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00:00A front runner always has been and always will be, so watch for that first lap positioning.
00:06Let's go to the number one, the defending champion, Cooper, where we talked about him at the top of the show there,
00:12and you said what he needed to do. You wanted to see it from him here at the Anaheim 2 race.
00:17Well, we kind of saw flashes of that, right, in the heat race.
00:20He was out there in front, a great start, and turning the sort of laps we expect from him.
00:24It didn't translate into a heat win, but we also know Cooper Webb, when put under pressure, can do amazing things,
00:30and maybe we'll see this here in the main and come away with a better result.
00:35Here's Chase Sexton. That bike looks just like it did last weekend. They changed a ton of things.
00:40Team said flip the bike upside down between rounds one and two.
00:43This week, only minor suspension setting changes, much closer to the target.
00:48He's been fast, could have won that heat if not for the crash.
00:51Maybe tonight's the night he gets that first win with Kawasaki.
00:56I'll show you the SMX playoff schedule.
00:58It's brought to you by the Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, and the reason why is because that beautiful facility outside of Branson, Missouri,
01:05will be the world championship finale host site.
01:09It's going to start at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, September 12th,
01:14then Dignity Health Sports Park back here in California in the middle of September,
01:18and then that Thunder Ridge Nature Arena.
01:21It's an amphitheater.
01:22It's going to race with a beautiful view for the fans, and that is going to be really fun in September.
01:27But right now, the focus is on right now, and that's round three of Monster Energy AMA Supercross.
01:34The ET3 Pete on the line.
01:37Roxen has been so good on the 94 to start the year.
01:39Can he get a win?
01:40Can Sexton and Webb get on the board?
01:42Hunter Lawrence, so close last week.
01:45Watch for Prado up the start.
01:46We're ready at Anaheim to drop the gate.
01:54Tobac and Lawrence fighting for it.
01:57No, Jason Anderson has to lead over Sexton.
02:04And Sexton able to clear Lawrence to lock down second.
02:08Where did Malcolm Stewart come from?
02:10Yeah, he came around that corner and was able to triple on that tabletop.
02:15Oh, look at, I'll tell you what, these guys are going to have their hands full with the four of Chase Sexton,
02:20especially if he gets by a home break.
02:23Jason Anderson here within the next two laps.
02:25When you think about where Eli's at, all that, just those three guys that separate them is all you need for a guy like Chase Sexton to build a gap and maintain.
02:38It's going to be interesting.
02:39The wild first couple of corners.
02:41Riders who looked to have good starts got shuffled back.
02:43You've got Lawrence.
02:44Oh, Tomac able to make a move on.
02:47Malcolm Stewart powers around the outside.
02:50And Plessinger follows him through.
02:53Oh, Hunter Lawrence.
02:55It's by Sexton.
02:58Oh, and they almost bumped wheels.
02:59And there's Eli right in the mix.
03:03And we had said early in the season that the early lap intensity was maybe the one weakness for Hunter.
03:09Not this time.
03:10100%.
03:10This is where he absolutely had to improve.
03:13And he has done a magnificent job of that last week and so far here early on in the main.
03:22Now, you remember, you go back to Anaheim 1, the one guy that he had a problem getting by, and that's Jason Anderson.
03:28If he's able to get to that rear wheel of Anderson, he cannot wait around like he did at A1.
03:35It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
03:37There is no love lost and a lot of history between Anderson and the Lawrence brothers.
03:42So that was the situation Hunter had to deal with two weeks ago here.
03:46But he's got to go because Sexton and Tomac are right there.
03:50Then you've got Plessinger.
03:51Webb's sixth.
03:52Ken Rockson is in 21st place.
03:56These guys are just absolutely slingshotting out of that outside line in the sand section.
04:03Love seeing it.
04:03Sobozzi last week's fifth place finisher buried.
04:07Prado buried as well.
04:08And Anderson taking advantage.
04:13Sexton rolling back up to Lawrence.
04:18Rockson went down early by himself.
04:20He is back up and okay.
04:22Heating up for second.
04:27Does Sexton have a line picked out?
04:29Yeah, he keeps peeking on the inside of these rhythm lanes coming into the corners, being a little lower.
04:37Oh, he was right on top of the rear wheel of Hunter.
04:42Up the inside.
04:44Sexton.
04:46Into the sand.
04:47And he powers out and takes second away.
04:53Yeah, great pass by Chase right there.
04:55Goes up the inside of that right-hander after the mechanics area.
05:01Spooks Hunter just a little that he needed to.
