- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I think he's had somewhat of a challenging day compared to how the last two weeks have gone.
00:06I know he won his heat race, and it just seems, he said it's going to be very difficult.
00:11The dirt's a little bit different here tonight.
00:13Maybe something different than what he's raced on on this Red Bull KTM,
00:16but you can never count this guy out.
00:1855 Supercross wins under his belt.
00:21Jorge Prado, he was the first person to give a hug to Roderick Francisco.
00:26That's his training partner, and both of them have found magic.
00:30Here in Anaheim, so you know he watched that podium and said,
00:32Hey, I can do that, too.
00:34And after that heat race, I think everybody's becoming a believer,
00:36but I'll tell you the most important thing.
00:38Jorge Prado has to get the start.
00:40He's a frontrunner, always has been, and always will be,
00:43so watch for that first lap positioning.
00:47Let's go to the number one, the defending champion, Cooper,
00:50where we talked about him at the top of the show there,
00:53and you said what he needed to do.
00:54You wanted to see it from him here at the Anaheim 2 race.
00:57Well, we kind of saw flashes of that, right, in the heat race.
01:00He was out there in front, a great start,
01:02and turning the sort of laps we expect from him.
01:05It didn't translate into a heat win,
01:07but we also know Cooper Webb, when put under pressure,
01:10can do amazing things,
01:11and maybe we'll see this here in the main
01:13and come away with a better result.
01:15Here's Chase Sexton.
01:16That bike looks just like it did last weekend.
01:18They changed a ton of things.
01:20The team said flip the bike upside down between rounds one and two.
01:24This week, only minor suspension setting changes,
01:27much closer to the target.
01:29He's been fast.
01:30Could have won that heat if not for the crash.
01:32Maybe tonight, tonight, he gets that first win with Kawasaki right now,
01:36and that's round three of Monster Energy AMA Supercross.
01:40The ET3 peak on the line.
01:42Roxen has been so good on the 94 to start the year.
01:45Can he get a win?
01:46Can Sexton and Webb get on the board?
01:48Hunter Lawrence, so close last week.
01:50Watch for Prado up the start.
01:52We're ready at Anaheim to drop the gate.
02:00Tomek and Lawrence fighting for it.
02:03No, Jason Anderson has to lead over Sexton.
02:10And Sexton able to clear Lawrence to lock down second.
02:13Where did Malcolm Stewart come from?
02:15Yeah, he came around that corner
02:17and was able to triple on that tabletop.
02:20Look at it.
02:21I'll tell you what.
02:22These guys are going to have their hands full with the four of Chase Sexton,
02:25especially if he gets by a home break.
02:28Jason Anderson here within the next two laps.
02:31When you think about where Eli's at,
02:33all that, just those three guys that separate them
02:37is all you need for a guy like Chase Sexton to build a gap and maintain.
02:43It's going to be interesting.
02:45The wild first couple of corners.
02:46Riders who looked to have good starts got shuffled back.
02:49You've got Lawrence.
02:50Oh, Tomek able to make a move on Malcolm Stewart.
02:54Powers around the outside and Plessinger follows him through.
02:58Oh, Hunter Lawrence.
02:59Hunter Lawrence hits by Sexton.
03:03Oh, and they almost built wheels.
03:05And there's Eli right in the mix.
03:07And we had said early in the season that the early lap intensity
03:12was maybe the one weakness for Hunter.
03:14Not this time.
03:15100%.
03:16This is where he absolutely had to improve.
03:20And he has done a magnificent job of that last week
03:23and so far here early on in the main.
03:27Now, you remember, you go back to Anaheim 1,
03:30the one guy that he had a problem getting by,
03:33and that's Jason Anderson.
03:34If he's able to get to that rear wheel of Anderson,
03:37he cannot wait around like he did at A1.
03:40It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
03:43There is no love loss and a lot of history
03:45between Anderson and the Lawrence brothers.
03:47So that was the situation Hunter had to deal with two weeks ago here.
03:52But he's got to go because Sexton and Tomek are right there.
03:55Then you've got Plessinger, Webb 6.
03:58Ken Rockson is in 21st place.
04:01These guys are just absolutely slingshotting out of that outside line
04:06in the sand section.
04:08Love seeing it.
04:09Sobachi last week's fifth place finisher buried.
04:12Prado buried as well.
04:14And Anderson taking advantage.
04:18Sexton rolling back up to Lawrence.
04:23Rockson went down early by himself.
04:25He is back up and okay.
04:27Heating up for second.
04:28Second.
04:31Does Sexton have a line picked out?
