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00:00So we'll have more details on that as it unfolds.
00:02That's cool.
00:02More details on the racing here.
00:04Keys to the moto from KTM.
00:06Well, Ken Rockson, Cooper Webb, welcome back.
00:09Let's see what you got.
00:10We see how that number 4, Chase Sexton, he's been strong.
00:13I know you guys are getting back into this thing.
00:15You want to get your feet wet.
00:16But there ain't no getting your feet wet.
00:18Let's see what you got.
00:18Ken had a lot of great success at this track.
00:21So you know, he feels like there's always
00:22an opportunity to win.
00:23And Cooper Webb, it's Cooper Webb.
00:26So you never know what you're going to get with him.
00:27You know what helped Rockson yesterday?
00:29He's like, yes, I've done good at this track.
00:30But I'm not sure, coming off a leg injury,
00:32that this mud is going to be good.
00:33But guess what?
00:34We don't really have a muddy track.
00:36We ain't got no mud.
00:37We ain't got no mud.
00:38I'm sure they probably turned their head when they saw
00:39a chance Hyman's go down.
00:41Well, yeah.
00:41Probably had to X that out.
00:42But yeah, I'm sure he's going to get a good start.
00:45And we'll see the real Ken Rockson show up.
00:48So we are ready.
00:48450 moto one.
00:50Chase Sexton, point leader.
00:53And that's really the story.
00:54It was a big enough gap, as you heard Lars Lindstrom
00:56and the Honda folks say, might as well give it
00:58a shot on the new bike and see if it turns things around.
01:01Look at the number 12.
01:02Different colors there for Shane McElrath.
01:05But where is he?
01:06He has switched, there he is, to the madparts.com MXers
01:11for Christ Kawasaki team.
01:13He has been let go from the Twisted T Suzuki squad.
01:16He said it was not mutual.
01:18I did go over there and talk to Dustin Pipes,
01:20one of the owners of that team.
01:21And he said the results had not been good in motocross.
01:24They wanted him to sit out and come back for the playoffs.
01:26He did not want to sit out a motocross.
01:28Meanwhile, they have a new recruit, Colt Nichols,
01:30on that bike.
01:31Now, they plan on having both of them race.
01:33It's not like Nichols gave McElrath the boot.
01:36But McElrath didn't want to miss these last three races.
01:39And he's hooked up with Bubba Pauly
01:41and that Madparts Kawasaki team.
01:42Let's see what he does on the 12th.
01:45Well, there's an opportunity.
01:46We saw what Garrett just did, a little motivation.
01:48So let's see if Shane can do the same thing on this Kawasaki.
01:52Yep.
01:53Oh, man, this is so intriguing.
01:54There's Justin Cooper, the New York native,
01:57battling for playoff points.
01:58Everyone is, well, so much on the line.
02:00So let's do it.
02:10Lawrence and Plessinger battling for the lead.
02:15AP on the 7th.
02:16Got it.
02:16And here comes Sexton.
02:18Great start by Aaron Plessinger.
02:20I thought that was Chase.
02:21Chase got a good jump.
02:22Same thing with 96.
02:24Hunter Lawrence.
02:26Oh, he slices to the inside, James.
02:27Excuse me.
02:28There you go.
02:31That was quick.
02:32I don't even know where that line came from.
02:34We haven't seen many passes right there.
02:36But Sexton makes it happen.
02:38Let's see what Hunter Lawrence does.
02:39Chase obviously had the pace on him.
02:41But see if Hunter gets it.
02:42Oh!
02:43Hunter's coming back, bar to bar, making it happen.
02:47Yeah.
02:48Return to favor, sneak in.
02:49And he was being nice.
02:50Like, he could have pushed Chase out.
02:52But Hunter wanted to get in.
02:53Nice pass, recovery pass.
02:55And Chase almost goes over the handlebars right there.
02:57Yeah, I love to see it from the 96.
02:59He's not going to go down without a fight.
03:01Anderson is right there, and Cooper also.
03:04Yeah, they put a little bit of water down on this track.
03:06As you see, these guys sliding around.
03:08Track's a night and day difference
03:09than what it was in practice.
03:10So they've got to get familiar with it.
03:12But the one guy that feels pretty comfortable
03:14is that 96, probably got a little motivation
03:16after Chase comes in.
03:17See if he can get around number 7, Aaron Plessinger.
03:20Let's also mention, not just the new bike, but that break.
03:23He hit his head, not really bad, but bad enough at Redbud.
03:27But he crashed while leading.
03:28Well, it's not quite the same after that.
03:30So the break physically has helped him as well.
03:34Yeah, it's been a benefit all around, health-wise,
03:37as you said.
03:37But I want you guys to pay attention at home,
03:39where the biggest difference that I've
03:41seen between this bike and the last year, the 24 Honda 25,
03:44is going into these corners, these ruts.
03:47The bike seems a lot more stable before it was dancing around.
03:50So as this race goes on, pay attention,
03:52corners like this, these ruts, that Honda
03:54seems a lot more stable for the 96.
03:56It's working right now.
03:57He's attacking Plessinger.
04:02And you know, the line at the bottom of this hill
04:04is very critical.
04:08Plessinger got it.
04:09Yeah, he got that good.
04:10And he hopped over that pothole going up that hill.
04:12So nice move.
04:16Nice line by AP.
