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00:00The best of the business, about to do battle, let's go!
00:06Eli Tomac leads him in, but he drifts wide.
00:10I believe that's Hunter Lawrence to the lead with Cooper Webb second, and there's Jett
00:14trying to get second from Webb.
00:16Yeah, Eli got there first, but he ran deep. He was trying to get in front of
00:20Jett Lawrence and just pushed it out, but
00:23looks like the brothers, one and two, if Jett can get around Cooper Webb.
00:27Yeah, that was a good run for Jett Lawrence to get around Cooper Webb.
00:31That was a very crucial pass.
00:34So progressive hole shot goes to
00:37Hunter Lawrence, and the brothers are one-two,
00:41and that's exactly the way they did it in qualifying as well.
00:44Crazy to think that we're in a position where two brothers can beat the rest of the field.
00:49James, knowing how difficult this track is to pass on,
00:53you just have to assume or think that Jett Lawrence is going to want to get past
00:57his brother a lot faster than he did last weekend.
01:00Yeah, absolutely, and it really depends on also who's coming
01:03behind him as well. If Eli or Chase is coming up,
01:06Hunter's starting to get away, but we know this is what Jett does.
01:10He'd let the race come to him, fill it out, and then he'll attack,
01:13do whatever he needs to do to get it done.
01:16Cooper Webb's still third. He was close to Jett a few turns ago, did a mistake.
01:19You know, I will say this, even going back to the Monster Energy Supercross Series,
01:23I felt that the first five or six laps,
01:26Jett had a tendency to play it cool and not override it,
01:30which is smart in a rookie's sense.
01:34You know, not trying to override the motorcycle
01:37and keep your cool early on and then kind of build into that
01:40into that race speed, if you will.
01:43Oh, look at nice triple-triple coming out for Jett.
01:46Yeah, and you can see he's on a different rhythm than his brother.
01:49And watch these guys. They're going to be really patient coming out of these corners.
01:53Make sure they at least catch up on the end of the berms
01:56and try to stay in that loose stuff, because this track is getting slippery.
02:00Well, oh, that's Sexton RC. He's got a long way to go.
02:03He's in eighth place behind Anderson.
02:05Yeah, on a track, and I talked about it on the keys.
02:08I mean, he had to get a clutch start, you know,
02:11put it in a clutch performance and get a good start.
02:13Otherwise, he's going to have a lot of work to do.
02:15And you can see right here, incredibly hard to pass on corners like this,
02:19like 45-degree corners.
02:22It's so difficult because everything funnels into the inside.
02:25That's why it's so hard.
02:27And this track is so hard to ride aggressive on because of how slippery it is.
02:32Yeah, and at this moment, it's very unlikely that Chase is going to ride his way up
02:36to catch those guys out front.
02:38And if he does, we're going to have one of the greatest rides we've ever seen.
02:41But he's also got to remember the points, the double points.
02:45These guys, you're not only losing one or two points.
02:48Now you're losing four, five, six to these guys.
02:50So, yeah, yearling the leader.
02:52He almost ran into backer Jason right there.
02:54Yes, that was really close.
02:56Well, he said it.
02:58I mean, he kind of brushed it off again like we're talking about,
03:00said that this weekend was super important because of the double points
03:04like you just alluded to, James.
03:06And it is. It's now or never.
03:09And you can't cough up double points to guys like Jet Lawrence, Eli Tomac,
03:15Hunter for that matter, too, because Hunter's in there.
03:17He's only, what, five points out.
03:21Let's see if Sexton in the split lane can get next to Anderson.
03:26Yeah, that was a smart move by Jason, at least jumping out,
03:29not trying to lose too much momentum.
03:31But, Chase, this inside has been a lot better.
03:33Nice move by Chase.
03:36And we can show you the start here for Sexton now that he's made the move to seventh.
03:40It looked like he got a pretty good jump.
03:42Number four, like, he's there, he's there.
03:44No, then.
03:46And there's Tomac.
03:47Looked like he had the whole shot too wide.
03:49Yeah, I mean, to me, we'll talk about this on there.
03:53I think all the guys outside of Hunter was on the outside of Jet.