04:35Yeah, he keeps peeking on the inside of these rhythm lanes
04:38coming into the corners, being a little lower.
04:43Oh, he was right on top of the rear wheel of Hunter.
04:47Up the inside.
04:50Sexton.
04:52Into the sand.
04:53And he powers out and takes second away.
04:58Yeah, great pass by Chase right there.
05:01Goes up the inside of that right-hander after the mechanics area.
05:07Spooks Hunter just a little that he needed to.
05:11Man, Chase is looking so good right now.
05:14I think the ride that he had last week was something to build on.
05:16Oh, he got the bike a little bit more dialed in.
05:21Said the bike fell too low at Anaheim 1.
05:24They actually made it taller.
05:26Was much more comfortable last week.
05:27Had a ton of speed.
05:29But got stuck in the starting gate.
05:30Now, finally, we can see what Sexton can do from the front.
05:34Which we talked about a little bit before the night, before the races started here.
05:39And I just felt like watching Tomac in practice, I just didn't feel like he was spot on
05:45and his timing wasn't as precise as it was the last two weeks.
05:51Obviously, he's gotten a little bit better since qualifying practice earlier today.
05:55But I just feel like he's missing that little bit extra that he had the last two outs.
06:01We were trying to theorize as to why the dirt a lot different than Anaheim 1.
06:05Could that be the difference maker?
06:07Yeah, again, a little more load on the bike, perhaps.
06:10And not something that he's raced on.
06:13A condition like this on this new machine.
06:16Maybe it's working a bit different for him.
06:19Oh, look at him.
06:20Yeah, Webb is attacking Plessinger, who's hanging with Tomac.
06:23Oh, Plessinger overjumped.
06:25This is going to allow Webb to get side by side.
06:28Can he make a move in the whoops?
06:31If Webb had to, and he does.
06:34Ooh, that was a good move by Webb.
06:36These next couple laps, now that he has some clean air,
06:39it'll be interesting if he can find that Eye of the Tiger
06:42that has led him to be a three-time Monster Energy Supercross Trap.
06:46If he can lock that in and activate that mode, JT.
06:54Yeah, Rick, I just wanted to add to what you were talking about there.
06:56You know, we're all kind of hypothesizing, but if you think about the conditions at A1,
07:00everybody was searching for traction.
07:03It's a really hard base, really loose on top, which is really difficult to kind of find certainty.
07:08And we talked about how well Eli Tomac's KTM looked.
07:11It was so planted.
07:13It looked like he kind of could do whatever he wanted,
07:15where everybody else was struggling a bit.
07:16With so much more traction here, maybe he just doesn't have that edge that he had over everybody.
07:22The higher traction levels have kind of negated the advantage he had at A1.
07:27Yeah, well said.
07:28Yeah, that advantage.
07:29And that's why, you know, like I was saying about the different condition here,
07:34it's going to work different.
07:36And again, if he had a massive advantage because of those conditions, well, it's gone away.
07:40Anderson on the Twisted T, Suzuki now under fire from Sexton.
07:46Anderson rides so well here at Anaheim.
07:49Battled near the podium two weeks ago at a podium last year.
07:53Hasn't won a race, though, since 2022.
07:55Can he hang on?
07:56Sexton is applying a lot of heat.
07:59And it's still early in this main event.
08:02Oh, yeah.
08:03These are the rides, though, that you just love to watch from Chase Sexton.
08:06And, you know, if he's able to do this every single weekend, he's winning all the time.
08:13And it's just the drive that he carries.
08:15He's right there showing a wheel to Anderson.
08:18They triple on together.
08:20Triple.
08:22Triple.
08:24Into the corner.
08:25Sexton has it.
08:27Anderson uses the outside.
08:28Big run.
08:31He threes out and gets him.
08:33That was a great pass back by Jason Anderson.
08:38He anticipated the four of Sexton making the move.
08:42Sexton goes right back by.
08:45Surprised that Anderson gave it that easy in that corner.
08:48Yeah, what a fantastic battle.
08:51As Tomac is trying to get Hunter Lawrence here in the bottom box.
08:55Doors open.
08:56Yeah, if he wants to have any contest towards Sexton, he's going to have to get by Hunter Lawrence right here.
09:04You're going to see Sexton just pull out a massive lead.
09:09And once again, Hunter Lawrence has to contend with Anderson.
09:12This was the scenario at Anaheim 1.
09:15He tried to be nice to him.
09:17And it's not going to help because Tomac is right there.
09:21Jason Anderson not doing anything wrong right here.
09:24And he's so good at guarding his position.
09:29Tomac got the inside.
09:31Ah, he tried.