04:17But yeah, Hunter, he looks a little bit more comfortable
04:19to me right now.
04:21Just as I said, entering the corners,
04:23that bike seems a lot more stable.
04:25Might be up the inside of AP.
04:26Whoa!
04:27You saw it coming.
04:29And he's aggressive again.
04:30And he's into the lead.
04:31Nice move.
04:32He just caught air and had more momentum.
04:35Got on the inside of him.
04:37Made that pass, JT.
04:38Yeah, and speaking with Lars Lindstrom,
04:40he had two real concerns.
04:42Number one, could they maintain the starts
04:44that they had had on that 2024 model?
04:46They had them so dialed in.
04:48Well, one for one on that.
04:49He came around the corner alongside Aaron Plessinger
04:51there.
04:52So that's a really good start.
04:53And also, this weekend, they're starting
04:55to work towards thinking about Jet Lawrence coming back.
04:58Now, Jet Lawrence will be on this 2025 motorcycle
05:01when he comes back in Charlotte.
05:02So the testing side of this, all the things
05:04that Hunter Lawrence can work through,
05:06any sort of misstep they make with settings-wise
05:09will be things that Jet Lawrence can avoid and sidetrack.
05:12And it's going to set Jet up in a better position going
05:14into Charlotte.
05:15So Hunter's doing his own thing, trying
05:18to win races, but they're also starting
05:19to think about Little Brother coming back for the playoffs
05:21as well.
05:22And we'll turn it over to Katie Osborne.
05:23Yeah, as Han is working on that bike with Hunter Lawrence,
05:26AP said there's a couple of things
05:27he wanted to work on with himself.
05:29He wanted to be calm on the bike, energy efficient.
05:32And especially when he's out ahead
05:34or battling for the lead, he does
05:35want to maintain that calmness.
05:37He also said, keep an eye on those mid-motor sprints.
05:40He does want to make sure he chooses precise lines.
05:42He has his timing down and is smart throughout this race.
05:46Oh, that is so critical on these ruts, Katie.
05:50And he's hanging in there.
05:52Yeah, he's doing good.
05:53You know Chase Saxton, he's pretty comfortable
05:55in this spot.
05:56I mean, the last few races, he's been so strong at the end.
05:59So 26 minutes left seems like an eternity.
06:01So for him, he knows as long as that 96
06:04doesn't get too far away, he's going
06:05to have a shot to win this race as his teammate.
06:08That was a heads up ride by Chase.
06:10He knew Aaron was going to whip it just the way that angle was.
06:13And that's why Chase jumped that hill straight up and down,
06:16that jump.
06:18Here's the area where they were battling before for the lead.
06:21Now it'll be for second.
06:23And Plessiger again, hugging that inside.
06:34So what's interesting about this battle here,
06:36yeah, I'm really impressed with how racy Hunter is.
06:40But you mentioned Saxton, he doesn't always
06:42do his best work until later in the race.
06:44So we don't know what direction this battle is going to go.
06:47Saxton fighting right now with his teammate.
06:49Yeah, I think Chase, just like Hayden in their 250 class,
06:52feels pretty comfortable.
06:53He goes around the outside of Aaron Plessiger.
06:56Chase has had the pace all day long.
06:58So for him, he sees the 96 right there.
07:00So I think he's pretty comfortable where he's at.
07:03And he knows at the end of the race, he's going to be strong.
07:05The stake by the seven.
07:07And Saxton is around him, JT.
07:09Yeah, Chase Saxton was our fastest qualifier earlier today.
07:12And he said during the break, the number one thing
07:14he focused on was finding intensity.
07:16Now, let's remember, 2022, 2023, that was his calling card.
07:20The raw speed, the intensity early in the motors
07:23was something he could really rely on.
07:24That hasn't been as present here in 2024
07:27as he made the switch to Red Bull KTM.
07:29And I think he, again, is looking forward
07:31as he started to build up the speed.
07:33Where can he be better?
07:34And what will set him up to win moving forward?
07:36Because in a lot of these wins, as you said, Jason,
07:39he hasn't done his best work until late in the race.
07:41The trouble is, as the competition
07:43is going to get tougher.
07:44The likes of Eli Tomac, the likes of Jet Lawrence,
07:46they return to racing.
07:47You can't afford to wait until the late in the race.
07:50You have to have that speed early.
07:52And you have to put yourself in position
07:53to win in the early lap.
07:55So I think that's where Saxton's urgency is.
07:57Maybe not so much for the race at hand,
07:59but for the races to come.
08:00Yeah, JT.
08:01But Hunter Lawrence, no slouch in the early laps
08:03today on that new bike.
08:05It's going to be good.
08:06A reminder, you can listen to all 31
08:08rounds of the Super MotoCross World
08:09Championship on the NBC Sports audio channel
08:12number 85 on SiriusXM.
08:16I have listened to that myself.
08:17A couple of Monster Energy Supercross events
08:19I wasn't able to make it to.
08:21That's definitely handy to have it on the road.
08:24OK, this is the battle.
08:25Saxton versus Lawrence.
08:27Yeah, you can see Chase take a quick peek up,
08:30see Hunter right in front of him.
08:31And as I said, he's pretty comfortable.
08:33And Hunter knows, like, look, Chase moved into second.
08:36The likelihood of him pulling away and just running away,
08:39probably is not going to happen.
