 their biggest rival to willingly let them catch up.
16:45 They would just never do that.
16:47 And also on that Chad Reed comment there, Stu,
16:49 I also believe there's an incident at Unadilla
16:51 where you may have waved him up to the back of you
16:54 and then taken off again.
16:55 I don't want to bring up memories,
16:56 but I think that was you.
16:57 - That wasn't that though.
16:59 - No, that wasn't that.
17:00 And JT, me and Chad, we cool now.
17:02 You're bringing it up, like why are you bringing that up?
17:04 Man, I just don't.
17:05 But no, I do believe it's confidence
17:09 in your physical ability, but it's a different scenario.
17:13 And the reason I know that is, and maybe Jet,
17:17 maybe he didn't do it, maybe he was playing around,
17:19 but the reason I feel like what he said
17:22 kind of adds up to what it looked like and what he did
17:25 is 'cause I actually used to do that to Ricky Carmichael,
17:27 especially outdoors.
17:29 And I actually did it here.
17:30 I knew Ricky was coming.
17:32 Sometimes I would get out front at those first few laps.
17:34 If I can, I'm riding my hardest and he's still coming.
17:37 There's no sense of me wasting all my energy
17:39 and just letting him catch me five laps later,
17:42 and then I'm tired.
17:43 So I would slow down and allow him to catch.
17:46 And by doing that again,
17:47 I would save my energy to put up the fight.
17:49 And usually when I was able to do that,
17:52 sometimes Ricky made a mistake.
17:54 It would frustrate him.
17:55 And it's the same thing we used to talk about racing Chad.
17:57 We just never, he was hard to race
17:59 because we knew once we got to him,
18:01 no matter how the day was or how he was riding,
18:03 he was always gonna put up a fight.
18:05 And that was exactly why.
18:06 So it's frustrating.
18:08 And that's what Jet was saying.
18:09 So more about just race craft and confidence
18:12 in his ability to build a turn that notch up
18:14 once Chase got there,
18:15 but not in a sense of letting him catch him
18:19 like that incident that you keep talking about.
18:21 I don't recall back in Unadilla 2002, not that incident,
18:25 but today is opposite.
18:27 I do believe that they're both riding hard.
18:29 I don't think this is the same scenario as last weekend.
18:32 Jet knows that, look, this track can come up and bite you.
18:36 So if I don't have to go that fast,
18:38 it's I'm one rock or one corner from falling down.
18:41 This is a different scenario from last weekend.
18:43 And as you can see right there,
18:45 this is- - Jet lost traction
18:47 with the rear tire.
18:48 - Yeah, and that's how easily it can happen.
18:50 So we'll see, we've got 11 minutes left.
18:53 - Let's give you the Monster Energy racer update.
18:55 Monster Energy has Sexton in second,
18:57 Anderson fourth, Ferrandez fifth,
18:59 and Adam Cienciarulo in seventh.
19:02 This gap has been right about this.
19:05 1.3 to about 1.7 seconds the last couple of laps,
19:08 a much stronger challenge from Sexton here at Moto2
19:11 than what we saw at Moto1,
19:13 where Lawrence simply rolled away.
19:15 And it's what everyone was hoping to see.
19:18 This Jet Lawrence perfect season is unbelievable.
19:20 It's historic.
19:21 A rookie has certainly never done it.
19:22 It's only been done by two riders ever,
19:24 you, James Stewart, and Ricky Carmichael.
19:26 But at the same time, people want to see some drama,
19:29 some excitement, and we've got it right now
19:31 'cause Sexton's bringing the battle to him.
19:33 This should be a great stretch run.
19:34 11 minutes and two laps to go.
19:36 Jumping back downhill.
19:39 Oh, and you can see, yeah,
19:41 the shadows that you and JT have been talking about all day,
19:43 they are at a high right now.
19:46 Half the track covered in shadows now.
19:48 So hard to remain error-free,
19:50 especially with these riders pushing so hard.