09:36Hunter was able to get a good run through the Wolves right there.
09:39I thought that Eli was going to get him, but Hunter stuck with it.
09:43And Eli did a good job, too, of not completely closing him out as well.
09:47And I want to point out Webb back there.
09:48Webb's got to get in this, right?
09:50Webb's got to get in this.
09:51Oh, yeah.
09:51And from the championship standpoint, 100% he does.
09:55Cooper Webb was the fastest guy around the track.
09:57Oh, Tomac sent it off that jump to get inside and makes the move.
10:02Had to do it.
10:03He's going to go beast mode right now.
10:06Got it.
10:06Hunter gives it all he has on the inside.
10:09And that line just isn't developed enough, isn't established enough for it to be equal to the outside.
10:16That's why he lost time there.
10:20Got Plessinger and Stewart.
10:21I cannot believe Malcolm Stewart is hanging tough like this.
10:25For six, riding with major shoulder injuries dating back two weeks ago here.
10:31Tomac.
10:32Watch Anderson for a second.
10:36This, 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.
10:47We 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.
10:55It's going to be fun to watch play out.
10:57Anderson doing a great job here, man.
10:59Holding pace with these guys, but no surprise.
11:01Listen, speed, he has good speed.
11:05He's won this Supercross championship before.
11:07I think he looks good on this, on this bike as well.
11:11Yeah, yeah.
11:12First gear with this squad, Twisted T. Suzuki presented by Progressive and riding well.
11:18He and Tomac go way back.
11:19I mean, way back.
11:20One from New Mexico, one from Colorado.
11:22Met at a lot of local races across the state line growing up.
11:26Battled for the Supercross title multiple years in this championship.
11:30Look at RJ Hempshire down to the bottom box.
11:32He's gotten into this battle with Plessinger and Stewart.
11:36Plessinger going backwards here.
11:37I'm wondering if he's starting to feel the effects of that big heat race crash.
11:41Yeah, probably so.
11:43I mean, that was a, it was a tough crash.
11:46Just the fact that he's out there, Will, is pretty remarkable.
11:50Yeah, he's doing well.
11:51He did get some physiotherapy from Dr. G during the break there in between racing.
11:55But I was told that he's banged up and he's kind of grazed up on his shoulder.
11:59They said all in all he's doing well, but he may be feeling the effects.
12:02You guys said.
12:04Which way is it going to go here, Will?
12:05This is a good one.
12:06Anderson, Tomac, Lawrence, and Webb.
12:11Halfway through.
12:12A reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks at Rouse.
12:16Tomac, about as close as he has been to Anderson.
12:20He's closing in.
12:21You're exactly right, Weech.
12:24Tell you what, if he wants a chance at this win, it's going to have to happen fast.
12:28Remember, he tried to make a move by Hunter right here
12:31by going to the inside.
12:34He's got the inside, but not enough drive to the whoops from there.
12:37Yeah, and that's the tough part.
12:39By going to the inside right there, you just kill your momentum.
12:43And he can't do the three out either.
12:45And that's going to allow Lawrence to fight him.
12:50Hunter Lawrence right back up.
12:52Tomac, wheel to wheel.
12:53Oh, who's going to lift?
12:59It's going to be wide open in the run in the corner, and Hunter Lawrence gets it.
13:04Oh, that was costly for Tomac.
13:06Yeah, what a pass by Hunter.
13:08Hunter was right there lurking.
13:10And then when Eli tried to make that pass on Anderson,
13:13he ended up losing more time rather than if he would have probably followed Anderson through there.
13:18And that's what allowed Hunter just to get that much closer and make the move.
13:24Well, he stood there and watched it in practice.
13:26The jumps after the whoops, so critical.
13:29Tomac couldn't get it.
13:30And then suddenly Lawrence was there.
13:32And now he's going to go back after Jason Anderson.
13:36Yeah, I mean, he's got to get by this dude.
13:40Anderson riding well, though.
13:42You can't take it away from him.
13:44Ken Tomac reset here.
13:53This is one of those races, Jason, is just like you got one foot in, one foot out.
13:58You're just waiting for somebody to do something, whether it's make a move or one guy to mistake.
14:04It's almost like races like this.
14:06Which guy is going to falter to give up the position?
14:10You know it's coming.
14:11Something's going to happen.
14:11In this battle right here, Savace working on Hebshire.
14:14There has been a torrid fight from about seventh on back.
14:18Now it's Savace and Hebshire.
14:20Prado is up in it.
14:21Here is Lawrence working on Anderson again.