08:40So I think he's doing what he did in the week's past.
08:43He's letting his battle come.
08:44And hopefully, he has a little bit more fight
08:46as Chase makes a mistake coming out of this corner.
08:48Watch the gap that he lost from Hunter.
08:51Wow.
08:54And AP closing in a little bit from third, Plessinger.
08:58Yeah, I bet Chase, that little mistake right there,
09:00I bet he lost a second going up that hill.
09:03And as you can see, now it's almost three seconds.
09:07So it would be obvious to say, well, just
09:09pick a better line, avoid that hole, whatever it might be.
09:11But how difficult is it to execute
09:13on a hill that's that steep, but that slippery,
09:15and really nail the exact line you want?
09:18Well, it's really difficult. I mean, the berm,
09:20there's really no good berm down there as well.
09:23So it's not like they have a lot to bank off of.
09:25And they're trying to get back up on the meat of the tire.
09:27So sometimes he gets out, he tries to get on the gas,
09:30slides out a little bit, and then he catches that side berm.
09:33So a lot can happen.
09:35And on TV, you can't tell, you can't
09:37see how steep that hill is.
09:39So once one mistake, lose a lot of opportunity
09:41as we're watching the battle for seventh.
09:44With the guys that are returning.
09:45These are the return guys.
09:47What you got, guys?
09:47Roxson and Webb, yeah.
09:49Roxson just ahead of Webb, seventh and eighth,
09:52behind Ferrandez, Anderson fifth.
09:55So interesting to see these two hook up like this.
09:58Yeah, the biggest thing with these guys being gone
10:01is that what Chase is working on.
10:03He's won the last seven motos.
10:04And he's working on that intensity
10:06in the beginning part of the race.
10:08That's where Ken Roxson and Cooper Webb
10:11is going to be lacking in that department.
10:12Just not racing, having that intensity.
10:14Once that gate drops, being able to go.
10:16So that's why you have a gap between him, Jason Anderson,
10:19or Dylan Ferrandez, and Ken Roxson a little bit.
10:23Yeah, and Roxson came back and raced one pro motocross race
10:27last year at High Point.
10:28He nearly won it.
10:29But he did say he was not coming off an injury at that time.
10:32Yeah, he didn't race the first couple rounds of motocross.
10:35But he wasn't coming off an injury.
10:37He's a lot further behind this year
10:39than he was when he showed up for one race last year.
10:42Although, we will get Roxson again.
10:44He's going to race Ironman in two weeks,
10:46but in the 250 class.
10:48So that'll be interesting.
10:50Yeah, and the difference between the High Point racetrack,
10:54that's nice recovery right there.
10:56And this racetrack here is at the intensity level.
10:59High Point's a lot slower, really technical.
11:01And I believe that race was kind of muddy as well.
11:03So coming here on a dry racetrack and how fast it is,
11:07it's definitely going to play out more here
11:09than it would last year at doing the same thing.
11:12JT.
11:13So that section, that wall section,
11:15you saw Chase Sexton absolutely nail it that time.
11:17So the decision they're having to make, if you go outside,
11:20it's a little bit slower.
11:21It's a longer distance.
11:22But it's a really smooth run all the way up that wall section.
11:26The inside is a shorter distance, but it's really rough.
11:28They're not getting the same drive up.
11:30And they're getting interrupted all the way up it.
11:32Chase Sexton did right there.
11:33He swung wide early.
11:35He went to the very inside of the corner.
11:37You're going to see him set up here.
11:39He's going to catch.
11:40This is the outside line.
11:41So this is the mistake he made the prior lap before.
11:44But he's doing that to try to get a smooth run all the way
11:47up the right side.
11:48The next lap around, he went to that preferred inside
11:50that we saw the 250 riders use.
11:52But he moved to the right on the exit, which allowed
11:55him to avoid those bumps.
11:56So what they're starting to do is
11:58make the insides turn into the outsides.
12:00And that becomes the new best line.
12:03Yeah, nice, nice highlight right there, JT.
12:06And also, when you saw that first mistake from Chase,
12:08you notice he landed off that going down that hill.
12:11He hit the gas.
12:12So he came in that corner a lot faster
12:14than he probably wanted to.
12:15So the mistake started early in that corner.
12:18Then he was trying to recover.
12:21And he's going to need to, because Hunter Lawrence just
12:23keeps throwing down.
12:26Last time around, Sexton made up about 3 tenths of a second.
12:33So Hunter is clearly a lot stronger today
12:36than he was at Washougal.
12:38Go back to this battle for fifth he
12:40saw developing between Anderson, 21 of the monster Kawasaki,
12:44and Ferrandez on the Phoenix Racing Honda.
12:48And you can see the fastest lap time.
12:50Sexton does have the edge at the moment.
12:52And for Ferrandez, we've seen him in sixth a lot, James.
12:54We have not seen him catching the likes of Jason Anderson.
12:58So this is an improvement for him.
13:00As for Anderson, let's send it to Katie.
13:02With those couple of weeks was a time for Jason Anderson
13:05and the Kawasaki team to all of those requests that
13:08had built up over the season to really fine tune and focus
13:11on that.
13:11For Jason Anderson, it was being more comfortable
13:14on the bike, which sounds pretty generic.
13:15But they did.
13:16They took those couple of weeks to really
13:18understand what his requests were for the bike.
13:20They made a few changes.