03:57And how strong those guys have been off the start,
03:59you would just assume, man, you were just going inside.
04:02And let's see what happened, Chase.
04:03Now you're all bottled up.
04:04Guys are coming on the inside, outside.
04:06You don't really know where to go, RC.
04:08Yeah, and you see he has to chill there because it's so bottled up.
04:11And while that is happening, you got Hunter and Jet just pulling away
04:15because they have clean air.
04:17And that's another negative part, Will,
04:19about if you aren't able to get a start at this level.
04:22Yeah, and what does it come down to, Ricky?
04:24I was asking the crew chief at Red Bull KTM, Carlos Rivera, exactly that question.
04:29We know that Chase said after the race, post-race, last weekend,
04:33there was a lack of comfort. He wasn't comfortable on the bike.
04:35Well, that was the same story today when I checked in after qualifying.
04:39They said they were just trying to find bits here and bits there
04:41to try and give him the comfort that he wanted,
04:44trying to find more traction on a track which doesn't supply it.
04:48And they said the trouble is, at this point,
04:49we can't be making big swinging changes because that might work,
04:53but it's somewhat, you know, a guesswork.
04:55It might go the other way.
04:57It seems at that point, Ricky and James just kind of a little bit stuck
05:00to know what to do, but they're working.
05:03Yeah, and they're going to continue to work.
05:04I mean, at the end of the day, he still had the points lead coming into this,
05:07and last weekend was last weekend.
05:09He's got to focus on this, and I'm not surprised that he's struggling with the bike.
05:14They all are. This track is super difficult,
05:16so I don't think that's something you have to be too worried about.
05:21But shout out to Hunter Lawrence, man. He's got a great pace.
05:24They got three seconds over Cooper Webb. Jet, that is.
05:28You know what? But not surprising for Hunter
05:31because Hunter really rides his 450 well.
05:34He has really good throttle control, a lot like Ken Rockson,
05:38so these type of conditions should cater to him.
05:41As we watch Jet here in second trying to go after his brother J.T.,
05:44what are you thinking on number one?
05:46Well, last weekend, I think Jet was still trying to sort out where he was.
05:50He had to continually ask himself questions, fitness, speed, all those things.
05:55Was he ready to go back and fight for the lead?
05:57And about the halfway point in both motors, you see him really start to turn it up,
06:01and I think he was basing that off how did he feel in the moment.
06:04Was he able to go push?
06:06But if you look at this particular situation, I think he's very content to sit here.
06:10We're 13-plus minutes left to go in this race.
06:13There's really no threat coming from behind him,
06:15and he has his brother in front of him.
06:17So unless somebody can come up and bring pressure,
06:19I don't think that Jet will push the pace here until it's time to go.
06:23He'll step up to the rear end of Hunter and try to find a way around,
06:26but this is exactly how they would have mapped it out, both of them thus far.
06:31Yeah, and we saw him do that all Supercross season, as you said,
06:34and the only threat that might be coming up is that number three
06:37because he was the fastest rider on the track, that Eli Tomac,
06:40and if he can get around Cooper Webb, his teammate,
06:43maybe he has a chance to run these guys down,
06:45and we've seen how quickly and what momentum does and confidence with Eli Tomac.
06:49Well, this is a big turnaround for Cooper Webb,
06:52considering last week was just a horrible weekend for him.
06:56So a big, big rebound for him, but not surprising.
07:00I mean, he's a multi-time Supercross champion,
07:02and on certain rides like this, he's plenty capable of doing,
07:05so great, great, great ride right now for Cooper Webb.
07:08Yeah, and for whatever, doesn't this feel like a Cooper Webb track?
07:12You know, super tight, yeah, a lot tighter, it's tricky, it's rough,
07:17so he said he was confident and he knew he had to perform this weekend.
07:21That's right.
07:22Yeah, he's doing it, but boy, is he going to deal with pressure
07:24because here comes ET3, who's gotten around Roxen.
07:29Yeah, I think ET has some pace, but we've seen how difficult it is for these guys.
07:33Once they get super close, he's going to have to try to make that pass
07:36and continue that momentum before those two out front get away from him.
07:40Oh, nice move by Tomek outside to inside,
07:43and he's going to be in the inside for the next turn.