19:53 - Yeah, this is a tough position,
19:55 and I think it's tougher for Chase
19:58 because he's like right there.
19:59 And this is the closest that he's been to Jet Lawrence.
20:02 And as you can see, Jet lands off that,
20:04 makes a mistake, and that's how it's really,
20:07 these guys are really close to falling.
20:09 And this is the setup for why she'll,
20:11 and it makes this track difficult.
20:13 So we'll give you the motorsport.com whole shot replay.
20:16 Sexton actually had the edge off the start here,
20:19 but it's going to be Aaron Plesinger
20:20 getting the jump on everyone.
20:22 - Yeah, Aaron Plesinger got a great jump,
20:24 and still, I feel like it was almost a whole shot for Chase
20:26 and even Jason Anderson after what just happened.
20:29 We had a restart for those guys to flinch,
20:31 to be able to focus again and get lined up,
20:33 get psyched up, to start in front of Jet.
20:36 That was a great thing.
20:37 But yeah, Aaron Plesinger, number seven on that KTM.
20:40 Got her done.
20:41 - Yeah, but look at the distance now.
20:43 Plesinger is 20 seconds off the lead
20:45 as these two Honda riders just keep ramping it up.
20:47 Now, their best times were 2.16.5 for Lawrence
20:52 and a 2.15.6 for Sexton.
20:55 They're in the 2.18, 2.19 range now.
20:58 So the track's slowing down.
20:59 What do you think is causing that?
21:01 - Well, just because of those shadows,
21:03 you can tell they're being really patient.
21:05 But when you watch these two guys,
21:06 that's why I said it's a little bit harder
21:08 for Chase to be in second because Jet's right there.
21:10 And I know Chase feels like,
21:11 "Man, I can go a little bit faster," and so can Jet.
21:14 But you see what happens.
21:16 Jet gets on the gas a little early.
21:17 He loses the rear end.
21:18 Chase sees him, and then he tries to get there.
21:21 He loses the front end.
21:22 There's another mistake by Jet.
21:24 So if I'm Chase Sexton, I gotta be disciplined at this point
21:28 because I'm still here, and nobody's been able
21:31 to actually keep Jet all the way to the second moto
21:33 of 30 minutes.
21:35 So maybe you can outlast him physically,
21:37 but I know I just gotta be patient
21:39 when I got that dog bone right in front of me
21:41 not to go bite it.
21:42 And we'll see.
21:44 But JT, I don't know if you agree.
21:46 What are you thinking?
21:48 - Well, it seems like they're playing
21:49 a little bit of cat and mouse here.
21:50 And I think both of them are not scared,
21:52 but they're hesitant to put in their best laps right now.
21:55 I think for Jet, he's trying to figure out
21:57 what is Chase waiting?
21:58 Does he have a couple seconds of lap
22:00 that he can throw out there,
22:01 just like Hayden Deegan did in 250 moto two?
22:04 And for Chase, he's wondering the same thing.
22:06 Just like Spring Creek, is Jet holding up?
22:08 Like if I get to the rear of him
22:10 and really put a burst of energy in,
22:12 will Jet wait and then just ride away from me when I let up?
22:14 So it's a lot of strategy right now.
22:16 And I think they're just waiting to get deep into this race
22:18 and then sort it out.
22:20 - We're getting pretty deep right now, though.
22:21 Eight minutes and two laps to go.
22:24 Does Sexton have something else to get it even closer?
22:27 He's not gotten it under one second.
22:30 Yet, now there were races this year where Lawrence,
22:32 you could tell, was just holding them
22:34 two to four to five seconds.
22:36 I don't think that's the case here.
22:37 We've seen enough mistakes and the gap is just close enough.
22:39 You're really seeing these guys push right now, but yeah.
22:42 Is there another percentage that either one can go
22:45 as we get deeper into this moto?
22:48 - Yeah, I actually like what Jet's doing right there.
22:50 Now he's starting to sit down.