13:21And he said, you know, scale of 1 to 10,
13:23I'd say overall, this bike in the season
13:25has been about a 7.
13:26He knows he can go faster.
13:27They know that they're working on the comfort of it.
13:29But it was a really intentional couple of weeks
13:31of training for Jason Anderson.
13:35Yeah, thanks, Katie.
13:35And that's Anderson these days.
13:38He's a veteran of the game, going past the age of 30.
13:40He's been working with this Kawasaki team for a while,
13:43has a deal with them again for next year.
13:44So they're building, building, building all the time.
13:48Got that podium at Washougal.
13:51Yeah, and I think that Kawasaki, as you said,
13:53Jason's a veteran at this.
13:54So he knows what he's looking for.
13:57So they have an opportunity to do that.
13:59And the same thing with Dylan Ferrandez.
14:02Last year at this racetrack, it was one of his best rides
14:04all year long.
14:05He had a bad start, was able to come up and start closing in
14:09on Jet Lawrence at the end of the race.
14:10So Dylan feels pretty comfortable here.
14:13It's not surprising to see him battling up in the top five,
14:15or almost top five.
14:16And we've talked about it all season, new effort
14:18for Phoenix Racing Honda to race 450
14:21for Motocross all season long with the likes of Ferrandez.
14:24And that battle continues.
14:26The Roxson and Webb battle, seventh and eighth,
14:30both coming back from injury.
14:31And then we mentioned that Roxson's
14:33going to race a 250 at Ironman.
14:34We asked him why yesterday.
14:38It was purely a fluke of a thought that I had.
14:44And I don't recall anybody doing it in the recent years.
14:49It's just a more fun thing, honestly.
14:51I haven't ridden a 250 in so long,
14:54and especially on Suzuki.
14:56I think last time was maybe like 2010 or something like that.
14:59So it was just a fun decision that I made
15:01and basically asked my team.
15:03And it took a little bit of work, of course.
15:06But yeah, it was purely out of joy.
15:10Well, that'll be fun to watch.
15:11If you're a fan, you might want to come to Ironman in person.
15:15Kind of an underrated track, but it's
15:17one of the newer ones on the circuit.
15:19But that would be a really fun one to take in.
15:21A lot of people bench racing about Roxson versus Deegan.
15:25You didn't think we'd see that this year,
15:27but we'll get it for one race.
15:28Yeah, we didn't.
15:29That was a long shot to maybe ever see that.
15:31But yeah, good to see Ken Roxson, Cooper Webb as well,
15:35just keeping him up.
15:36And I think these guys got their little battle of their own.
15:39But another battle that's starting
15:40to close down is that lead.
15:41Now it's down to 1.6.
15:43Oh, yeah.
15:44And one thing to think about with Webb
15:46that he mentioned yesterday, I hadn't thought about.
15:48He's never raced motocross for this team on a 450.
15:51He switched to the team last year
15:53and started in the SMX playoffs.
15:55He used to race 250s for them and even won the title,
15:58but that was a long time ago, raced for the factory Yamaha
16:00team, which is no longer in 450 motocross.
16:04So for him on this new generation
16:06Yamaha Star Racing 450, this is the first time
16:09he's ever raced in a motocross.
16:11He's trying to learn that one.
16:13Then next in the running order, we'll
16:15have Christian Craig, and we've chronicled
16:19his story all year long.
16:22He's been working his way back from a really bad elbow injury
16:25and now working on the top 10.
16:26And they do have the different colors
16:28we talked about at the top of the show,
16:29the blue heritage look for the race bikes this weekend.
16:32I like it.
16:33Yeah.
16:34They got some good looking kids, both of them.
16:36So yeah, you got to at least show it on TV
16:39and start finishing up.
16:40And yeah, he's closing in on these guys as well.
16:42And I think Christian's been getting better, as you said,
16:45all year long.
16:46And yeah, he can keep this going.
16:48He might have a four-way battle because he's got the fever
16:50coming up behind him as well.
16:52Oh, it looks so nice.
16:54Let's see it twice.
16:55Here's his teammate in the Rockstar Husqvarna.
16:57Yep, that's your brother, Malcolm Stewart.
17:00And that'll round out the top 10.
17:04Jump a little bit deeper, miss those bumps, like it.
17:08Oh, just like that, the lead is gone.
17:10Sexton was closing, but now he's closing in a hurry.
17:14And we're right at halfway, too.
17:15So perfect opportunity.
17:18Hunter was doing a good job.
17:19Now Chase understands that, hey, it's
17:21my time to get on this thing.
17:22Let's see how comfortable he feels.
17:24Hunter makes a mistake.
17:25Oh, Sexton's got the opening now.
17:27That mistake is going to prove costly.
17:29Chase Sexton to the lead.
17:31Yeah, one mistake leading into that corner.
17:35I think he's trying to get rid of a tear off
17:36there on that jump.
17:37And Hunter takes it back.
17:39Nice move by Hunter.
17:41He's like, you ain't going to throw no tear off at me.
17:43Yeah, I just want people to know,
17:45I don't think that was a gesture from Sexton.
17:48Yeah, it looked like he got caught on his hand
17:50and he was trying to fling it off.
17:52But yeah, he wasn't trying to mess one of them up.
17:54That was a great line, great recovery line by Hunter.
17:57Be able to sense that, just go around the outside.
