00:00Heat races to start the year. He's had crashes. That leads to bad gate picks in the main.
00:05Pulled off one good start at Anaheim 1, but then it was red flagged and restarted.
00:10And really the bad luck has unrolled for the three-time and defending champ from there.
00:14So do you need to see something even now?
00:16I've got to see it. This is where it starts right now.
00:18He needs to get that mindset back to where it was halfway through the Supercross season last year.
00:24I think of some of the incredible rides and battles that he had with Chase Sexton, Pittsburgh, an example.
00:30He needs to be there mentally and show us something.
00:33Now is the time to do it.
00:35450 Heat 2 revs up.
00:38Gate down.
00:41It's going to be RJ Hampshire on the inside.
00:44Rockstar Husqvarna, Sexton and Webb right through.
00:47RJ swung it wide.
00:50Closed the door on Coop, but there he goes.
00:52So he's doing it right now. Webb to the lead.
00:56And this is what he needed to do right here.
01:00We each get a good start.
01:01Start the night off right.
01:04Oh, RJ.
01:05Good charge to the whoops.
01:0610-0 triple, triple though.
01:08Yeah, he went a little bit too fast.
01:10He clipped that last whoop and he didn't get the bike settled enough to get a good drive to triple.
01:15And that allows Sexton to take second on the number four, the Monster Kawasaki.
01:19Tomac is fourth, and it is on for the lead between Webb and Sexton.
01:23Man, look how fast the four of Chase Sexton caught up to Cooper Webb.
01:28We talked about these split lanes right here.
01:30Let's see if they follow.
01:31They don't.
01:33Going to be the outside line for Sexton, RC.
01:35Ah, he tried.
01:40Look at Eli Tomac.
01:42Slips out one third.
01:43Not wanting to get these guys any real estate.
01:45Four is going to cut back underneath.
01:48There it is.
01:51Webb's on the inside.
01:52Not enough.
01:54Sexton locks it down.
01:56Oh, Coop's not able to jump triple on top of that tabletop.
02:00And as Sexton begins to get away, look, there's no one in this game that is as mentally tough
02:10as Cooper Webb, but that's got to sting a little bit, I would think.
02:14Well, it does, especially when you've got a guy who has the speed and the talent like Chase Sexton.
02:21Sexton looking incredibly good today in qualifying practice.
02:26He had a better run last week with the fourth position.
02:30I like the way that he's trending.
02:33Now it's Tomac against Webb for a second as it cleared Hampshire.
02:37Oh, and Sexton goes down to the sand.
02:41Oh, no.
02:43That's easy to do right there.
02:44If I had to guess, towards the end of that sand berm, there's a little hook.
02:49And I bet he buried the front end.
02:52Had too much weight there.
02:53It just goes down.
02:56I'll tell you what.
02:58If we have seen it once, we've seen it a thousand times with Cooper Webb.
03:02Justin, you think, oh, the pendulum's swinging the wrong way.
03:05Sexton makes an error.
03:06And there's Webb to take advantage.
03:08Here it is.
03:08Here's a replay.
03:09Remember I said there's a hook exiting the corner.
03:12And actually, looks like he goes to initiate the exit a little early and just loses the front end.
03:18Webb's got company, though.
03:19Here comes Tomac.
03:20Good battle right now as they head to the split lane.
03:25Tomac's going to use it.
03:26I love these split lanes for that reason right there, Jason.
03:34And this is what Coop needed right here to get into that mindset.
03:42Talk about the changes that they made.
03:46Will talked about it.
03:47Going back to the goat farm.
03:50Looks good.
03:51Corners.
03:52Will, what do you think?
03:53Yeah, Ricky, this is what the team wanted for him when I said I was speaking to the personnel there.
03:58They said, look, we've got to get you out in that top five.
04:01You need a top five start because then you'll remember how to do it when you're battling.
04:05And they listed off the likes of Tomac and Ken Rockson and Hunter Webb.
04:10He said he's got to be out battling with those guys to bring this all back, just like you said.
04:16He's got a shot at it right here.
04:18Tomac made a run one lap ago.
04:20And he holds him off.
04:21The teammates you see battling the bottom box.
04:23Stewart around Hampshire.
04:25That is for fifth.
04:27Now switching hit Tomacs outside of the split lane.
04:31He was inside last time.