22:52 And if you noticed earlier in the race, he was standing up.
22:54 Why he's doing that is 'cause now he's taking the risk
22:57 out of losing a front end,
22:58 as that was a nice little wheel tap.
23:00 But I feel like with those guys,
23:02 when they try to go faster, they make mistakes.
23:04 So it's a waiting game in a sense to what JT's saying,
23:09 but I don't feel like Jet feels like
23:11 if Chase gets there, he's gonna go two seconds faster.
23:14 It's just whether Chase can continue to run that pace
23:17 and not make mistakes.
23:18 Both of these guys are waiting for the other one
23:20 to make that mistake.
23:21 And who's gonna, who does that?
23:23 'Cause they're the same speed
23:24 is gonna end up winning the race.
23:26 Jet Lawrence has the advantage
23:27 because Chase, he can catch him,
23:29 but he still has to figure out a way around him.
23:31 And I feel like as you see Jet Lawrence
23:33 almost loses front end right there.
23:35 They're both on the limit.
23:37 It's just second moto 450.
23:39 It's grown man time right here, baby.
23:42 - Is the track most slippery at this point of the day?
23:46 Why or how's it, how's it in the morning?
23:48 It's wet and muddy.
23:48 How's it turn out now?
23:50 - Yeah, it's slippery, but I think the challenge becomes
23:53 more it's Washougal and it's a slippery racetrack.
23:56 And where these guys, if you notice,
23:58 Jet almost just went down right there.
23:59 He lost the front end.
24:01 If you notice, they're losing the rear end
24:04 coming out of the corner.
24:05 And what that tells me, the reason they do that
24:07 is 'cause the track's dry.
24:08 It has that like loose stuff on top.
24:10 So it's not slippery as like those shadows
24:12 where it's like a moisture slippery.
24:14 It's just really dry.
24:16 But I think the difficult part is more when they get close,
24:19 they try to get on the gas, they spin out
24:20 and those shadows and they're being really patient.
24:23 So they can go down just because they won't be able to see,
24:26 but as we're watching in the battle box down there.
24:29 - Yeah, we got the two-stroke challenge race within a race.
24:31 The old school two-strokes.
24:32 They're not as fast as the four-strokes,
24:34 but there's $15,000 on the line today
24:36 to the best rider on the old school two-stroke.
24:38 Carson Brown, who we're watching here in 18th,
24:41 is the leader of that two-stroke group.
24:43 He also had the best result of them in the first Moto.
24:46 So he's looking at a $15,000 bounty
24:49 put up by Moto Memes, Moto Sport.
24:52 He's our title sponsor for this event
24:53 and Jetson Donuts, which is Jet Lawrence's donut company.
24:58 They're putting money on the line.
24:59 So Carson Brown looking to collect that.
25:01 Always fun to get the old bikes that sound so good
25:03 back on the racetrack.
25:05 But we got to go back to the serious business here.
25:07 The gap is still 1.7 seconds between them.
25:11 Oh, here's our two-strokes running right now.
25:13 A-Rod, the rider, Anthony Rodriguez out of Venezuela
25:16 is 21st.
25:17 Hamish Harwood, who is from New Zealand,
25:20 is the third best two-stroke right now.
25:22 And here we go, five minutes and two laps to go.
25:24 Yeah, it's game time.
25:26 Now, Chase Sexton, what's going to play into this,
25:28 since they're so close, want mistakes.
25:30 But lappers, I don't know if the donut that Jet Lawrence,
25:34 he's got to sponsor, the BattleBox guy, Brown,
25:38 Jet makes another mistake.
25:39 But the lapper is going to be really important for these guys
25:42 because depending on where they catch him,
25:44 if I'm Chase Sexton, I want to pass the lappers as soon
25:46 as Jet Lawrence catches them.
25:47 I want to be able to get there.
25:49 So if he does get stuck, then I make that gap.
25:51 And it's been hovering around 1 and 1/2 to 2 seconds.
