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00:00But Eli made it pretty simple yesterday. He plans on ending that real quick. It might even happen here today.
00:07Jorge Prado, you've got some making up to do for 2025, and no one wants to do that more than
00:13he does.
00:13He feels like he has a lot of people to prove wrong. A lot of talk about how he underperformed
00:19last year.
00:20He can start the road to redemption right here at round one.
00:23Yeah, JT, and he is one of the best starters ever on that number 26.
00:26Would not be surprised to see that orange Red Bull KTM up front. Here it is, 30-second board is
00:32up.
00:32Probably the most anticipated opener in this series, which has been running for 55 years.
00:38Partially because of the two names you see on the screen right now, Jett Lawrence, Hayden Deegan, but so many
00:43other greats on the gate right now.
00:45But the talk is over. It's time to go racing!
00:57Hunter Lawrence had it, but that is going to be Mikkel Harrop on the triumph to the lead.
01:03Did not race Supercross. Comes in ready. Battling Hunter now. Prado's third.
01:07Oh, we've got a pileup here. I don't know if there's any of our contenders.
01:11Always easy to happen at 180, but Hunter Lawrence, as you mentioned, I thought he was there first.
01:16Mitchell got around him. Nikkel.
01:19Yeah, good start for the triumph, Prado.
01:21I was like, Jorge Prado is...
01:23And Chase Sexton, fourth. He has struggled with starts on the Kawasaki.
01:27This is a pretty good one. And now Hunter able to lock it down.
01:30Yeah, I was getting confused. They were going all over.
01:32But Hunter Lawrence, when you're looking at him, the speed, the way he was doing it, it's scary for everybody
01:37else.
01:37Great start by him. Great start by Jorge Prado.
01:40And another guy we really haven't mentioned that much, Chase Sexton.
01:43We know he always carries the speed, but does he carry the mindset to come in here and win and
01:48be able to contend?
01:49We'll find out here through this moto.
01:51Prado makes the move on Harrop. These riders used to battle over in Europe and MXGP.
01:55Prado not messing around. Going to second and does not want Hunter Lawrence to get away.
02:00Yeah, well, you know, look at Dow. Jet Lawrence is running in the 16th.
02:04So a bad start for a defending champ. Not sure what happened.
02:08He's got a long ways to go.
02:09And the one guy's out front. Might be the toughest. Is his brother. See what happens.
02:13He can get even worse. He is 20th.
02:15So the big names that everyone's talking about struggling.
02:19Hunter Lawrence starting to roll. And here comes Sexton now.
02:24Yeah, Chase is going to try to follow these two guys.
02:26They have been the fastest guys of the day. Jorge Prado and Hunter Lawrence.
02:29So Chase wants to get up there. I'm not sure what his mindset is.
02:33Is he here trying to win or is he here trying to make sure his bike is good?
02:37Just get on that podium.
02:39Is that Tomac?
02:40Yeah, that's Eli and March Bank.
02:43Oh, no. Big collision and they are not quick to get up.
02:48Oh, man. Tough break.
02:49And last time we saw Eli race was the same kind of incident there.
02:53Just a rotting incident.
02:55I believe Garrett was on the outside.
02:57The four-time champion, Tomac, getting together. You're right.
03:01That is eerily similar to a couple of the crashes late in the Monster Energy Supercross campaign for Tomac.
03:06We're going to go back to Prado keeping Lawrence in sight on lap two.
03:12And that's a bummer to see. Certainly not just for Tomac, but March Banks, who's very quick in qualifying as
03:18well.
03:20But it's going to be Lawrence Prado-Hare up top three, lap one. Here we go.
03:23Yeah, you can watch Eli right here in the middle.
03:26And then you got March Banks on the outside here.
03:30Watch these lines. Eli's going to get in there.
03:32I don't know if he's going to pop out of that rub, but March Banks come.
03:35Racing incident, but tough hit for both of them.