05:06Man, Chase is looking so good right now.
05:08I think the ride that he had last week was something to build on.
05:11Oh, he got the bike a little bit more dialed in.
05:15Said the bike felt too low at Anaheim 1.
05:18They actually made it taller.
05:20Was much more comfortable last week.
05:22Had a ton of speed.
05:23But got stuck in the starting game.
05:25Now, finally, we can see what Sexton can do from the front.
05:29We talked about it a little bit before the night, before the races started here.
05:34And I just felt like watching Tomac in practice.
05:37I just didn't feel like he was spot on and his timing wasn't as precise as it was the last two weeks.
05:45Obviously, he's gotten a little bit better since qualifying practice earlier today.
05:49But I just feel like he's missing that little bit extra that he had.
05:55Well, we were trying to theorize as to why.
05:57And the dirt a lot different than Anaheim 1.
06:00Could that be the difference maker?
06:01Yeah, again, a little more load on the bike, perhaps.
06:05And not something that he's raced on.
06:07A condition like this on this new machine.
06:10Maybe it's working a bit different for him.
06:14Oh, look at that.
06:14Yeah, Webb is attacking Plessinger, who is hanging with Tomac.
06:18Oh, Plessinger overjumped.
06:19This is going to allow Webb to get side by side.
06:22Can he make a move in the woods?
06:26Webb had to.
06:27And he does.
06:28Oh, that was a good move by Webb.
06:30These next couple laps, now that he has some clean air, it's going to be interesting if he can find that eye of the tiger that has led him to be a three-time Monster Energy Supercross track.
06:40If he can lock that in and activate that mode, JT.
06:48Yeah, Rick, I just wanted to add to what you were talking about there.
06:50You know, we're all kind of hypothesizing.
06:52But if you think about the conditions at A1, everybody was searching for traction.
06:57It's a really hard base, really loose on top, which is really difficult to kind of find certainty.
07:03And we talked about how well Eli Tomac's KTM looked.
07:06It was just so planted.
07:07It looked like he kind of could do whatever he wanted where everybody else was struggling a bit.
07:11With so much more traction here, maybe he just doesn't have that edge that he had over everybody.
07:17The higher traction levels have kind of negated the advantage he had at A1.
07:21Yeah, well said.
07:22Yeah, that advantage.
07:24And that's why, you know, like I was saying about the different condition here, it's going to work different.
07:30And again, if he had a massive advantage because of those conditions, well, it's gone away.
07:36Anderson on the Twisted T.
07:37Suzuki now under fire from Sexton.
07:40Anderson rides so well here at Anaheim.
07:43Battled near the podium two weeks ago at a podium last year.
07:47Hasn't won a race, though, since 2022.
07:49Can he hang on?
07:51Sexton is applying a lot of heat.
07:54And it's still early in this main event.
07:56Oh, yeah.
07:57These are the rides, though, that you just love to watch from Chase Sexton.
08:01And, you know, if he's able to do this every single weekend, he's winning all the time.
08:07And it's just the drive that he carries.
08:10He's right there.
08:11Showing a wheel to Anderson.
08:13They triple on together.
08:15Triple.
08:16Triple.
08:17Into the corner.
08:20Sexton has it.
08:22Anderson uses the outside.
08:23Big run.
08:26He threes out and gets him.
08:29That was a great pass back by Jason Anderson.
08:32He anticipated the four of Sexton making the move.
08:36Sexton goes right back by.
08:39Surprised that Anderson gave it that easy in that corner.
08:42Yeah, what a fantastic battle.
08:46As Tomek is trying to get Hunter Lawrence here in the bottom box.
08:50Doors open.
08:51Yeah, if he wants to have any contest towards Sexton, he's going to have to get by Hunter Lawrence right here.
08:59You're going to see Sexton just pull out a massive lead.
09:03And once again, Hunter Lawrence has to contend with Anderson.
09:06This was the scenario at Anaheim 1.
09:10He tried to be nice to him.
09:12And it's not going to help because Tomek is right there.
09:15Jason Anderson not doing anything wrong right here.
09:19And he's so good at guarding his position.
09:23Tomek got the inside.
09:25Ah, he tried.
09:30Hunter was able to get a good run through the whoops right there.
09:33I thought that Eli was going to get him, but Hunter stuck with it.
09:37And Eli did a good job, too, of not completely closing him out as well.
09:41And I want to point out Webb back there.
09:43Webb's got to get in this, right?
09:44Webb's got to get in this.
09:45Oh, yeah.
09:46From a championship standpoint, 100% he does.
