Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Yeah, the format and just what the playoffs mean and the great racing it produces has been something special to watch.
00:10Each world championship going down to the wire. I love it.
00:14So you just saw RJ Hampshire in the first team. He is one of the co-championship leaders.
00:18Here is the other one, the 24-year-old from Pennsylvania, Seth Hamaker,
00:23aboard his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, ready to go.
00:26He is in the form of his career. Oh, and by the way, in this heat, he's up against the reigning East Division champion from France, Tom Vial.
00:36And I've never seen the depth in a divisional championship, Lee, ever in my years of watching SMX and Monster Energy Supercross.
00:49You hear those rims rise, drop the gate. Let's do it. Heat 2 of the 250s. Good start, Nate Thrasher.
00:56Boy, he bolted out of the gates. Going to be tight on the whole shot there.
01:04But he's got the inside line for the switchback here.
01:07And Nate Thrasher, he's already won this year in Birmingham, Alabama.
01:12And the Monster Energy Star Yamaha racer is flying ahead of Hamaker.
01:16This is like a sight lap for some of these guys. And think about how fast that they have to go.
01:21They haven't been on this racetrack for several hours.
01:25The sun has poked out. Track is a lot drier, a lot harder than it was when they were previously on the track earlier today,
01:33while maintaining an incredible pace.
01:36Nate has been riding injured for the majority of the season.
01:40He severely injured his finger. There's metal work in there. Had to go undergo surgery.
01:46He had very little grip strength. He told me yesterday, RC, he is feeling fat and feeling strong.
01:51Yeah, and Nate is just one of those guys. I mean, he's won a showdown race, a triple crown race, a regular race.
01:59And he has a speed that's never been the problem.
02:03It's just small little injuries that has slowed him down.
02:07And something not to his doing, Will.
02:10And he's had teammates with injuries, too.
02:13So right now, Nate Thrasher is the sole 250 East rider under that Yamaha-style racing tent.
02:21And I asked today, the team, I said, how's that on the pressure?
02:24They said, we are piling it on. We're piling that pressure on.
02:27Some riders do well with that. Some do not.
02:29They said, Nate loves it.
02:31When we tell him it's go time, it's go time.
02:34And so all that is on him right now.
02:35Maybe that has something to do with that great start.
02:37It's clearly working that the team's planning there.
02:39While we enjoy this action, Will, in the 250 East Division Heat 2, let's check in with Weege.
02:45Jason Wagham, where do we find you, mate?
02:48Yeah, I'm here under the Triumph grid.
02:49You saw that crash from Austin Fort during the heat race.
02:52And JT mentioned how his airbag system went off.
02:55This is new to the sport of motocross, the tech air system from Alpine Stars.
03:00He's got to swap that one to this one.
03:02When you crash, it inflates before you hit the ground to cushion the impact.
03:06And then it stays inflated for 25 seconds.
03:08And then goes back to a normal size so the rider is not affected by the inflated airbag system.
03:14It has one charge per race.
03:15So he's going to swap into a new system.
03:17And the good thing for Forkner after that crash, he's A-OK.
03:21That technology that we've seen in MotoGP road racing has come to the world of super motocross.
03:27Nate Thrasher with a 1.7-second lead over Hamaker.
03:34Tom Vial a little further back aboard his Red Bull KTM.
03:37Then Max Volan and Jack Chambers.
03:41And in that final transfer position in ninth, Trevor Collum at the moment.
03:45There's Tom Vial earlier today when the track was a bit ruddier.
03:51I felt like it was playing right into Tom Vial's hands of the championship contenders.
03:56He is the only guy that hasn't won yet this year.
04:00Lacking a little bit of speed.
04:02However, he's only two points back.
04:03Whoa!
04:04Whoa!
04:04Some wild stuff going on further back.
04:09That was Carroll, I believe.
04:12Yeah.
04:14Brighton Carroll went down.
04:16And then...
04:17Oh, no.
04:20Local rider here from New Jersey.
04:24Oh.
04:25That was rough to watch.
04:28It's so hard to get it gathered back up when you make a mistake through the woods
04:32because you're so committed.
04:35Watch what happens.
04:36Top of your screen.