03:38Garrett went down really hard in the face of that jump.
03:41Oh, man. That's hard.
03:44Yeah. You hate to see it for both of those riders.
03:47Prado just inching up ever so slightly on Hunter early.
03:51Sexton is now third ahead of Harrop.
03:53And Justin Cooper is fifth.
03:56Mr. Craig, Barsha, Plessinger, Webb round out the top ten.
04:00And there's Jet Lawrence, fired in traffic.
04:03He just made the move, we hear, on Cooper Webb.
04:05That'll move him to tenth.
04:07As I said with his teammate in the 250 class, Joe Shimoto, Jet was struggling earlier.
04:11So this might be a good thing.
04:12Takes that mindset off of even trying to win this race.
04:16Get in that form, really get that race craft going.
04:19To be up in that top five, you have to make some great passes.
04:22So let's see if you can keep moving up.
04:24Is that Deegan behind him or?
04:26Oh, no, it's Cooper Webb.
04:27Yeah, it's Deegan's teammate.
04:28But I'll tell you what's crazy.
04:30Jet Headland, 91 straight laps at this track until the first one here with the bad start.
04:37And Cornelius Tongle right there making moves, battling Webb uphill behind Lawrence.
04:44We're just passing two, three times to the cross champ out here.
04:50I think Deegan's about to get into this fight as well.
04:53He's at the bottom of the screen, battling Webb now.
04:55Let's go to JT.
04:58Well, we're going to try to get a replay of the start.
05:00I watched Jet Lawrence, and he started right next to Jorge Prado.
05:05We're going to come up on the screen right here.
05:06Watch Jorge Prado and Jet Lawrence next to each other.
05:08They are side by side.
05:09You see Prado finally get the drive.
05:11Right there, you see Jet get squeezed out by Cooper on his left and Prado on the right.
05:16That is what got him to start.
05:17It was so close.
05:19But that last, when they grabbed third gear, the pull there with Prado got him to second,
05:23and Jet fell back to 14.
05:24Yeah, and truthfully, that's probably a little bit of timidness by Jet because he hasn't raced all year.
05:29And I know when I came back from injury, that's one of the scariest parts, being around a bunch of
05:34people.
05:34So I think Jet probably shut off a little early and was just trying to stay up.
05:38And when you do that here, you go from top 10 to in the back of the pack to looking
05:42back,
05:42and you got Haydeegan on you.
05:44Well, here it is.
05:46They're hooking up in a battle.
05:47Maybe not the positions that people expected.
05:49This is a fight for 10th and 11th between Lawrence and Deegan.
05:55Yeah, this is a scary position for Jet because he wants to be able to work his way in,
06:00and he's got guys in front of him, so he probably won't be able to run his lines.
06:03But then you got Haydeegan just, you know, railing it, scrubbing it behind you.
06:07You know he wants to make the pass, so it's going to be scary.
06:11I'm interested to see what happens.
06:12I believe if Hayde comes in, Jet probably let him by and try to follow him, maybe repass him later.
06:17Meanwhile, bottom box, Jorge Prado all over.
06:20Hunter Lawrence for the lead.
06:22Prado came to play as expected.
06:24Now Jet Lawrence makes the move on Barsha.
06:28That'll move him to ninth, and Barsha now between Jet and Deegan.
06:32Yeah, Jet's just got to keep moving forward, keep that gap in that 38 as Haydeegan makes his way around
06:38him.
06:38As I said, Jet wouldn't be able to run his line, so he might get slowed up, which will allow
06:42Haydeegan to come in.
06:45I think Barsha made a pass back on him, so.
06:49Well, that's what makes it so fun, this field here.
06:51You can go back to tenth and find some riders who will not just roll over.
06:56Marshall will fight you as hard as anyone up front.
06:59The yo-yo game.
07:01Prado able to close in.
07:02Hunter pulls it back out.