09:49Cooper Webb was the fastest guy around the track.
09:52Oh, Tomek sent it off that jump to get inside and makes the move.
09:56Had to do it.
09:57He's going to go beast mode right now.
10:00Got it.
10:01Hunter gives it all he has on the inside.
10:03And that line just isn't developed enough, isn't established enough for it to be equal to the outside.
10:11That's why he lost time there.
10:14Got Plessinger and Stewart.
10:16I cannot believe Malcolm Stewart is hanging tough like this.
10:19For six, riding with major shoulder injuries, dating back two weeks ago here.
10:25Tomek wants Anderson for a second.
10:30This, as far as if Eli is able to catch up to the four, this is going to be a massive, massive mental psyche race, I believe.
10:41If we just, well, what that would do to Sexton, I mean, because we all, we say it all the time, Sexton is the fastest guy out here.
10:50It's going to be fun to watch play out.
10:52Anderson doing a great job here, man.
10:53Hold and pace with these guys, but no surprise.
10:56Listen, speed, he has good speed.
11:00He's won this Supercross championship before.
11:02I think he looks good on this, on this bike as well.
11:06Yeah, yeah.
11:06First year with this squad, Twisted Team Suzuki presented by Progressive and riding well.
11:12He and Tomek go way back.
11:14I mean, way back.
11:14One from New Mexico, one from Colorado.
11:17Met at a lot of local races across the state line growing up.
11:20Battled for the Supercross title multiple years in this championship.
11:24Look at RJ Hempshire down to the bottom box.
11:27He's gotten in this battle with Plessinger and Stewart.
11:30Plessinger going backwards here.
11:31I'm wondering if he's starting to feel the effects of that big beat race crash.
11:36Yeah, probably so.
11:38I mean, that was a tough crash.
11:40Just the fact that he's out there, Will, is pretty remarkable.
11:44Yeah, he's doing well.
11:46He did get some physiotherapy from Doc G during the break there in between racing.
11:50But I was told that he's banged up and he's kind of grazed up on his shoulder.
11:53They said all in all he's doing well, but he may be feeling the effects, as you guys said.
11:58Which way is it going to go here, Will?
11:59This is a good one.
12:00Anderson, Tomac, Lawrence, and Webb.
12:04Halfway through.
12:06A reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks at Rouse.
12:11Tomac, about as close as he has been to Anderson.
12:14He's closing in.
12:15You're exactly right, Weech.
12:18Tell you what, if he wants a chance at this win, it's going to have to happen fast.
12:23Remember, he tried to make a move by Hunter right here by going to the inside.
12:27He's got the inside, but not enough drive to the whoops from there.
12:31Yeah, and that's the tough part by going to the inside right there.
12:35You just kill your momentum.
12:37And he can't do the three out either, and that's going to allow Lawrence to fight him.
12:45Hunter Lawrence right back up.
12:46Tomac, wheel to wheel.
12:48Oh, who's going to lift?
12:53It's going to be wide open in the run of the corner, and Hunter Lawrence gets it.
12:59Oh, that was costly for Tomac.
13:00Yeah, what a pass by Hunter.
13:02Hunter was right there lurking.
13:04And then when Eli tried to make that pass on Anderson, he ended up losing more time rather than if he would have probably followed Anderson through there.
13:13And that's what allowed Hunter just to get that much closer and make the move.
13:18Well, he stood there and watched it in practice.
13:20The jumps after the whoops, so critical.
13:23Tomac couldn't get it, and then suddenly Lawrence was there, and now he's going to go back after Jason Anderson.
13:30Yeah, I mean, he's got to get by this dude.
13:34Anderson riding well, though.
13:37There's that joke.
13:37You can't take it away from him.
13:41Ken Tomac reset here.
13:43Yeah.
13:48This is one of those races, Jason, is just like you got one foot in, one foot out.
13:52I'm right with you.
13:53You're just waiting for somebody to do something, whether it's make a move or one guy to mistake.
13:59It's almost like races like this.
14:00Which guy is going to falter to give up the position?
14:04You know it's coming.
14:05Something's going to happen.
14:06This battle right here, Savace working on Hampshire.
14:09There has been a torrent fight from about seventh on back.
14:13Now it's Savace and Hampshire.
14:14Prado's up in it.
14:15Here is Lawrence working on Anderson again.
14:18So if he can get a good run down the inside of this rhythm lane right here, maybe he can
14:27make a move in this right-hander.
14:29But it's going to put him inside.
14:32He can make the pass.
14:33Can Anderson get it back?
14:35Not this time.