04:38Oh, that wasn't the woods.
04:39That's a rhythm lane.
04:41Next up.
04:41Oh!
04:42Oh!
04:43Yeah, I mean, just a racing incident.
04:45If one guy makes a mistake and isn't able to, say, triple into the corner,
04:50and the other guy behind him is committed,
04:53there's really nothing for you to do at that stage.
04:56Henry Miller.
04:58Let's hope that he is okay after that heavy crash.
05:02Meanwhile, it's a little more stable up front, the Nate Thrasher.
05:09Let's hear some thoughts of the star Yamaha racer on what he needs to do to build a little bit more.
05:15Here's Nate Thrasher in his own words.
05:17Yeah, I think last weekend I felt good on the bike, just the starts weren't there on the restart of the main event.
05:24So, yeah, we just worked on starts this week, and I think it's going to take a good start here.
05:29There's a lot of good guys.
05:30So, yeah, just get off the gate, and I think we'll be in a good spot.
05:33And even though, Ricky, that his hand is pretty much 100% healed,
05:38I asked him yesterday, why do you still have the handguards on?
05:40And he said, believe it or not, where I've got my scar and where I had the sore finger,
05:44the roost still really hurts my hand.
05:46Yeah, I mean, these tires put off a massive bruise.
05:51It's like it's in front of a paintball gun, and it's hurt, so any little protection helps.
05:58So that's why he has those black handguards covering up his hands.
06:02And there are little rocks out on this racetrack.
06:05He's down there walking the track earlier today during qualifying practice,
06:10watching these guys as they were taking laps and trying to get their best time,
06:15and there's small little pebbles out there.
06:17Nice to see a dry track for once in a few weeks.
06:20Right.
06:20We've been, uh, the weather, Mother Nature has been keeping us on our toes.
06:28Nice to have the sunshine.
06:3025 seconds left, plus a lap.
06:32Nate Thrash has been in control since the start.
06:34Over co-championship leader Seth Hamaker, then Tom Vial.
06:38Max Voland started the day pretty speedily.
06:42And then Jack Chambers headed for a career-best heat result,
06:48if he can stay there in the top five.
06:51Chan Baker holds on to that ninth and final transfer position.
06:55Sometimes it's difficult when the track changes from qualifying practice
07:01to the heat races right now, and then later on to the main event.
07:07You have to really be on top of it and be trying to—you have to forecast what that track condition is going to be like
07:13so you can make the appropriate changes to your motorcycle and the setup,
07:17whether it be suspension, engine, tires.
07:19So the rider that is most in tune with how their bike works
07:24and the necessary changes they may need to help them the best lap times
07:30and have the most comfort to race with as much speed as possible.
07:35Here's the second place, Seth Hamaker.
07:41That big win that Will alluded to earlier this season in Indianapolis broke a four-year drought.
07:49And behind him, coming to the white flag, who is a long way back,
07:54Tom Vial, more than 10 seconds, Jason Thomas, behind Seth Hamaker, runs third.
07:59And this is a little worrisome for Tom Vial because the way he had been in this championship lead
08:04was through consistency.
08:05It hadn't been through raw speed, as Ricky mentioned.
08:08Now, with that Foxborough debacle, he has lost the lead,
08:11and it's going to be up to him to find the speed that it takes to win.
08:15And in this heat race so far, he has not been able to do that.
08:17So somewhere between now and the main event, he's going to have to figure this out,
08:21but the points are only going to get worse from here.
08:23He's getting some serious heat from the 92 of Max Boland.
08:26And that blue and white Yamaha, I was watching Max Boland earlier today,
08:34and he looked really comfortable, had incredible whoop speed.
08:37There we go.
08:39Checkered flag for Nate Thrasher.
08:40Well done.
08:41Right from the drop of the gate, Nate Thrasher was out in front
08:45and put together a really comprehensive heat victory over Seth Hamaker.
08:49And then Tom Villar will cross the line third
08:54with a little bit of head-scratching to do, maybe,
08:57leading to the main event.
09:00I lost the way and I gave up back
09:04Cause I saved the worst for last
09:08Yeah
09:09Yeah
09:15Yeah
09:17Yeah
09:17Yeah