07:03And vice versa between the leaders in that bottom box.
07:06And Sexton lurking as well.
07:08Yeah, I think all these guys are just kind of, like we saw Levi Kitchen, just kind of letting this
07:14race play out.
07:15If you get close to him, try to make that pass.
07:17And body language, there's not too much of a rush for all three of these guys.
07:21Jorge was standing up, and then when you attack, he'll close in on Hunter.
07:24Hunter knows he's going to be there, so this race is just a chess game at this point.
07:28Except you're just going 60 miles an hour while playing chess.
07:32Exactly.
07:32It's faster than most people could go.
07:33Oh, man, you see there on the left side of the screen, right side of the track, Tomek still being
07:39attended to after that hard crash on lap one.
07:43You hate to see it.
07:44Christian Craig is next on the charge for Jet Lawrence, and here's Deegan following him through.
07:51Yeah, still a great ride by Jet.
07:53He's starting to pick up the pace, making his way up.
07:56So maybe what he's going to do is he knows that 38 is behind him.
07:59Maybe that's what he's pushing him forward.
08:00So he's not thinking about anything else besides getting away, and while he's doing it, he's closing in on the
08:05guys ahead of him.
08:06They might all meet out the front the way it's going right now.
08:09So that'll move Jet up to eight.
08:12Craig Ninth.
08:13Craig and Deegan are very close.
08:14Actually, Craig was working with Deegan as a bit of a coach about a year and a half ago.
08:19They're still pretty tight on the track, but every man for himself out on the round one pro moto cost
08:26opener.
08:27Yep, absolutely.
08:28When you think about Jet Lawrence, I mean, how long has it been since he's actually raised him?
08:32He's six-plus months.
08:34If you look at last time he goes back, and, you know, so just going back to what happened in
08:38that first corner, it's easy to happen.
08:39A mistake rep there.
08:41All this takes a look over.
08:43And Deegan already passed Craig, so he's right there with Jet.
08:48Yeah, let's see what happens here.
08:51And I don't think Craig put up too much of a fight on Deegan.
08:53Deegan around the outside.
08:55Side by side.
08:57Lawrence and Deegan.
08:59Yeah, Craig trying to let him go by because he's like, I want to see what happens right here with
09:02Hayden Deegan.
09:04And Deegan makes the pass on Jet Lawrence and now going after Plessinger.
09:10Yeah, that mistake by Jet obviously allowed Hayden to go, and Hayden wants to make that pass and make his
09:17way forward.
09:17So I thought Jet would do what he did, played a long game, be smart.
09:21Hopefully the errand slows Hayden down so he doesn't go and he has an opportunity to go by.
09:25But he might.
09:27He's right back to the rear wheel of Deegan.
09:30Now the cool part when you watch these two guys, like their contrast in style, like Hayden Deegan really runs
09:36it in a lot.
09:36And we know how patient Jet Lawrence is.
09:38So when you're watching him on the racetrack, you'll see.
09:41There it is.
09:42Jet got him back.
09:43And the crowd responds.
09:45Simple as that.
09:46One mistake, Hayden goes to the outside, Jet sneaks in.
09:49That's the difference between the 250 class and 450.
09:52These guys attack.
09:53We know how much they want to win, all of them.
09:56Great pass by Jet Lawrence.
09:58Let's see what Hayden responds back to.
10:02Woo!
10:03I didn't think it would happen quite this quickly.
10:06First ten minutes of the season, it's already on.
10:08We're not going to wait for anything.
10:10It might be for ninth and eighth and ninth, but the battle is here.
10:14And Plessinger, who's returning from some vicious injuries in Supercross, just ahead of him.
10:19Deegan, another attack.
10:21Going to run it around the outside.
10:22And Lawrence ran him out of room.
10:24Yeah, just going back to my point with these two riding styles, what you're going to see, Jet relaxes going
10:29in the corner.
10:29Hayden really attacks it.