14:24So if he can get a good run down the inside of this rhythm lane right here, maybe he can make a move in this right-hander.
14:36But it's going to put him inside.
14:38He can make the pass.
14:39Can Anderson get him back?
14:40Not this time.
14:41Yeah, Anderson doesn't really put up a fight right there.
14:44Now these next couple laps, like I talked about for Tomac, going to be interesting to see.
14:50Oh, it's going to be interesting.
14:51Watch Anderson right here maybe go for the move on Hunter.
14:55Hunter's going to have to defend that position.
14:57He does.
14:58Cooper Webb is right there now with Tomac.
15:02Right there.
15:03Webb has been chipping away, and while those three battled, he's now in a four-rider fight.
15:10As Lawrence tries to distance himself, Tomac and Webb go to work on Anderson.
15:17Meanwhile, Saxon.
15:18Oh, meanwhile, Saxon.
15:20He's just checked out.
15:26What can Tomac do with the 21?
15:28He's going to try to use the outside.
15:31Which will turn to the inside.
15:33Is he close enough?
15:35Got it.
15:36Oh, puts him over the track.
15:38Off the track.
15:40Getting aggressive, but look at Cooper Webb.
15:43This is a gritty ride that Cooper Webb's going for.
15:47We talked about it at the opening of the show, Jason, that Cooper Webb needed to show us something,
15:55and he has done that here tonight.
15:59He has stepped up.
16:01He had no more room to give.
16:0321 points back.
16:06Went to the goat farm this past week.
16:08Made some adjustments, small adjustments to the bike.
16:11Not wholesale changes, but it appears just enough.
16:15And there's plenty of time.
16:17Five minutes and a lap to go for him to go after Tomac.
16:21Or can Tomac put in a charge on Lawrence?
16:25They've disposed of Anderson.
16:26And I mean, almost literally disposed.
16:30Right.
16:31Tomac just cut across the ruts.
16:33Put Anderson off the track.
16:35He's got to go.
16:37Because 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,
16:50I do not want to see that number one start to get confidence.
16:55We've seen it happen in three championship occasions.
17:00Yes.
17:02Behind them, you've got Stewart battling it out with Savace.
17:05That is a battle for six.
17:07Savace this time doing it without the good start and coming through the pack.
17:10And those are some huge names.
17:13The man of the quad lock Honda rolling right now.
17:16Yeah, doing it the hard way.
17:17Not a surprise, though.
17:18I mean, this guy has plenty of ability to run where he's running.
17:21It seems like he believes in himself.
17:23Will.
17:24I think that's building too, Ricky.
17:26He told me today, he's like, you know, that fifth to eighth is the goal.
17:30But he's like, the fifth last week, that was great.
17:32He's like, I almost kind of need a result buffer, if you like.
17:34He's like, because when I get to the front there and I get into those positions,
17:38I don't really want to force things forward too much.
17:40He's like, that next pack of riders, that's tough to get to.
17:43It's like, but I'm going consistently in that fifth, sixth, seventh spot.
17:46Because then the moment comes and I'm sitting there and I can go,
17:49all right, let's push and see what I'm capable of.
17:51He just talked about it as putting those building blocks in place.
17:54So going about this season very methodically,
17:56and I was praising the team for everything they've done for him.
18:00Thanks, Bill.
18:00Yeah, well done, Joey, to hold off that pack.
18:03You got Hampshire, Stewart, and Prado up ahead.
18:07Hunter Lawrence taking a little bit of time out in Sexton's lead.
18:10And we get our first look at Ken Roxen, who was basically last when this race started.
18:17Yeah, he went down on his own early on in this race, but working hard.
18:22He's catching up to the back of pack of guys that are going to be really tough to get by.
18:27Yeah.
18:27Hopefully, he'll be able to use one of those split lanes to his advantage.
18:32That's what's nice about those split lanes is it gives you an easier opportunity to make a move,
18:37especially this inside right here.
18:39Once it gets grooved in and there's an established line, he'll be able to use that.
18:44And Roxen, a title contender early this year, needs these points as Prado goes after Stewart.
18:52Again, he's got to be hurting.
18:53That'll move Prado up.
18:55Prado's showing he can do it without the start.
18:58Got fired and ended up 13th last week, but moving up with authority this time on the 26th.
19:04And the lead down to 2.3 up front between Lawrence and Sexton, and there is Roxen making moves.
19:16Let's check in with the leader.
19:17Now the gap down to two seconds.
19:19Yeah, one thing about it, though, at this level, I mean, and what I've learned completely different
19:24to what, like, when Stu and I was racing is that these guys are so good.
19:28Oh, that lapper.