25:54 Of course, Jet gets caught behind lappers.
25:56 I get him right there.
25:57 And I feel like if I'm there, which is as close as I've been
26:00 all day long, I'm going to do what Haydeegan does,
26:03 make that pass.
26:04 It is about as close as it's been all day long.
26:06 1.6 now, 1.5 at the next split as they go up
26:10 Horsepower Hill.
26:11 Jet Lawrence really pushing now.
26:13 We finally have the answer.
26:14 All you're wondering, were we even seeing max attack?
26:17 Got to be the case right now.
26:19 But that doesn't mean that he's not
26:20 going to be able to hold them off anyway.
26:23 He's been so impressive what he's been able to do.
26:25 Perfect so far this year.
26:27 But the perfect season is on the line.
26:30 Yeah, if you notice, Jet's kind of sent down in a lot of spots.
26:33 Now, Jet can break Chase if he's able to.
26:36 If he can put in a lap or two hard laps
26:40 where he can get a gap, then that's
26:42 going to kind of demoralize Chase.
26:43 Because they've been running at this same pace.
26:45 And Chase feels like, I got him.
26:46 So if Jet's somehow able to pick up the pace, which
26:48 he kind of has, then he can make this race a lot easier.
26:52 And if he's able to do that, it's
26:56 not that he's been playing with him for 28 minutes.
26:59 What he's doing is taking that chance
27:01 so he can actually get a gap.
27:02 Then he can just ride this thing out and then also
27:05 put Chase on the red lines.
27:07 This is good, man.
27:07 This is two tacticians working at the finest right here.
27:12 Yeah, because it's that type of track, right?
27:14 It's not a track that rewards just whoever can hammer it
27:16 harder and hang it out more.
27:18 You have to be tacticians to see them
27:20 on the limit on a track that doesn't really reward you
27:24 for being on the limit.
27:25 It is so fun to see them dissect it.
27:27 Sexton has been a little quicker on this end.
27:30 But now it's up to 2.2 seconds as they
27:33 go through these supercross style whoops at the finish.
27:36 And that runs them right to the finish line.
27:37 We're now down to three minutes and two laps to go.
27:41 By far, the biggest challenge Jet Lawrence
27:44 has had throughout this, so far, perfect season.
27:48 Yeah, Jet Lawrence has been put in the spot right now.
27:50 And this is the closest I feel like Chase is there.
27:54 And yeah, he's--
27:56 He's right there now.
27:57 He's right there.
27:58 And Jet's feeling it.
27:58 So if I'm Chase Sexton, this is where I'm taking the chance.
28:02 I'm going to fall.
28:04 Because I feel like if I can get to him,
28:06 I can actually pass him.
28:07 So it's worth going down, making that pass.
28:10 And we'll have to find out.
28:12 One second.
28:13 It's down to one second.
28:15 It's the closest Sexton has been pretty much all year.
28:17 Jason Thomas, what are you seeing?
28:19 Well, I think the track has a 216.
28:21 And I think they're close enough now
28:22 where Jet is going to have to pick up the pace.
28:24 And Chase is going to go flat out.
28:25 They've been counting down the laps.
28:27 The last time they came around, they
28:28 got the four laps to go sign.
28:29 So it's now or never.
28:31 They've been hovering in that 218 range.
28:33 And I think someone's going to drop a 216.
28:34 I just don't know which of them will.
28:36 They had 216s early in the race.
28:37 The track has gone away.
28:38 Yeah, it's been 219s and 218s.
28:41 Can someone find something extra?
28:43 That's going to be the difference
28:45 if Jet Lawrence can keep the perfect season alive.
28:49 Yeah, I agree with Jason.
28:52 The track, you can run a 216.
28:54 The thing is, what are you doing to take to run that?
28:57 What chance are you willing to take?
28:58 And--
28:59 Oh, no!
28:59 Sexton tips over in the S-turns!
29:02 There you go.
29:03 And--
29:03 What chance are you willing to take?