10:30So it's easy for Hayden to make up a lot of time entering the corner.
10:34In some of these parts where you get these split lanes, he'll have a lot of opportunities to pass Jet.
10:38Jet carries that momentum, but Hayden will always close that gap by the way he rides.
10:44Looks like we lost Chase Sexton.
10:46He was in third.
10:47Now Justin Cooper has moved up.
10:49Yeah, Sexton is now fourth.
10:51And that's the battle out front with Prado just stalking Hunter Lawrence from second.
10:57Yeah, these guys just ran 218s, over two seconds faster pretty much than everybody else on the racetrack.
11:03So they're picking that pace up.
11:05You see Jorge standing up.
11:07It don't look like they were too big of a rush compared to his brother and Hayden Deegan.
11:11Great start for all these guys.
11:14It's looking good, JT.
11:15Yeah, he looks great.
11:16And don't forget, guys, there is no love lost between Hunter Lawrence and Jorge Prado.
11:21They've had a war of words.
11:22They kind of talk back and forth.
11:23There was the body Spanish comment by Jorge Prado.
11:28And even a couple weeks ago at the finale in Salt Lake City, Jorge Prado was the one putting pressure
11:32on Hunter Lawrence that you could argue forced that mistake.
11:35So it's one of the most underreported rivalries that we have going right now, but it's about to heat up.
11:40Well, yeah, because now it's one-on-one for the lead.
11:43And those two at the bottom as Lawrence and Deegan are making moves on Plessinger.
11:48The other Lawrence and Prado are long gone up front.
11:51Yeah, I love the contrast.
11:53Our drone shot right here is giving you an ideal of Hunter Lawrence and Jorge Prado.
11:58Just the line selection, how many different lines are on this racetrack.
12:01Hunter swings on the outside, cuts the corner.
12:03Jorge is going more straight in but banking off.
12:06So different ways to get it done.
12:07And they're literally running the same lap time, but a 2.18.6 for both of them in the last
12:11lap.
12:11And we hear Tomac is being helped off the track by the Alpine Stars medic team.
12:17You hate to see that for the four-time champion of the series so early in this campaign.
12:24There's Prado continuing to shadow Hunter Lawrence, Will.
12:28Jason, we were talking in the booth just earlier, Jason.
12:31We were talking about this exact scenario, right?
12:33We may well see a Hunter Lawrence, Jorge Prado, one and two here battling.
12:37And these are the two guys out of the entire field who are not coming off injury.
12:41They have plenty of momentum from supercars.
12:44Yes, Jorge switch manufacturers.
12:46But as I just spoke to team manager Ian Harrison about, that's a gray area.
12:51He's gone back to Red Bull KTM.
12:53He's gone back to a bike ring that he's extremely used to.
12:56So he doesn't think that counts.
12:57So we're talking about two guys really who are baffling nothing else apart from themselves right now.
13:02And I asked him, hey, hang on a second, but you've only just learned these tracks.
13:05And you were doing it in a kind of a non-competitive way last year.
13:09You were doing it at the back of the pack.
13:10And he said, that's probably my only thing that I have to deal with here, James, is the line selection
13:16from last year when he was, you know, 10th and further back to being up front and running up front
13:21is a very different experience for him.
13:23Yeah, it is.
13:24But at the same time, Jorge is used to winning, you know, and this is where he's more comfortable at.
13:29And I think with him, when you're a rotter that's won at so many times, you've got to have a
13:33little bit of naive about you.
13:34So I think in Jorge's mind, last year was last year.
13:37I know what the problem was.
13:39I changed that problem.
13:40So I'm going to go back to being what I am as he's closing in on Hunter Lawrence.
13:45So I think it's more about this is more normal for him compared to where he was last year.
13:49And so far, he's making his way up.
13:51Now look at the different lines.
13:53Hunter switched his line up this time.
13:55He was a little bit farther on the outside, but you can see the difference in that corner.