04:33Big charge from the three.
04:35Watch him cut back underneath.
04:37Oh, he elects to not follow now in the split lane.
04:40Let's see if he can get a good run out of the exit of this corner.
04:45Got the inside.
04:48Tomac takes the lead.
04:49Using that momentum.
04:51Great pass by Eli Tomac.
04:54Looking a lot better here in this heat race.
04:56And he looked earlier on today in qualifying practice.
05:00Timing looked a little bit off.
05:01Just didn't look as comfortable as he has the last two weeks.
05:04Oh, but Webb got that tabletop.
05:07Drives into the rhythm.
05:08Can he get him back?
05:10Side by side to the whoops.
05:13Webb's got the jump line.
05:14Ah, couldn't quite.
05:15Yeah, he was off sequence.
05:18Cooper Webb was just by one whoop.
05:20Wasn't able to triple out.
05:22That allowed him not to go triple-triple after the whoops.
05:25We talked about a little bit at the top of the show.
05:27That triple-triple after the whoops is going to be key because you can see how much distance you lose if you do not execute that section.
05:34Bottom box with Sexton working on Savace for six after crashing while leading.
05:41Well, Sexton's going fast.
05:43Webb riding well.
05:44But it's back to ET3, who has been unstoppable so far in 2026.
05:54It ain't pretty, but he's getting it done.
05:58And I expect for these challengers to raise the bar a little bit, say, on their bike setup.
06:05I was thinking about it earlier in the week, how it seems like this whole Red Bull KTM team, they came out firing, right?
06:12Like, at their best.
06:13And I feel that all these other teams are going to step up their game, improve their motorcycles, and close that gap.
06:20So, a lot to look forward to for these other challengers.
06:24Sexton has caught Malcolm Stewart, who is riding with fractures in his scapula.
06:29There is Blessinger, who had that big crash at the end of the heat race.
06:34He is now out of the Alpine Stars medic unit.
06:37Still not sure of his condition, if he's okay or not.
06:40Definitely looks to be in some pain.
06:41But these guys can deal with a lot.
06:43Stewart there on the 27, a perfect example of that, as he's holding Sexton at bay.
06:48What a comeback for Chase Sexton right here.
06:54I know it sounds silly, but to sit here and talk about every position is so key.
06:59We talk about the track position.
07:01But for Chase to get as good of a gate position as possible for that main event, oh, that was nice to wheelie out of that corner.
07:08You see how low he stayed.
07:10He's able to put the power to the ground.
07:12Great pass.
07:12Oh, JT, now how's Aaron Blessinger?
07:14Go ahead.
07:15Thank you, Jason.
07:16Well, AP, that was a little bit scary.
07:19One jump to go.
07:20What exactly happened there?
07:21Because everything looked fine until it didn't.
07:23And most importantly, are you okay?
07:25Yeah, yeah, we're all good, man.
07:26I appreciate it.
07:27And I honestly have no clue, dude.
07:30I was hitting it like I did every lap.
07:32And that lap, I just kind of, I don't know, I didn't even feel anything.
07:37I just went off the face of the jump, and I just felt my bike shift forward.
07:43And forward enough to where I was not going to pull it off whatever I did.
07:48So I just, I jumped, and I hope the bike didn't hit me.
07:51And my most worry was getting ran over.
07:56And then when I got up, I was like, all right, we were in first and second.
08:01I may still have time to get up and go and do it.
08:03When I got to my bike, my bars were pointed this way, and my wheel was pointed that way.
08:08And it was the hardest thing to ride.
08:09And, yeah, but I don't know what to tell you.
08:13It was a hell of a crash, and I'm glad I'm not hurt.
08:17And, yeah, these guys took care of me, and I got the road rash all cleared up.
08:21So we'll be out there in May.
08:23All right.
08:23Well, thankfully you're okay.
08:24We'll see you in the main event.
08:26Thank you, JT.
08:26And that is great news for Aaron, who will be back for the main.
08:30He's got a teammate to watch come across the checkers, Eli Tomac.
08:3449 career heat race wins.
08:38Second most amongst active riders, and that was a good one.
08:41We talked about it at the top of the show.
08:45Cooper Webb just went.
08:46It's so easy to ride him off the three-time champ.
08:49Looks like he's got it turned around.
08:52Yep, it's certainly better, no doubt about that.
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