29:04 What chance are you willing to take to run that pace?
29:06 And you've got to give Chase credit.
29:08 I mean, he was going for it.
29:09 He knows it is.
29:11 And all that was is, look, both of these guys,
29:13 we saw Jet Lawrence almost go down four or five times,
29:16 almost ending it.
29:17 So it was a game of chicken.
29:18 Who can run that pace the long time?
29:20 And of course, you can run a 216.
29:22 But what chance are you willing to take?
29:23 And, you know, Chase ended up making that mistake.
29:26 There you go.
29:26 So do you think he was just pushing as hard as he could,
29:29 just coming into that corner hot?
29:30 Well, I mean, it's hard to say.
29:32 It's easy to say.
29:34 Both of these guys have been inches from going down.
29:36 So Jet could have easily made that mistake.
29:40 I just feel like now Chase, he got so close to him
29:43 that I was OK with doing that.
29:45 Because, look, this is my opportunity.
29:47 I'm getting roosted by this guy.
29:48 You've got to throw it at him.
29:49 You've got to throw it at him.
29:50 So what's the point of-- if you do this,
29:52 he's going to win the race.
29:53 And so that particular section, I
29:55 don't know necessarily he was going in too fast,
29:57 rather than it's slippery.
29:59 We saw how close these guys are going.
30:00 But, you know, Chase was giving it all he has.
30:03 And Jet was doing everything he possibly can to keep him.
30:05 And he goes down.
30:06 But, yeah.
30:07 It could have happened to any--
30:08 It could have happened to either one of those guys.
30:10 I don't feel like Chase was overriding.
30:13 But at the same time, he had to do that.
30:15 He couldn't just ride around and just get beat by him.
30:17 He had to take it.
30:19 And I think it was because he was that close.
30:20 So, yeah.
30:21 It's good.
30:22 And there it was.
30:23 It was going to be a battle.
30:24 Who could avoid the big mistake?
30:25 It looks like it's going to be Lawrence.
30:27 We're down to a little more than two laps to go.
30:29 The next time he hits the finish line,
30:31 the two-lap card will come out.
30:33 So we anticipated a battle between those two today.
30:36 We got it.
30:38 Let's check out the system crash again.
30:40 Yeah.
30:40 Looks like he probably comes in this corner.
30:42 And, yeah.
30:44 Gets in here.
30:45 Just basically-- I don't know.
30:48 It almost looked like he hit neutral, the way he fell over.
30:50 I agree.
30:51 Yeah.
30:52 Yeah, the bike just--
30:53 I think he hit neutral.
30:56 Yeah, you have to give the bike--
30:58 it's like being on a bicycle, right?
30:59 If you don't have forward movement,
31:01 you will eventually tip over.
31:02 And it just didn't look like he had any forward movement.
31:05 And he tipped over.
31:06 And now Lawrence, a quick look over the shoulder.
31:08 And he knows he can just bring it home now.
31:10 That was the biggest threat to the perfect season thus far.
31:14 And he survived.
31:16 Yes, he did.
31:18 Yes, he did.
31:18 I mean, he's still got two and a half laps
31:20 to wrap this thing up.
31:22 But for anybody that's thinking of both these guys,
31:25 they were racing.
31:26 They were racing.
31:27 They were making mistakes.
31:29 And no games there.
31:30 There was no games being done.
31:31 And I feel like even with Jet Lawrence,
31:33 like he tried doing what I thought he could do.
31:35 If he could run a fast lap time for a lap
31:38 and see if he can break Chase.
31:39 But Chase was able to respond back to it.
31:41 And I feel like with Jet, he reverted back to, OK,
31:45 I didn't break him.
31:47 But running his pace is probably going to put me on the ground.
31:49 So even though if Chase--
31:52 if he catches me, he still has to pass me.
31:54 And that's going to be hard to do.
31:56 So Chase went down.
31:58 And then Jet was able to ride this thing out so far.