13:58Works out the same, but.
14:01Anyway, top box, Jet Lawrence trying to get around.
14:04Harrop, the Danish rider, doing very well in the triumph, but a little mistake.
14:08Hitch in the corner, and that allows Jet to move by him for sixth.
14:12Prado and Hunter so close up front.
14:15Yeah, great ride.
14:16I like what I see from Jet.
14:17I think this is helping him, as I said earlier.
14:20You know, it's got to reset the focus.
14:23I'm not going to lead any more laps here.
14:24It may possibly be this moto.
14:25So get that guy here.
14:27Hey, Deegan, put the charge in here.
14:28So it made Jet have to race, and they're both picking up their paces.
14:32And this game up front, this is seriously a chess match.
14:35This is what Jorge does.
14:37I mean, he's very technical.
14:38He's going to work on Hunter Lawrence and try to make some pass.
14:41So he'll drop back.
14:42We're not even halfway in this moto.
14:44Long ways to go.
14:45Both these guys are in a great position.
14:48Jorge Prado 2.0.
14:50Much better in his second year in America.
14:52It was a disappointment.
14:53Last year, he had switched not only moving from Spain to America,
14:57but then switching teams to the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad.
15:01That did not go well by any measure.
15:03Got out of that deal.
15:04Came back to KTM the brand he rode for when he was a youngster in Europe.
15:08And it has paid massive dividends.
15:10Very good in Supercross,
15:12considering he does not have much experience racing in stadiums.
15:15Now he's comfortable on his types of tracks,
15:17and he's riding well in second.
15:19And here's Jorge on his goals and his expectations for the motocross campaign.
15:27So my expectations for the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship,
15:32basically, it's to win.
15:34I really hope I can get it done this year.
15:38Like I said, I feel very good with myself and with the bike,
15:41and I don't see a reason why not to be able to clinch the title
15:45or even fight for the title.
15:48That's what I'm aiming.
15:50So, yeah, that's my goal.
15:54Well, he's never been shy about his own abilities.
15:58So even that quote doesn't surprise me at all.
16:01He's been a championship guy his whole life.
16:03I don't think he expects anything different.
16:04Although at the moment, Hunter has gotten a drop on him
16:07and opened it up to about three seconds.
16:11Yeah, again, this is a game of chess right here with these two guys.
16:15This race is just beginning.
16:16And then you got Justin Cooper, Chase Sexton up here.
16:21I believe Chase went down, Jason.
16:23I see.
16:24Yeah, one bad lap.
16:25Must have been in.
16:26And he's close back in.
16:28We're halfway through this one, by the way.
16:29A reminder to stock up on Monster Energy trains at Stater Brothers.
16:33So still plenty of racing left for this fourth-place battle.
16:37You got Justin Cooper, third, Sexton, fourth.
16:39And RJ Hampshire is lurking right behind them on the Rockstar Husky.
16:44Yeah, great to see RJ back out here.
16:47And kind of, you know, thinking about star racing and, I guess, Monster Riders.
16:52You got Justin Cooper in third.
16:53Chase Sexton in fourth.
16:54Cooper Webb, 13th.
16:56March Paints, we saw him earlier with Eli go down.
17:00But I think a lot – I felt like it was going to be a good day for Justin Cooper.
17:04You go back to last year, a strong first moto.
17:07Really kept Jeff within six seconds but pulled away from everybody else.
17:11And just seeing the growth of him this Supercross season, he's starting to believe that pass he made on Eli
17:17Tomac, that second triple crown.
17:19Now, ever since then, Justin Cooper has been a different rider, and he's riding with an attitude.
17:22So I like what I see, and I think good things are going to happen for the 32.
17:27I love it.
17:27It doesn't matter who you throw in there.
17:29The field gets deeper every year.
17:31Justin Cooper is always going to be right around those podium positions.
17:34You can set your watch to it, and that's where he is right now.