18:00Chase is definitely struggling in that wall section.
18:03It seems like he's made a few mistakes in that corner.
18:06So back to work, Sexton goes.
18:09And we go back to JT.
18:11Well, thinking about this 2025, and the word
18:13that Hunter Lawrence has used over and over
18:15in every interview he's done on this new motorcycle
18:17is stability.
18:18He really likes the fact that he can trust the bike
18:20and just ride out of the showroom
18:22for it's much more stable than his race bike was.
18:25And on a track like Unadilla, James, you can attest to this.
18:27Unadilla is famous for making you feel uncomfortable.
18:30So any motorcycle that's going to add to that
18:32is certainly going to work here.
18:34And it looks like Hunter Lawrence is back
18:36to race winning form.
18:37We have not seen him at this pace riding like this
18:40since before his crash at Redbird.
18:41No, absolutely not.
18:43And as I mentioned earlier, pay attention
18:44to when he has that bike on the lean,
18:46it just stays underneath him a lot more.
18:49And he'll continue to lean it farther and farther.
18:51And that's what I've noticed.
18:53Sections like this, you know, the bike's dancing around.
18:56He feels comfortable, and he feels
18:57like he knows where that motorcycle is going to go.
19:00And that's a huge difference that I've noticed today
19:02compared to past races.
19:04And it's showing with the 96 out front.
19:06Can he use this to get all the way to the end?
19:09This has been the strong spot for Sexton, halfway mark.
19:14And that's a reminder, Monster Energy
19:16is available now at Morabito convenience store.
19:20Saw a couple of them on the drive to the track yesterday
19:23here in upstate New York.
19:25Yeah, Lawrence, he's put the Sexton charge away
19:28for the moment.
19:29Yeah, he made a mistake.
19:30And we saw last few weekends, last races,
19:32when Chase got around Hunter.
19:34You know, Hunter really didn't have much left for him.
19:36You know, physically and all that.
19:38So good to see him have that fight back,
19:40even though Chase made a little mistake.
19:42So did Hunter.
19:43It seems like he has that pace that he can pick it up.
19:46And he feels like when Chase does get there,
19:48got a lot more fight in him today.
19:50You've got to believe that's because of the break
19:52and that new motorcycle.
19:53I visited the Honda truck this morning.
19:55And I said, look, to Hunter, do you know this is better?
19:58Or is this an experiment?
19:59And eventually, it'll be better, but you don't know today.
20:03And then his dad, Darren, said, look, I'm a risk taker.
20:05I like always thinking forward.
20:07This is how deep it goes.
20:09He said, if you look up the Australian flag
20:11with the coat of arms on it, there's two animals on it,
20:13an emu and a kangaroo.
20:15They are two animals that are incapable of walking backwards.
20:18He said the Australian cultural way is forward always.
20:22Maybe it's a little risky to bust out a new bike,
20:25but they never want to think about the past.
20:26They always want to move forward.
20:28And they were willing to take that risk today.
20:30And man, so far, so good.
20:32But still 11 minutes and two laps to go.
20:37Yeah, well, I don't know much about an emu and a kangaroo.
20:39They can't walk backwards.
20:40I learned that.
20:41He goes backwards.
20:41You're going to see that big red plate number four behind him.
20:44But I don't really think it's that risky at all.
20:48I think Honda kind of knew where he was going to wait a season
20:51and where Chase was.
20:52He needed something to be able to just straight up
20:55beat Chase Sexton, if you're Hunter Lawrence.
20:57You couldn't hope for him to go down.
20:59And you really wasn't putting him in a spot
21:01to where he was taking a lot of risks.
21:03Now, having that bike and just more mentally feeling
21:05like you can, there's a change.
21:07I think that's what we're seeing for Hunter.
21:08And if he has an opportunity to win this championship,
21:11it's going to be because of what happened.
21:13Chase got around him.
21:14He was able to get back around him.
21:15Chase made some mistakes.
21:16You're going to need some kind of luck.
21:17And that's why I don't think it was a risk.
21:19I think they knew exactly what they were doing.
21:21And it's paying off.
21:22Yeah, they were in that nothing to lose scenario, right?
21:25So now they put Sexton in a position
21:27to have to be clean through here and not make mistakes.
21:31Yeah, Chase has got a better line.
21:33I think Hunter missed his line.
21:34He wanted to be a little bit farther on the inside.
21:36But Hunter knows Chase is going to follow back into him,
21:39or at least get out of this corner pretty good,
21:41go back down the inside.
21:43Chase can't really pass him there.
21:46And that corner not good for the four.
21:49And Hunter pulls away a little bit again.
21:51We asked Hunter yesterday about what his goals
21:53are here for the weekend.
21:57Absolutely.
21:58Chase has been riding unreal all year.
22:00He's really put all the pieces to the puzzle together.
22:03And yeah, I'm definitely looking to claw back those points
22:06and make up where I can.
22:08So obviously starts tomorrow morning,
22:10qualifying onto the starts, good starts.
22:12And yeah, we got a few things ironed out from a crash
22:16a couple weeks ago now that were just lingering on.
22:19So yeah, hopefully it translates to the race.
22:21And so yeah, we're hopeful.
22:24He's hopeful for sure.
22:25And he's leaned into saying what they did in the off time
22:28as well.
22:28Not a lot of a little bit of work on his body,
22:31he was saying, equal to what they needed to do on the bike.