14:36Yeah.
14:36Anderson doesn't really put up a fight right there.
14:39Now these next couple laps, like I talked about for Tomac, going to be interesting to see.
14:45Oh, it's going to be interesting.
14:46Watch Anderson right here.
14:47Maybe go for the move on Hunter.
14:49Hunter's going to have to defend that position.
14:51He does.
14:52Hooper Webb is right there now with Tomac.
14:56Right there.
14:57Webb has been chipping away.
15:01And while those three battled, he's now in a four-rider fight.
15:05As Lawrence tries to distance himself, Tomac and Webb go to work on Anderson.
15:12Meanwhile, Saxon.
15:13Oh, meanwhile, Saxon.
15:14He's just checked out.
15:20What can Tomac do with the 21?
15:22He's going to try to use the outside.
15:25Which will turn to the inside.
15:28Is he close enough?
15:30Got it.
15:31Oh, puts him over the track.
15:33Off the track.
15:34Getting aggressive.
15:35But look at Cooper Webb.
15:38This is the gritty ride that Cooper Webb's going for.
15:42We talked about it at the...
15:43Oh, man.
15:43Oh, man.
15:44Plus, fingers out.
15:44We talked about it at the opening of the show, Jason, that Cooper Webb needed to show us something.
15:50And he has done that here tonight.
15:53He has stepped up.
15:55He had no more room to give.
15:5821 points back.
15:59Went to the goat farm this past week.
16:03Made some adjustments.
16:04Small adjustments to the bike.
16:06Not wholesale changes, but it appears just enough.
16:10And there's plenty of time.
16:12Five minutes and a lap to go for him to go after Tomac.
16:16Or can Tomac put in a charge on Lawrence?
16:19They've disposed of Anderson.
16:20And I mean, almost literally, disposed.
16:25Right.
16:26Tomac just cut across the ruts.
16:28Put Anderson off the track.
16:30He's got to go.
16:31Because the champ is here.
16:38I can tell you, if I'm a competitor, if I'm Eli Tomac, if I'm Chase Sexton or Hunter Lawrence,
16:44I do not want to see that, number one, start to get confidence.
16:50We've seen it happen in three championship occasions.
16:55Yes.
16:57Behind them, you've got Stewart battling it out with Savace.
17:00That is a battle for six.
17:01Savace, this time, doing it without the good start and coming through the pack.
17:05And those are some huge names.
17:07The man of the quad lock, Honda, rolling right now.
17:10Yeah, doing it the hard way.
17:12Not a surprise, though.
17:13I mean, this guy has plenty of ability to run where he's running.
17:16It seems like he believes in himself.
17:18Will.
17:18I think that's building too, Ricky.
17:21He told me today, he's like, you know, that fifth to eighth is the goal.
17:24But he's like, the fifth last week, that was great.
17:26He's like, I almost kind of need a result buffer, if you like.
17:29He's like, because when I get to the front there and I get into those positions, I don't
17:33really want to force things forward too much.
17:35He's like, that next pack of riders, that's tough to get to.
17:37He's like, but I've gone consistently in that fifth, sixth, seventh spot.
17:40He's like, then the moment comes and I'm sitting there and I can go, all right, let's push
17:44and see what I'm capable of.
17:45He just talked about it as putting those building blocks in place.
17:48So going about this season very methodically and I was praising the team for everything
17:52they've done for him.
17:54Thanks, Will.
17:55Yeah, well done, Joey, to hold off that pack.
17:57You got Hampshire, Stewart and Prado up ahead.
18:01Hunter Lawrence taking a little bit of time out of Sexton's lead.
18:05And we get our first look at Ken Roxen, who was basically last when this race started.
18:11Yeah, he went down on his own early on in this race, but working hard.
18:16He's catching up to the back of pack of guys that are going to be really tough to get by.
18:21Yeah.
18:23Hopefully he'll be able to use one of those split lanes to his advantage.
18:26That's what's nice about those split lanes is it gives you an easier opportunity to make
18:31a move, especially this inside right here.
18:34Once it gets grooved in and there's an established line, you'll be able to use that.
18:39And Roxen, a title contender early this year, needs these points as Prado goes after Stewart.
18:46Again, he's got to be hurting.
18:48That'll move Prado up.
18:49Prado's showing he can do it without the start.
18:52Prado got fired and ended up 13th last week, but moving up with authority this time on the 26th.
18:58And the lead down to 2.3 up front between Lawrence and Sexton.
19:09And there is Roxen making moves.
19:11Let's check in with the leader.