07:45Can he hold it? No.
07:47Man, that was a teammate-like love pass.
07:49Oh, he shoots right back in front.
07:51That's why I said Eli is back, baby.
07:54Man, nice pass, two of them.
07:56I think if it was his teammate, he would have had to pass.
07:58If it wasn't his teammate, he would have had to pass earlier,
08:00but gave him a little bit more room.
08:02That was a nice setup he did trying to go to the inside of Cooper Webb to make it by.
08:06Stuck with it, wasn't quite able to do that.
08:09However, he had a wider line on the outside coming into that left-hander,
08:13was able to sweep underneath Cooper Webb.
08:15Great pass.
08:16J.T., what are you thinking now?
08:18Well, watch the response here.
08:20Eli Tomek is going to put in his best laps.
08:22He finally got free.
08:23He has a clear track, so he's going to absolutely go for it.
08:25I will be watching to see if Jet Lawrence responds.
08:28Does he turn up the urgency level to try to go chase his brother down
08:33now that Eli is starting to close that gap?
08:35I think he was content where they were.
08:37I don't think he'll be content moving forward as Eli starts to drop those lap times.
08:41Yeah, absolutely.
08:42And even with all that and Eli trying to make a couple of passes on his teammate,
08:45he was still the fastest rider on the racetrack.
08:48Here's the move.
08:50First, Tomek was able to get Rotsen to move into fourth.
08:53We'll show you that.
08:55And we'll also keep an eye on those lap times.
08:57Here's the pass.
08:59Yeah, very similar to how he tried to get by Cooper going up the inside.
09:03Yeah, what he does, he banks off that corner early.
09:06And basically pivots and shoots.
09:09And he gets in front of those guys and does the same thing.
09:12And as I said, he could have pushed Cooper Webb a little bit farther out.
09:15But same thing here.
09:17He set that pass up, squared up, banked off this, point, shoot.
09:20Yeah, he's in third place.
09:22Carving copy of how he got by Rotsen.
09:24And again, taking that wider exit, like you say, and able to cut underneath Cooper Webb,
09:28make a great pass.
09:30Really tough to do against a guy like Cooper Webb.
09:33Cooper Webb is so intuitive and instinctual.
09:36This guy has, like, multi-senses in how he can feel where the guy behind him is.
09:41Incredible feel.
09:43Tomek was a tenth of a second quicker than both Lawrence brothers ahead of him.
09:46Now Sexton jumping into the battle with Rotsen.
09:50Well, I mean, listen.
09:52Chase has no choice.
09:55He's got to be up here and making these moves and getting by these guys.
09:58But I want to talk about one thing about the SMX playoffs
10:01and what I love about the seeding coming into the playoffs.
10:04You take a guy like Eli Tomek, who is 13 points back.
10:08That shows you the importance of coming into these playoffs.
10:11Yeah, he got a little buffered in Sexton.
10:13Now making moves on Rotsen right around him before we get to the sand.
10:18So, an SMX points leader starting to stir halfway through this one.
10:22A reminder that Monster Energy is available at Kroger.
10:25And Cooper Webb not too far ahead of Sexton.
10:29No, I mean, Chase is, he's riding good.
10:32Yeah, he is.
10:33That's the hard part.
10:34You're riding good and you're in fifth place.
10:37And that really just came down from the bad start.
10:41Uh-oh, it's tightening up as JT predicted.
10:44Maybe a little urgency here from Jett.
10:46Because now they might have to deal with Tomek
10:48if the brothers get to battling with each other.
10:51Yeah, and that's what Jett doesn't want to happen.
10:54He can sense Eli.
10:56You know, not only what you were talking about earlier, Ricky,
11:00with Jett being, you know, the rookie stuff,
11:02kind of being a little bit, I wouldn't say lax-a-daisy,
11:04but cautious in the front.
11:05I think in the second year, he's been more aware of everything.
11:09So, the kid's doing a good job.
11:11He sees Tomek coming up.
11:13Will?
11:14James, I'm just looking at the two brothers here up front
11:17on those new Hondas, the 2025 Honda,
11:19talking to Lars Lindstrom, team manager,
11:21seeing how they were getting on with that.