22:34But guys, get this.
22:35He also got two donkeys in his off time for his birthday.
22:38His wife got him one, which his birthday was August 1st.
22:41Clyde and Cowboy.
22:42So he also had a little bit of family time on the farm,
22:45enjoyed his new pets, and worked on the bike a little bit.
22:48Man, there's a lot of action.
22:50That was like three years, three weeks.
22:52Going to amusement parks with Max Anthony.
22:55He's getting donkeys here.
22:56Learning emus and kangaroos don't go backwards.
23:00Whatever is happening on the break,
23:01it seems like it's working for all these guys.
23:05Hey, Hunter has definitely responded.
23:09It has seemed like in these battles
23:11lately where Sexton has had it under control,
23:13even when he's in second.
23:14But is it getting a little bit?
23:17Is it tilting the other way here because Hunter
23:19is throwing down some laps?
23:21Yeah, I mean, Chase has brought off all the confidence
23:23in what happened the last few weekends.
23:25So for him, he'll be able to close back in on Hunter
23:28just because of that.
23:29Hunter, this is a new bike.
23:31So as he's racing and he's able to pull away from and keep
23:34this lead, he's getting confidence as well.
23:36So he'll get better as this race goes on.
23:39So you've got two guys feeling like they
23:41can beat each other.
23:43But I think Hunter is just really learning each lap.
23:45Man, this bike is better here.
23:47It's better there.
23:48And I actually can run this pace and not
23:49feel like I'm too sketchy where in weeks past,
23:53I don't think he felt like he actually could
23:55beat Chase in the long run.
23:56It looks like he feels that way today.
23:58So you don't think Sexton is necessarily worried,
24:00but Hunter is definitely more confident than he was.
24:04Yeah, absolutely.
24:04I mean, Chase, you get another few minutes
24:07and Hunter is still in front of.
24:09But also Chase knows that there's
24:10a difference between Hunter in this race.
24:13He didn't have this much fight the last weekend.
24:15So he might not be worried now, but a few more laps, he will.
24:19JT.
24:20Watch Hunter right here.
24:21I was watching this section.
24:23He gained so much time right there
24:24and that straightaway alone.
24:26And what he's doing, he's swinging out a little bit wide,
24:29grabbing that left hand berm, and then
24:30swing all the way to the left, far extreme left side
24:33of the racetrack where there are no bumps.
24:35Now, this Unabilla racetrack, it's deceiving on television.
24:38You can't see how off camera it is everywhere.
24:40But where it is flat, where you can really
24:42grab a handful of throttle and really accelerate,
24:44you have to do that.
24:45And that's what he's doing.
24:47He's straightening the racetrack up.
24:48And you can go through the annals of this sport.
24:50Kevin Windham, riders like that,
24:52they really knew how to do that here at Unabilla.
24:54That's why they found success.
24:56In the areas where there is traction,
24:58you have to make the most of it.
24:59And you can see the lead that Hunter Lawrence pulled out
25:01just in that section alone.
25:03He is killing Chase Sexton on that backside
25:05of the racetrack.
25:06We got another section he was killing everybody.
25:09James and I were just marveling at that left hand corner
25:11before that long straightaway.
25:13Man, he just killed that corner.
25:15Someone call the ambulance.
25:16That corner's dead.
25:17That was beautiful how he went around that.
25:19That was nice.
25:20And as I was saying, he's getting more confidence
25:23as he's leading his race.
25:25Because now, the week's past.
25:26Chase has been able to close in.
25:28And once he makes that pass, Hunter
25:29hasn't really had an answer.
25:30Now you're starting to see a rider like,
25:32I could go a little bit faster.
25:34It's beautiful to watch.
25:36Last time around, lap times nearly identical.
25:392.17.1 between both of them.
25:41So this is already much better than we've
25:44seen from Hunter since the crash at Redbud,
25:47where he was leading late and then went down.
25:49The question is, will it be enough?
25:51Is there another attack coming from the Ford?
25:59Looks like it.
26:00Yeah, Chase, I mean, again, he knows
26:02he's strong at the end of the race.
26:03And although the bike might be better, we don't know.
26:06And Hunter's losing a lot of time in that section
26:08right there.
26:08He's going a little bit too wide.
26:10Allows Chase to close in on him.
26:12But Hunter's better, but we don't
26:14know if he's fully 100% on that shoulder.
26:16So it might start to fade at the end.
26:17But he's definitely riding a lot better this moto
26:20than he has in weeks past, which is good to see.
26:23Now Chase is going to have an opportunity.
26:25Hunter's going to be probably stuck behind his lap rider.
26:28And Hunter got a foot off the peg there in that run.
26:31Now Chase is there.
26:31And this is where Hunter made a mistake at.
26:33He's getting caught between the lapper.
26:36All right, Chase, let's see if he can get around and watch
26:38this.
26:41Chase did a good job of getting out of that corner.
26:44These guys have been going outside this whole moto.
26:48Yeah, now Chase working the inside uphill.
26:52I think about to shoot back down.
26:54So we're interested to see what Hunter does.
26:56Go inside or outside.
26:58Yeah, there he goes.
26:59Inside.
27:00See if he can get that bike squared up.
27:01There it is.
27:03That's the line right there.
27:05Oh, he is gone.
27:06That is the line.