32:00 But they both was on that limit.
32:02 Credit to Lawrence, though.
32:03 He actually started behind Setzton.
32:05 He had the early laps to put himself in that position.
32:08 Put Setzton in the position of having to pass him back.
32:11 And same thing in the first mode.
32:12 He was much better in the early laps.
32:14 And that made a huge difference there.
32:15 And now it's 2 to go.
32:17 And we're looking at 16 and 0 for the number 18.
32:20 Unbelievable.
32:21 Has still yet to lose a race in a 450.
32:24 He's two laps away from keeping that alive.
32:26 And the only win streaks in this class
32:31 that have ever been longer than this are perfect seasons.
32:34 You had one.
32:35 Ricky Carbuncle had two.
32:36 No one else ever won this many in this class
32:38 and ended up not being perfect.
32:39 It's still going.
32:40 Let's give a shout out to Klesinger,
32:42 who is in third in this moto.
32:44 But Jason Anderson has been a relentless pursuer all day.
32:48 He's only two seconds behind him in fourth.
32:51 And if it ends like this, Anderson
32:52 is going to put his Kawasaki on the overall podium for the day.
32:57 Four-four scores might be enough.
32:59 Yeah, great job by Boki.
33:00 He's got Aaron Klesinger to back--
33:03 come back after that first moto.
33:04 But he's in Jason Anderson.
33:06 We saw him keeping Dylan.
33:08 And from what he was two weeks ago to here, it's just great.
33:11 But I'm impressed with both these guys.
33:13 I think Jet Lawrence is probably his best ride of the year.
33:17 And as a rider, knowing how difficult
33:19 that is having this guy, and all the nuances,
33:22 and all the different challenges in changing the game,
33:28 different plans that was going on during this race,
33:30 it's special.
33:32 So Jet was able to do it.
33:33 Like I said, it was a game of chicken.
33:35 What chance are you willing to take to run this pace?
33:37 And they both was close to the limit.
33:39 But Jet was able to hang on.
33:40 And that's impressive to me.
33:43 Yeah, well, that's the other thing.
33:45 And JT and I have said it over and over.
33:47 He-- off the track, he's a kid.
33:49 He's fun.
33:49 He's light-hearted.
33:50 He's a great guy.
33:51 But, man, he rides like a veteran.
33:54 And you see him take a look over right there, just
33:56 to make sure he's got the gap.
33:59 Now, that was more like a kid right there.
34:01 Skying over that jump.
34:03 But yeah, Sex has actually taken it down from almost 10 seconds
34:06 down to seven.
34:08 Lawrence is going to bring it on home now.
34:10 He's working on Josh Hill.
34:11 Good to see the veteran, the local native,
34:13 come out and race a motocross race.
34:15 Has not raced at Wachugo since 2012.
34:18 Late in the second moto, he'll might be questioning
34:21 his decision to come out here.
34:23 But he's going to get points.
34:24 He's in 17th place.
34:25 He'll score four Super Motocross Championship points.
34:28 Maybe that'll get him into the playoffs.
34:29 Got four more points than I did today.
34:31 OK.
34:32 No, it's cool.
34:33 I like Josh.
34:33 He's one of the most talented guys I've seen.
34:35 He was a teammate for mine for a few years.
34:37 But yeah, I mean, now he's getting a shot.
34:39 He's right behind Jet Lawrence.
34:40 So he could say, I was running at pace.
34:42 I mean, Jet Lawrence, what are you doing?
34:44 But yeah.
34:45 I was right on Lawrence in the last lap.
34:47 Yeah, I was on Lawrence.
34:48 Closer than Chase was on the last lap.
34:50 So shout out to him.
34:51 But when you say Jet Lawrence, who was a kid,
34:53 now what happened on that roller,
34:56 he actually went in there and probably a little bit fatigued
34:58 at the end of the day.
34:59 And that bike kind of rebounded on him.
35:01 He got that awkward, like, freeness.