19:30Mitchell Harrison slowing up.
19:32Well, Hunter, going back to what I was saying is that these guys are good at, like,
19:36getting a two, two-and-a-half-second lead and just maintaining that gap.
19:40So it's always tough for me to tell, like, is he just, you know, is he maintaining what he's got
19:45or is he actually losing time because he's not the best guy right now?
19:51Well, that lap traffic might have made that debate even harder to figure out
19:55because the lead is back to 2.7 just with that one incident alone.
19:59Yeah, we're getting down to the end here.
20:04Chase just looks like he's in the zone.
20:06Again, no surprise.
20:08No surprise.
20:11This is a great ride.
20:13Three laps to go.
20:14Looking for his first win with Monster Energy Kawasaki.
20:21Roxanne hanging it out, trying to get Stewart.
20:25Got it.
20:25Man, the teammates battling.
20:32Now, Hampshire all over Malcolm.
20:36And got it.
20:38Oh, no, Webb fell.
20:40Webb goes down.
20:41He was still in that battle with Tomac.
20:43They had a big gap over Anderson,
20:45so he won't lose any more positions.
20:48But, no, he did.
20:51He did.
20:52Anderson did get by.
20:53Yep, yep.
20:54Anderson got behind him.
20:56Oh, wow.
20:57Pardon me.
20:58Oh, that is uncommon mistake by the three-time champ.
21:03But let me tell you, man, it ain't for a lack of not trying.
21:06This is a huge turnaround from the last two weeks.
21:09But when you're pushing that limit,
21:11it's easier to make those mistakes,
21:14and your risk of going down increases.
21:18He's got to get going here because Savace,
21:19who's been riding well, is, you can see, not too far back.
21:24Time ticking away.
21:25Is the challenge from Lawrence complete?
21:292.1 seconds to go for Sexton.
21:32Hunter's still there.
21:33Yeah, Hunter is right there.
21:35I mean, again, he's going to need some help.
21:37But one little slip-up.
21:42Hey, he put the sneak attack on Tomac last week.
21:45Is he thinking about it again?
21:47Of course he is.
21:49110%.
21:50I mean, is this similar to, like you said, last week?
21:54It's just a different color in front of him.
21:58He said last week he feels the last five laps
22:00because they've got to get around Forkner
22:02or last five minutes where he does his best work.
22:05He didn't triple.
22:07Man, Savace is catching Webb here.
22:10How tough is it when you go down like Webb
22:12to ramp it back up?
22:14Oh, massive.
22:16Especially late in the race like this
22:19when you've been digging.
22:21White flag out.
22:24Webb trying to hold Savace at bay.
22:26Sexton has opened it up to 3.5.
22:29I think that lap traffic exchange was the end of it.
22:32Yeah.
22:33A great run by Sexton, too.
22:35And I'll tell you, makes up a lot of points here tonight
22:37in the championship.
22:39Goes from 18, and as it runs right now, he's only 13 behind Tomac.
22:43I'm going to tell you, that's an eternity
22:44to have a point swing like that in one night.
22:48What is it like mentally, too?
22:52Well, and I think that's exactly where I was going next.
22:54And mentally, now knowing, again, giving that affirmation
22:59that he can go out there and still be the guy that he's always been.
23:03Oh, he's keeping an eye on Lawrence.
23:07He's got it.
23:08Yeah, that feels good.
23:09The big switch to another team again.
23:12And he makes it look right.
23:14Chase Sexton, first win on the Kawasaki first win of 2026.
23:20Hunter Lawrence second again.
23:24And Eli Tomac holds on for third, three podiums and three rounds
23:29for the two-top champ.
23:33And Webb got back to Anderson there at the end.
23:37Anderson will take a solid fourth.
23:40It's going to be Savace and Prado.
23:42Prado, good job for him.
23:43Good rebound.
23:45And a tough one for Roxen into points, Roadwell.
23:48What a ride by this guy.
23:50Mike looked good.
23:51He looked good.
23:52Again, no surprise.
23:53This is what he's capable of.
23:59Solid.
24:00Oh, it's got to feel good after last week.
24:03That was one mistake.
24:04He rode well.
24:04But the way Anaheim won was going, that was a tough one.
24:07Two weeks later.
24:08I mean, even the heat race earlier today, he goes down.
24:11That's right.
24:13Way to stick with it.
24:16Well, we've seen him with Chase Sexton multiple times.
24:18This guy can take a hit and get back up.
24:22Heat race, not what he wanted.
24:23Round one, not what he wanted.
24:2514 days later, he's on top.
24:29One, two, three, four, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five
Comments