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00:00Bike 7 as well, Aaron Plessinger. Heat 2, 450s here in Jersey. Gates down.
00:09Good start, Justin Cooper. Watch the inside line though. Webb's trying to sneak through. Plessinger's trying to sneak through.
00:15Yeah, Plessinger did a good job of blocking that inside.
00:20Freddie Norren's off to a great start aboard his Kawasaki.
00:22Yeah, look at Freddie, number 33 up front there. Oh, look at Christian Craig goes off the track.
00:28Two of Cooper Webb on the inside, trying to make a move by the 7.
00:34Malcolm Stewart aboard the 27. Bogo. He's in the mix.
00:39But it's Justin Cooper who leads the way from Cooper Webb.
00:44Well, you heard Weege's report about what Cooper Webb has been working on, and that's that early race sprint laps.
00:53And this is a perfect example of what he's been trying to do is early on in these races,
00:57he's going to try to lay down as many fast laps as possible.
01:03Riding with a lot of intensity. That's where Chase Sexton is so good.
01:08A week on from Philadelphia.
01:15I'm still sparing a thought for Aaron Plessinger. You see there aboard Bike 7, who was in such great form.
01:21He got a magnificent start in the main event, only to collide with Shane McElrath.
01:26And kind of got bounced off to the side of the track, and he was playing catch-up from that moment onwards and ended up rallying to finish eighth at the end of the main.
01:35So he'll be looking to kind of get something that he felt was his a week ago.
01:40He's in a fight here with his training partner, Malcolm Stewart.
01:44I'm going to go back to what Chase Sexton was saying on his podium interview and how this track has gotten drier and how you have to have patience.
01:53And what he's talking about is because it's getting slicker, you really have to be easy with the throttle, and it's hard to do when you're in a position like Malcolm Stewart, number 27, right there,
02:04when you're trying to gain ground. You want to twist the throttle so much, but you know if you do, you're going to light the rear end up, and you're going to lose forward drive.
02:12Oh!
02:15Now, while we see Malcolm Stewart on screen and hassling Aaron Plessinger, we were meant to have his big brother sitting in between you and me today, James, who was with us last week, Supercross legend.
02:27And unfortunately, JS is a little under the weather, so I know that you're watching, mate.
02:31Feel better and get better as quickly as you can, and we'll see you a little later in the season.
02:36That's right. We miss you, buddy. Hope you get to feeling sick.
02:39He was great on Wednesday on our meeting, and then heard he was sick, so we're thinking about you, bud.
02:48You can really see the difference at whoop entry speed going into that first set of whoops, the difference between the seven of Mary Plessinger and the 27 of Malcolm Stewart.
02:59Malcolm has always been able to have incredible whoop entry speed, that is, and it helps so much, because rather than trying to build speed through the whoops, you're able to maintain speed.
03:12Meanwhile, up front, Justin Cooper holds a 1.4-second lead over his championship-leading teammate, and a quick reminder that you can take an inside look at Yamaha Racing's factory-supported teams
03:28after every race on Yamaha Motor USA's YouTube channel.
03:33I think it's going to be really, really important, and I talked about it a little bit in the 250 heats, is if you're a guy like Cooper Webb, or you're a guy like Chase Sexton,
03:42and you're in it for the championship, it is going to be really, really important to make sure you get a good feel, engage,
03:48and try to predict what these conditions are going to be like in that main event, and get that bike set up 100 percent, Will.
03:57And there's some confidence that he's coming out of Justin Cooper when I spoke to him earlier, about how his setup was on the bike, and just everything.
04:04He's got about 50 to 80 friends and family here. He's from only an hour away, and he talked about how everything was just sort of coming together.
04:12When I asked him about how it would be to get a win here at his home race, I mean, his face just lit up.
04:18So everything trending in the right direction. I was also told that he had a great week battling Cooper Webb.
04:23Jason Wigand talked about those sprint laps that Cooper Webb was putting in. I heard that Justin Cooper was right there.
04:28There he goes, Cooper up the inside. Look at this, side by side, the teammates. Cooper Webb, he's going to have the outside option.
04:39Justin Cooper keeps him out for now, but here comes the points leader, leaping into the lead to the joy of the crowd.
04:48His teammate racing him hard. Justin Cooper's on the inside, preferred line coming into this right-hander.
04:54It'll be tough for Cooper to get back by.
04:56Wow.
05:02What an epic battle between the teammates.
05:05It's only for a heap, but a lot is being learned here that Cooper Webb can use against Chase Sexton in the main event.
05:11Great ride, Justin Cooper. May have lost the lead, but this one's been a great one.
05:16Yeah, great riding by Justin Cooper to defend that position.
05:19He ends up losing him, but it wasn't for the lack of trying.
05:22Respectful, but firm competition against his teammate.
05:29Oh, this is going to be huge for Cooper Webb if he's able to hold off Justin Cooper.
05:34We talk about start position.
05:36He'll have the number two start position going into the main event.
05:40Most likely, Chase Sexton's heat race will be faster, so that'll give him the advantage.
05:46And I like that position going second because then that puts me in a spot where I can start on the inside of my competitor.
05:52Well, with the clock almost down and a lap to go, look in the background.
05:58Aaron Plessinger has been clicking off some pretty speedy lap times, and the Red Bull KTM rider is looming in the background.
06:06Behind him, Malcolm Stewart.
06:07Joey Savace coming off a career-high result in Philly, and then Dean Wilson aboard the Honda HRC machine.
06:14Dylan Ferrandez, Christian Craig, Freddie Noren is in a position to go straight through to the main at the moment.
06:19Well, you go back.
06:20You talk about Joey Savace on that number 17 quad-lock Honda team.
06:25He didn't make the main in Foxborough.
06:27He comes out, gets fifth last weekend.
06:29He was really good in time qualifying practice earlier today, and here he is sitting fifth in his heat race.
06:35And this is just what confidence does for you, and it's great to see from Joey.
06:38We know he has the ability to run up front, and I'm pumped for him and that race team.
06:44Cooper Webb is on his way home.
06:47That will be a satisfying heat victory.
06:50Had to work a little harder for it than he thought.
06:52Justin Cooper's right there, though.
06:55Coop's going to have to block the inside.
06:58So, perfect setup for the afternoon.
07:00Both championship rivals winning both the 450 heats.
07:04Chase Sexton heat one, Cooper Webb heat two.
07:09It's game on here in New Jersey tonight in the main event.