17:38Yeah, that's good stuff.
17:39Going back to the opening, what I said, all these guys got motivation out here.
17:44You know, obviously they want to do good every year,
17:46but there's a lot to prove for each one of these guys, and you go through the top ten.
17:50So good for Chase.
17:52I think this is a good thing for him.
17:54Supercross, let's not be shy.
17:55It was a rough year for Chase.
17:57Even though he's got two wins, it wasn't Chase Sexton,
18:00and we were wondering him coming to this motocross, you know, where would the bike be at?
18:04Where would he be mentally?
18:05I felt like this first race he needed to have some positives,
18:08whether that was with speed or the bike going in the right direction,
18:11because we know Chase Sexton, when he's on, he can beat any of these guys.
18:16Any day of the week.
18:17Well, that's why he's the champion of this series just two years ago.
18:20And then you see Hampshire back behind him.
18:22JT, what do you think?
18:23And watch for the number four of Sexton.
18:25I agree with James so much.
18:27He needs a fast start here,
18:28because it just felt like if things went awry at the opening round,
18:32we could snowball the wrong direction really quickly with how Supercross went.
18:37But when you come out here, he's battling maybe to get on the podium in this moto.
18:41He comes off winning the last race of Supercross in Solid City.
18:44Now you're on a little bit of a roll.
18:45So it just really felt like momentum was going to build.
18:48You just didn't know if it was going to be a positive or a negative way.
18:51And the last note I want to add, guys,
18:53working in the background behind Hampshire there,
18:55Jet Lawrence has entered the picture too,
18:57so don't rule out a last few-minute charge here.
19:00All these battles starting to close in on each other.
19:05Sexton and Cooper, then Hampshire.
19:07It's like Jet Lawrence has pulled away from Deegan a bit now,
19:10but he might be able to go after Hampshire and Sexton.
19:14Yeah, it's a big thing, and JT's spot on with him, with Chase.
19:18And I believe that number one starts sniffing,
19:22and he's going to close up on these guys.
19:24And Jet's getting confident every lap.
19:26He's going to get faster and faster as this moto goes on.
19:28He's feeling that foot out, feeling good,
19:31maybe working some kinks with the motorcycle.
19:33Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up close to this podium at the end of the races.
19:39Hampshire on the gas here.
19:42Missed almost all of Supercross.
19:44Had a pretty routine crash with a handlebar, went right at the top of his foot.
19:48He said there was a chance.
19:49He was healed up enough where he maybe could have come back for the last Supercross or two.
19:53They decided to keep the focus on this.
19:55Point being, he's healthy.
19:56He's had plenty of time at the motorcycle, and it's showing right now.
20:00I mean, you go back to last year,
20:01the guy would have surgery within 10 days, and he came out here.
20:05So, like Justin Cooper, as you said, being around the podium,
20:08when I see RJ, I expect RJ being RJ.
20:11A guy that's always fight, never gives up.
20:13And when he stays up, he's up there towards the front.
20:19Jet Lawrence started to take time out of everyone.
20:22He just ran a 2.19.
20:23The only other riders that went that fast, Deegan and Hunter Lawrence up front.
20:29It's like Jet's starting to put it together here.
20:31Yeah, he's starting to put it together.
20:32Now he has that rabbit to chase with those guys.
20:35And, hey, Deegan has the rabbit chasing the rabbit himself.
20:38But I like that Jet Lawrence, you know, that line right there.
20:42This is starting to remind me of who I am.
20:44God is getting these creative lines.
20:46And, you know, the last time, don't lie, he's been getting faster.
20:49So let's see if he can continue that through the rest of his moto.
20:53Because if not, a number 38 would love to get back up there and get to him.
20:56And he's closing in as well.
21:05Guys, talking to Dr. G, Harold Gubinick there, who is the physiotherapist to a lot of the guys on the
21:12planet.