19:12Now the gap down to two seconds.
19:14Yeah.
19:14One thing about it, though, at this level, I mean, and what I've learned completely different
19:19to when, like, when Stu and I was racing, is that these guys are so good.
19:23Oh, that lapper, Mitchell Harrison.
19:25Yep.
19:26Slowing up.
19:27Hunter, going back to what I was saying is that these guys are good at, like, getting a
19:31two, two-and-a-half-second lead and just maintaining that gap.
19:34So it's always tough for me to tell, like, is he just, you know, is he maintaining what
19:39he's got or is he actually losing time because he's not the best guy right now?
19:44Well, that lap traffic might have made that debate even harder to figure out because the
19:49lead is back to 2.7 just with that one incident alone.
19:54Yeah, we're getting down to the end here.
19:58Chase just looks like he's in the zone.
20:00Again, no surprise.
20:03No surprise.
20:06This is a great ride.
20:07Three laps to go.
20:10Looking for his first win with Monster Energy Kawasaki.
20:15Roxton hanging it out, trying to get Stewart.
20:19Got it.
20:25Man, the teammates battling.
20:27Now Hampshire all over Malcolm.
20:30And got it.
20:32Oh, no, Webb fell.
20:34Webb goes down.
20:35He was still in that battle with Tomac.
20:37They had a big gap over Anderson, so he won't lose any more positions.
20:42But, no, he did.
20:45He did.
20:46Anderson did get by.
20:47Yep.
20:48Yep.
20:48Anderson got behind him.
20:50Oh, wow.
20:51Pardon me.
20:52Oh, that is uncommon mistake by the three-time champ.
20:57But let me tell you, man, it ain't for a lack of not trying.
21:00I mean, this is a huge turnaround from the last two weeks.
21:04But when you're pushing that limit, it's easier to make those mistakes and your risk of going down increases.
21:12He's got to get going here because Savace, who's been riding well, is, you can see, not too far back.
21:19Time ticking away.
21:20Is the challenge from Lawrence complete?
21:232.1 seconds to cap for Sexton.
21:26Hunter's still there.
21:27Yeah, Hunter is right there.
21:30I mean, again, he's going to need some help.
21:32But, uh, one little slip-up.
21:37Hey, he put the sneak attack on Tomac last week.
21:40Is he thinking about it again?
21:42Of course he is.
21:43110 percent.
21:46I mean, is this similar to, like you said, last week?
21:49It's just a different color in front of him.
21:52He said last week he feels the last five laps.
21:55Has they got to get around Forkner?
21:57Or last five minutes where he does his best work?
21:59He didn't triple.
22:00Oh, man, Savace is catching Webb here.
22:05How tough is it when you go down like Webb to ramp it back up?
22:09Oh, massive.
22:11Especially late in the race like this when you've been digging.
22:16Wide flag out.
22:18Webb trying to hold Savace at bay.
22:21Sexton has opened it up to 3.5.
22:24I don't think that lap traffic exchange was the end of it.
22:26Yeah.
22:27A great run by Sexton, too.
22:29And I'll tell you, makes up a lot of points here tonight.
22:32And the championship goes from 18.
22:34And as it runs right now, he's only 13 behind Tomac.
22:37I'm going to tell you, that's an eternity to have a point swing like that in one night.
22:45What is it like mentally, too?
22:46Well, and I think that's exactly where I was going next.
22:48And mentally, now knowing, again, giving that affirmation that he can go out there and still be the guy that he's always been.
23:00He's keeping an eye on Lawrence.
23:02He's got it.
23:02Yeah, that feels good.
23:04The big switch to another team again.
23:07And he makes it look right.
23:08James Sexton, first win on the Kawasaki first win of 2026.
23:14Hunter Lawrence second again.
23:16And Eli Tomac holds on for a third, three podiums and three rounds for the two-top champ.
23:25And Webb got back to Anderson there at the end.
23:32Anderson will take a solid fourth.
23:34It's going to be Savace and Prado.
23:36Prado, good job for him.
23:38Good rebound.
23:39And a tough one for Roxton in the points.
23:41Roadwell.
23:42What a ride by this guy.
23:44Mike looked good.
23:45He looked good.
23:46Again, no surprise.
23:47This is what he's capable of.
23:49Solid.
23:54It's got to feel good after.
23:56Last week, that was one mistake.
23:58He rode well.
23:58But the way Anaheim won was going, that was a tough one.
24:01Two weeks later.
24:02I mean, even the heat race earlier today, he goes down.
24:05That's right.
24:05That's right.
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