11:23It's a little newer for Jett.
11:24He said the brilliance of that for these SMX rounds,
11:26for these hybrid tracks, is that, he said,
11:29when we make changes, we can make fairly big changes,
11:32and there's rarely a detrimental side effect to it, right?
11:35It's always the compromise.
11:36You can gain this, but you lose that.
11:38And he said, when we make big changes, we can try that.
11:41We can see how it goes.
11:42And the offset is not that much.
11:44So, they're really happy with the 2025 bike,
11:46and they're really happy with how it's performing
11:48now with these style of tracks.
11:50Yeah.
11:51You think about the lap times of...
11:53Oh, a mistake by Hunter!
11:54And just like that, Jett shoots in the lead, Ricky.
11:57Oh, that's what Jett wanted right there.
12:00It's going to be sayonara for this dude, 100%.
12:04And I think maybe he races Hunter a little bit different,
12:08maybe a little less aggressive,
12:10and probably knows where Hunter's weak points are
12:13to where he can make a move,
12:15but he gets a gift right there by his brother.
12:18Yeah, well, Hunter obviously made a mistake
12:21in that rhythm section,
12:22but the first time they raced each other was over in Paris,
12:25and I do remember the brother taking out the other one.
12:28So, he raced him a little bit different to account.
12:31That's right.
12:32That off-season race in France last year
12:34where they banged into each other,
12:35Jett actually knocked Hunter down.
12:37This is, first of all, Sexton making more moves
12:40battling with Cooper Webb.
12:41Yeah, Chase was riding really good.
12:43He comes out of the corner.
12:45Oh, no, not making moves.
12:47He stalls the motorcycle.
12:48I wonder, because Kenny had rejoined the party.
12:52Here's Hunter.
12:53Oh, Hunter coming up short.
12:55What if he got wheelspin up the takeoff?
12:57Yeah, you can see it.
12:58He got wheelspin going up the takeoff on that.
13:01He didn't really sit down in it.
13:02Bike spun up.
13:03And those jumps are pretty sharp,
13:05so that was a tough hit.
13:06And Sexton back to battling Webb.
13:08This is for fourth behind Tomac,
13:10who's closing on Hunter Lawrence.
13:12Sexton looking for running room.
13:14That's that sense I was telling you about Cooper Webb.
13:17Cooper Webb can feel the number four of Chase Sexton
13:20going to tuck underneath him.
13:22Checks up.
13:23Oh, and just able to get it done is Sexton,
13:25but he can't do the triple.
13:27Webb fights back.
13:28Not enough.
13:29Sexton's up another position.
13:31Yeah, I mean, you felt like that was coming.
13:33He had no choice, but, man,
13:34that was what you were saying about Cooper Webb.
13:36They always say he's got his eyes in the back of his head.
13:40Look at Ken Rockson.
13:41Look at Kenny.
13:42Yeah.
13:43He catching a little second wind here.
13:45Almost gets to the inside of Cooper.
13:49Telling Cooper, you don't want that business right there.
13:51You don't want that business.
13:52But, yeah, Chase, great pass.
13:54Those guys starting to slow down.
13:55Wait a minute.
13:56Hunter has caught Jet, and here comes Tomac.
13:59What has happened up front?
14:00Yeah.
14:01Hunter's like, hey, bro, you got to go.
14:03Number three's coming back.
14:04Yep.
14:05Six minutes to go.
14:06Listen to this crowd.
14:11We have a three-rider battle for the lead.
14:14J.S., I think we are witnessing beast mode for the number three.
14:19Yep, and Jet said, along with these guys,
14:22I want to race the beast mode.
14:24Eli said, oh, here you go.
14:26Careful what you ask for.
14:27Careful what you wish for,
14:28because Tomac just ran another 115.
14:30Both Lawrence's 117 lap times.
14:33Tomac is on his horse.
14:35Man, and Eli's doing it.
14:37He looks great, obviously,
14:39but it doesn't look like he's too hard for him.
14:42He's not out of control.
14:43I thought his bike looked great last weekend.