27:07And what he did, he was really patient.
27:09So when he got out of the corner, what JT was mentioning,
27:13he came out and just waited before he got on the gas,
27:15got that bike straight up and down.
27:17And that was a beautiful line.
27:19And extending the lead.
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27:43Some of the areas the fans are going
27:45to be able to get right on top of the action,
27:47literally in some ways, over the start gates.
27:50Another lap clicks off.
27:52Another lap for Hunter Lawrence maintains the lead.
27:55How deep do we have to go before Sexton starts saying,
27:57wait a minute, this is not what we
28:00had the last couple of weeks.
28:03I think we're already at that.
28:04OK.
28:05OK.
28:05Yeah, and it seems like to me that the bike, the Honda's
28:09better when it's on that lean.
28:11These really slippery parts, seems
28:14like he has a lot of traction.
28:15Some parts, where he gets into these deeper parts,
28:18where the bike gets really loaded,
28:20seems like it's a little soft, where Hunter's a little
28:22hesitant about that.
28:23But Chase Sexton has this line figured out.
28:25Yeah, you saw that a lap ago.
28:27He gains every time there.
28:28But some of these other sections, good for Hunter.
28:30Watch out for the lap traffic.
28:32Sexton looking to take advantage.
28:36Let's see what Hunter does.
28:37He's got to play.
28:39Oh, Sexton almost went over the bars, big time.
28:43And what a recovery.
28:44Yes, yes.
28:45That was huge.
28:46Now, good thing for Chase, he's still in the battle,
28:48so he's going to be easy to kind of forget that.
28:50But that was a huge move.
28:52Let's see if Chase gets aggressive,
28:53gets down to inside, because he probably
28:55needs to get around Hunter.
28:57Oh, not quite.
28:59Now the sky shot.
29:01Look at these lappers.
29:02Hunter's going to be on the outside, stuck behind him.
29:05Inside line for Sexton.
29:07Now, here's the up and downhill, where it is so good for Lawrence.
29:12Can that bail him out again?
29:14Oh, and two lappers between he and Sexton.
29:17Here's Hunter.
29:19Watch that.
29:19Boom.
29:23Pulls away again.
29:25We're down to two and a half minutes and two laps.
29:27Here's the near crash from the number four.
29:30Now, you see all these ruts going off the face.
29:32Chase charges down.
29:33He hits the brakes a little bit going off the face,
29:34and that bike kicks.
29:36And if he was up in the air a little bit more,
29:38oh, we wouldn't even want to say what would happen.
29:41That was a huge moment by Chase Sexton.
29:43But again, he's still there fighting.
29:46As I said, Hunter Lawrence being right there,
29:47it makes him forget about that, really.
29:50JT.
29:51Well, the rule for Chase Sexton here is never follow, right?
29:54You always want to be in a different line,
29:55so if you make a mistake, you make that pass.
29:57But sometimes a line is too good,
29:59and you simply need to follow.
30:00That's the case at the bottom of that wall section.
30:03Hunter Lawrence is making up almost a full second,
30:05and then Chase Sexton is really good around the rest.
30:07The racetrack closes that back down,
30:10but this is one of those cases
30:11where you almost have to break the golden rule of following.
30:13If the line is that much better, just follow him through it
30:15so you don't lose all that time.
30:18James, yeah, that makes sense.
30:20Just follow him there and stay close,
30:22but how easy is it to just do what he's doing?
30:25Or is it not as easy to execute that?
30:29Well, yeah, I think Chase probably wanted to follow him,
30:32and I think I'd be surprised if he doesn't.
30:35Unless he has an opportunity to pass,
30:36but I think with the lappers,
30:37I think he was hoping that Hunter
30:39would get caught up behind him and go outside,
30:41or he's going to try to pass him before that section.
30:44But Chase is really, really quick here,
30:46and Hunter's struggling,
30:47but then you get on that other part of the racetrack,
30:50and he definitely needs to follow him,
30:51because if he's close to him, then he'll probably pass him,
30:54but he's losing too much time.
30:55And we send a shout out to Phil Micheletti
30:57down there at the bottom box,
30:58who is the last race for him here
31:01at his homestead in New York.
31:02He's going to retire at the end of the year.
31:04He's considered the grand marshal of this event.
31:06Got to do a special parade lap.
31:08Battle's still raging here.
31:12And Hunter a little further ahead
31:13than he was a lap ago.
31:14There's Phil.
31:15He is in 13th.
31:18Yeah, but this might give Chase an opportunity.
31:20Now he won't have an opportunity to pass him,
31:23so he probably will just follow him in this line.
31:26Maybe he can pick up
31:27to see how much time he was losing to Hunter.
31:29You got to give Hunter a lot of credit
31:32for withstanding all this heat from Chase.
31:35Chase did it.
31:37Did he nail it completely?
31:38I'm not sure, but he at least followed inside.
31:41Well, we'll find out.
31:42See if that head pops in his shot.
31:46That's a pretty healthy gap.
31:47Yeah, he didn't lose as much time.
31:48It seems like when he came out of that corner,
31:51I heard the bike over revving,
31:52which tells me that he hit that pothole
31:54and it was off the ground.
31:55He was on the gas, so it was spinning up a lot.
31:58As for Micheletti, we'll have a feature on him.
32:00We'll talk to him as he reflects back on his race career
32:03and his time at Unadilla in our halftime show.