35:03 So not really him playing around.
35:05 More him made a mistake.
35:06 But it was Jeffertless.
35:08 So you think he's playing around.
35:10 Yeah, yeah.
35:11 It's actually-- it was Jeffertless, yes.
35:13 It's actually-- some of his talent most shows, I feel like,
35:17 when he gets in that position.
35:18 Every time he thinks something looks like it's going to go bad,
35:22 it's Jeffertless, effortless how he's able to reel it back in.
35:26 I know Carmichael has said that a lot, too.
35:28 The way he can recover so brilliantly,
35:31 I would imagine that's pretty hard to teach.
35:34 Yeah, it is very hard to teach.
35:36 It's instinct.
35:37 And it takes over.
35:38 Sexton's got it down to 6.4 seconds now.
35:41 And here we go.
35:43 Yeah, that type of mistake recovery thing,
35:45 I think we thought we'd see a lot of that
35:46 from Lawrence this year in his rookie year.
35:48 There has not been much of it.
35:50 Yeah, and I think it's what you're seeing,
35:52 and it makes it hard if, one, you have a race.
35:55 But just the way he-- his riding style,
35:57 just because what makes it look effortless
36:00 is because his head doesn't move.
36:01 And when you look at somebody's body position,
36:04 when you see Jeff, if you look at the bottom half of his body,
36:07 he's moving around a lot.
36:07 That bike's not moving.
36:10 But his center part from his hips up,
36:14 they don't move, which makes it look like he's just
36:16 kind of riding around.
36:17 But I'm watching the motorcycle.
36:19 I'm watching all these other actions.
36:20 And it's also hard for a team when you're going out there.
36:23 Because I experienced this a lot in Supercross.
36:26 So when I race, I would go out there,
36:28 and the team would be like, dude, the bike looks fine.
36:31 Well, it's because I'm so good.
36:33 Jet is so good.
36:33 And a lot of these guys, they can ride around it.
36:36 And if you're just visually looking,
36:38 it looks like everything's fine.
36:39 But when you start looking down at the motorcycle
36:42 and you listen to what the rider says,
36:44 he's telling you that, no, this bike is terrible.
36:47 But you just went the fastest.
36:48 So I'm sure Jet's probably going to come in here and say,
36:50 oh, that was close.
36:51 I was struggling.
36:52 That was all I had.
36:53 But he just won, and he's going.
36:56 It looks pretty darn good.
36:57 For sure, the biggest challenge he's had all year.
37:00 But he comes out on top.
37:01 Jet Lawrence wins again, sweeping Washougal.
37:05 And he's 16 and 0.
37:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
37:09 And did you see Sexton sprint it down all the way to the end?
37:19 He still ran a 2.18 and got it down to 3 and 1/2 seconds.
37:23 He shakes Lawrence's hand.
37:25 I don't know.
37:26 Is that almost symbolic for him to be like,
37:27 I'm just going to run it as hard as I can to win?
37:29 Yeah, I mean, there could be a lot of different reasons.
37:31 I think he still feels like as quick, as easy as he fell over.
37:35 OK.
37:35 Jet could do the same thing.
37:37 So why not just run that pace?
37:39 Or maybe he's sending that message
37:40 that, look, I'm in shape.
37:41 I'm strong.
37:41 I just ran a 2.18.
37:44 But at the end of the day, you saw Jet.
37:46 And you see he's feeling it.
37:48 I'd be interested to kind of hear him out that his race--
37:50 that was a tough moto.
37:51 That was impressive to me, what both those guys were able to do.
37:54 But just knowing Jet and how effortless it looks,
37:59 or jet-flawless, that was a hard ride.
38:01 And his kids, he's answering their tests.
38:03 Any time you send them and ask them questions,
38:05 they'll give you an answer.
38:06 And he was able to do it again.
38:07 Yeah, he's aced it for sure.
38:10 [CHEERING]
38:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
38:17 [CHEERING]
38:21 (audience laughing)