14:46I think it looks just as good here today,
14:50and when I watch it, it looks really compliant,
14:52like he's getting pretty good drive,
14:53considering, J.S., we were talking after a commercial break
14:57how this track looks notchy, like it doesn't flow good,
15:00but Eli's bike looks like it's compliant
15:03and soft enough where it needs to be.
15:05Yeah, well, Eli's showing you can flow on this racetrack,
15:08and this is where he's been making the passes on everybody.
15:11Let's see if he can get a little bit closer.
15:13Got Hunter in his sights.
15:14He's going to try that outside-inside.
15:16Not close enough.
15:17Yeah, that was...
15:18He missed that entry.
15:20Yeah, then Hunter kind of blocked it a little bit,
15:22but Eli, this is going to everywhere.
15:25He ain't, I don't think he's going to be denied on this one, RC.
15:28No, I don't think so either.
15:29I like how, and almost how he darts to the inside
15:32coming by the mechanics there.
15:33It looks like he's eyeing up for a possible move
15:36to get by one of these guys if the opportunity...
15:39Oh, Jett stole the motorcycle.
15:41Hunter Lawrence to the lead.
15:43Can Tomac make the move for a second?
15:45He does.
15:46Tomac has a shot at the lead now.
15:49What a...
15:50What has happened?
15:51Oh, we got dramas, what's happening right now.
15:54You know, and thinking what I mentioned earlier,
15:56this track being very hard.
15:58I wonder is that, you know,
15:59a guy coming back from a wrist injury like Jett Lawrence,
16:02maybe that's bothering him a little bit
16:03because he definitely seems he's not pushing it.
16:06So we got to keep an eye on that.
16:07But that number three is coming now.
16:10Oh, Jett's coming back after them.
16:11And as they battle,
16:12this could be Hunter Lawrence's advantage here.
16:17Don't count out the 96 trying to get away.
16:19No, he's trying and Jett's going to have to do everything
16:22to at least try to get around Eli,
16:24maybe even help his brother if he wanted to.
16:27Second would be just as good as a first.
16:29Here it is, here it is.
16:30Let's see if he can get it.
16:31Yeah.
16:32Oh, there it is.
16:33Nice to the inside.
16:34Wheel to wheel.
16:35The big air from the outside.
16:37Hunter holds it off.
16:38Watch this pass right here.
16:39Maybe by the one.
16:40Oh.
16:41Yeah, that's where he got webbed.
16:42Not enough.
16:43Oh, now Jett's right back in the fight.
16:45Yeah.
16:46I mean, that's pretty impressive for Eli.
16:48Even once he pivoted,
16:49although he didn't make that pass,
16:51the bike's got that much traction
16:52where he can hook up on a flat corner.
16:55That's where all these guys have been making mistakes.
16:57Let's see if Eli can get it clean.
16:59Oh, that's a good inside line that Jett has right there.
17:03He's cutting off about five feet of track,
17:05which is an eternity.
17:07He's going against a guy like Eli Tomac.
17:11Another lap clicks off.
17:13Three minutes and a lap to go.
17:16Oh, this is a battle right here.
17:18I love seeing this.
17:20Tomac was 6.8 seconds down.
17:23Oh, he reeled these guys in quick-like.
17:27Yeah, and I think if he got in front of him,
17:29he would yard and pull them away from him.
17:32But, man, I like what I see from that 96,
17:35especially from last weekend.
17:37Honestly, I thought it was gone
17:39when Jett Lawrence took the lead over his brother.
17:42I thought that he would check out,
17:44and they proved me wrong.
17:46And Hunter doing such a good job in these areas
17:48where Tomac wants to pass, playing defense.
17:51Here's another section coming up.
17:52This left-hander.
17:54I thought Eli would be looking for an inside,
17:57but this is where you can see where his bike is.
17:59He's hooking up.
18:00He can go in flat parts inside, outside.
18:03He's got the traction.
18:05I think, yeah, and I think because Eli being so strong,
18:08I think that helps him put the power to the ground.
18:11Also, that's Monster Energy's star race in Yamaha.
18:15But, I mean, Jett's right there as well.
18:17Triples out.
18:19Gets even closer to Hunter.
18:21That might be a good line for last moment
18:23if Eli can do that.
18:25And what we saw Chase Sexton go around Cooper Webb.