32:06Still started racing here.
32:08We have results from 2003 with him racing
32:11as an amateur of this track, 21 years ago.
32:14And they drop back down.
32:17And time is running out, two to go.
32:20This would be absolutely massive for Hunter Lawrence
32:23if he can hang on.
32:31And what I love about this,
32:32sexed him at the 28-point lead.
32:35He wants to win, it's obvious.
32:37And that's what's so cool about this.
32:39Yeah, I mean, I think for Chase,
32:41I mean, this championship, if anybody should know,
32:44it ain't over until it's over.
32:45So I think the best thing for Chase
32:47is to just go out there and attack.
32:49And he doesn't want-
32:51So Chase is good.
32:52Yeah, he doesn't want Hunter to come out here
32:54on his new motorcycle and just go out there
32:56and attack and just go out there and attack.
32:58And Hunter doesn't want Hunter to come out here
32:59on his new motorcycle and all the chase.
33:01Because then, I wouldn't say it erases everything,
33:03but then in Hunter's mind, he could be like,
33:05well, that was the only reason you were beaten.
33:07So Chase doesn't want that.
33:11So it is going to be everything they have
33:13over this final lap and a half at Unadilla.
33:17Chase has been really good here.
33:19Actually nails that corner pretty good.
33:21And he'll close in on Hunter going up this.
33:24See if he gets closer and tries to race down
33:26the inside of Hunter before he gets to the sky shot.
33:30I can get there.
33:36Another lap wider for Hunter Lawrence to negotiate.
33:38Oh, that's tough because he wasn't really sure.
33:40So he's a little bit farther inside,
33:41but Chase follows him as well.
33:46Okay.
33:47This is the area where Hunter's been so good.
33:57Man, he just puts that section together so well.
34:02Oh man, Hunter missed his run.
34:04He wanted to be one run over.
34:05Oh, after that.
34:06Yeah, after that, he hit that tabletop
34:09and got one run over.
34:10Reason why that was key,
34:11because now he's too far to the inside of the next corner.
34:14So kind of affected his whole race, that whole section.
34:18Still pulled away a little bit,
34:20but not as much as before JT.
34:22Yeah, and you guys nailed it.
34:24Chase is sticking to that right side,
34:25climbing the hill.
34:26He's just not getting the drive, right?
34:28Hunter is being extremely patient,
34:30the way James mentioned, getting straight.
34:31And then he has this vertical climb, right?
34:34He's on the middle of the tire where he's getting that drive
34:36where Chase is on the side of the tire,
34:38climbing on an edge up.
34:39He's just not getting that same drive.
34:41And it's lap after lap.
34:42He's losing time.
34:43Then he works all the way around the racetrack
34:45to close that gap up again, only to lose it.
34:48Not a lot of time left here, JT.
34:50It's the final lap.
34:52Still battling.
34:53Meanwhile, you...
34:54Oh, Sexton!
34:56He stall it or does he make a mistake?
34:58No, that rut was getting really deep
34:59and he came in and almost looped it out.
35:02It's just because of how deep that rut is.
35:03But although he lost that time, he's still right there.
35:06We know this is his strongest part of his racetrack.
35:09Want to show you, that's Jason Anderson
35:11and Justin Cooper battling for fourth.
35:14Another good battle on the track.
35:15Plessiger's all alone in third.
35:17Hunter Lawrence, if he brings his home
35:19on the new motorcycle, that would be huge.
35:22Sexton's right back to him.
35:24Chase is going to have to stay close
35:25and Hunter's going to have to switch his lineup.
35:27Otherwise, Chase is going to go down the inside of him,
35:30going up this next hill right before that sky shot jump.
35:33Chase gets out of this corner.
35:34He can keep him close, which he does.
35:37Now let's see if Hunter goes on the inside,
35:39this next corner.
35:42He's been there the whole time,
35:43but he's closer than he's been in a couple of laps.
35:47Oh, that was close.
35:48He was almost there.
35:51Chase scrubs his jump.
35:52Now he has another opportunity
35:54to get on the inside of Hunter too.
35:56Man, Hunter is just railing right now.
35:59And this is Hunter's strong point.
36:02Sexton has got to nail this.
36:04Oh, Hunter's going to have to make a decision
36:06with this lap rider.
36:08Great move.
36:09Oh, the lap rider held him.
36:13And again, the drive up the hill, better for the 96.
36:19It's crunch time now, only a few turns left.
36:23What a race by these guys, both of these guys
36:25laying it all out.
36:27Hunter Lawrence, making the debut in the 2025 CRF450R.
36:35Will it be a good one?
36:36Time running out for Sexton.
36:42One turn left.
36:45What a difference the break has made.
36:48New bike, new man.
36:51Hunter Lawrence, the Moto win.
36:55There you go.
36:56What a ride by both these guys,
36:58but that was huge for Hunter Lawrence.
37:00And I'm sure Jet Lawrence is probably dancing,
37:03popping popcorn, feeding the doggie,
37:05trying not to burn down the house.
37:07Excited for his brother, what a race.
37:10And for what's yet to come on that bike.
37:13That's a great start.
37:15Sexton threw it all at him.
37:18Yep, great ride by Chase.
37:20Ends that streak though, from seven races.
37:24But it's good to see this.
37:25And shout out to Aaron Plessinger, running third place.