18:28Maybe a pivot towards the inside.
18:30It's going to be hard for Eli
18:31because now you see that number one
18:33as he's trying to get around Hunter Lawrence.
18:35Jett Lawrence trying to get around him.
18:38Will the split line work?
18:40Got the Venom drone can here.
18:42Oh, man.
18:43Yeah, Tomac has to deal with Lawrence
18:45front and behind.
18:47That wasn't that bad, actually.
18:49I think, though, if Jett can be close enough
18:52on that out-of-camber after the tunnel,
18:54maybe he can make a move there.
18:56Smart move by Eli.
18:57I was like, you better go inside
18:59because you know Jett was going to...
19:00Oh, no!
19:01A mistake for the three!
19:02All right, break it.
19:03Can Jett get to the inside?
19:05He does!
19:06Oh, he almost goes down!
19:07Tomac, the triple!
19:09Holds him off.
19:10That's respect right there
19:11because Jett couldn't easily push him out.
19:14Talk about a track that you can't ride aggressive on.
19:17If there was more grip,
19:19I think that Lawrence would have got by Eli
19:22by coming back underneath the inside,
19:24but the grip just isn't there.
19:26And it's inside.
19:27It's been great for Jett!
19:29Side by side!
19:30Now Tomac has the triple, though!
19:32Watch this.
19:33Eli's tripling out over that hump,
19:35and he's pulling away from these guys.
19:38Meanwhile, Hunter.
19:40Hunter's doing a fabulous job
19:42defending his position.
19:44Oh, he's going to...
19:45Let's see if he goes to the outside.
19:47Stick with it.
19:49Wheel to wheel into the split lane.
19:53See if he can keep that momentum around.
19:56Oh, a little mistake from Tomac.
19:59It helps him right here.
20:00This is where it really helps him.
20:03Great footage by the drone.
20:05Being able to see the line developing.
20:11Oh, what are you going to do, E.T.?
20:13Oh!
20:14Going to go wide!
20:16Oh, it gets good drive out.
20:18Looks like the base of the track
20:20is very slippery on that inside.
20:22The runners not being able to get the drive that they need.
20:25So now Tomac is free to challenge Hunter Lawrence again,
20:28extending it a bit on Jett.
20:31Two laps to go.
20:33What would it mean for Hunter Lawrence
20:35to take down Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence
20:38in a straight-up battle?
20:39Just as much as it would mean for Eli to win this race.
20:42I mean, I think we all thought,
20:43as you said earlier,
20:45when that one got out front,
20:46he was going to be gone,
20:47but both those guys put the pressure on him.
20:50If Eli can catch him, R.C.,
20:52I think he has a couple spots but one lap left.
20:55Well, I'm going to tell you right now,
20:57it put Hunter Lawrence into the SMX points lead
21:01by one point over his brother.
21:04Unbelievable.
21:05Could Hunter Lawrence, who is a rookie,
21:07pull off this championship?
21:09He's actually technically never won a 450 race.
21:11He's won three individual motos in pro motocross.
21:15No overalls.
21:16Jett getting close to Tomac again.
21:18Jett's going to have to turn it loose right here, James,
21:20if he wants to get by the number three.
21:24It's going to be a tall order.
21:25Yeah.
21:28Let's see.
21:29Eli's been so quick here,
21:30but Hunter greased that corner on the inside.
21:32Found a good one.
21:33He did.
21:34Remember, it's a two-moto format.
21:36We'll have a rematch later in the day.
21:39Combine both scores together,
21:41but it's all on the line right now.
21:43Tomac getting close to Hunter Lawrence again.
21:47Last lap.
21:52How will they play this off-camber turn?
21:55Who's going inside?
21:56Who's going outside?
21:57Tomac outside.
22:01Triple.
22:03Triple.
22:04He's getting close.
22:06Checkered flag now in sight.
22:08Will Hunter Lawrence come out on top?
22:11Two of the biggest names out there,
22:13and Hunter Lawrence gets the win over Tomac and Jett.
22:19What a race, RC.
22:20What a race.
22:21Incredible ride by Hunter Lawrence for the win,
22:24but also Eli Tomac being able to reel these guys in