21:12But obviously Jet and Hunter Lawrence.
21:14I got to have a good chat with him about what this injury, what the sort of implications of it
21:18were long term.
21:20And he was very transparent with me.
21:22He said, look, this is likely never going to be 100%.
21:25He said, that's just how that injury goes.
21:28It's very complicated.
21:29We've talked about quite a bit.
21:30There's not much blood flow to that talispone.
21:32He said, so we're not expecting that.
21:34We've been honest with Jet.
21:36As a team, we've been honest.
21:38Don't expect this to ever.
21:39He's like, we'll get the full range of motion back eventually.
21:42But it will never be the same.
21:43So what we are dealing with now is working around it.
21:47He has to adapt.
21:49He has to compensate.
21:50And he has to slightly change his riding style for certain things.
21:54Especially at the moment, without full range of motion, that he can't do.
21:58And Doc G said, that's the thing that's frustrating Jet most.
22:01Is he's not able to do anything that he wants to do.
22:05And he said, that will improve and it will come.
22:07But he also said, most notably, that he's incredibly impressed with Jet.
22:12And how he's been able to adapt.
22:14And that, James, is probably just due to his level of skill.
22:17But he's been able to work around it very quickly.
22:19Oh, absolutely.
22:20And I got the same info as well.
22:22And for most people, I mean, this could be not only just career ending.
22:26But the way you alter your life on just your every day.
22:29So the fact that this guy came out just shows you how mentally strong he is.
22:33But I will say one thing.
22:34He's got the right team of people around him.
22:36He also has the right riding style to be able to get away with an injury like this.
22:41Being very patient.
22:42You've got to change and adapt your riding style.
22:44And Jet Lawrence is one of the best ever to do that.
22:47And, you know, from what we saw that first practice to this, you know, he was really aggressive.
22:52Things start, that clock starts rushing really fast when you look at how fast your brother is.
22:57Jet Lawrence has got the right bodies tight, the right mindset to come back from injury.
23:01And he's only going to get better throughout this season.
23:04We have now heard that Eli Tomac is awake and alert being transported, though, for further evaluation.
23:11So a big bummer there for the legend.
23:13Number three, Eli Tomac, going out of this race on the first lap.
23:17Certainly, we hope the best for him.
23:20As Lawrence is now right there with Hampshire.
23:23Hampshire is riding well, but it's almost like you see Jet just improve a little bit almost each lap of
23:28the race.
23:28No, he is.
23:29I mean, we were sitting here watching practice earlier.
23:31You know, he was really rushing things.
23:33And I had a chance to speak to Jet.
23:34And he said that that's so easy to happen, whether it's an injury or not.
23:38That clock runs really fast when you get in this race atmosphere.
23:43And a guy that's been off for all that time.
23:45But I believe this is a very important couple laps for Jet because if he's able to get around RJ,
23:50he might have an opportunity to get on the podium.
23:52But even more, he doesn't want to get stuck behind him and then let that 38 close in
23:57because all the stuff that he's been doing, he's going to have to be worried about him.
24:00So great ride by all these guys.
24:02But these next couple laps might end up...
24:04Oh, Hampshire, I think, stalled it in that corner.
24:07Maybe hit neutral.
24:08Lost speed.
24:09Here comes Lawrence.
24:10Yeah, let's see if Jet scrubs this.
24:11If he just runs it up the inside, he should have this pass because he'll be able to close that
24:16gap.
24:17RJ's going to fight, though.
24:19Not enough.
24:20This camera angle, great pass by him.
24:23Let's see if he can now keep that momentum up and go towards Chase Sexton up in fourth place.
24:29Got to check in on that leader because he's all by himself at this point.
24:34Hunter Lawrence, almost six seconds out front.
24:38I mean, Jason, what can you say?
24:39I mean, I'm just impressed to see him out here fighting at this level considering how difficult
24:45that championship was a couple weeks ago.
24:47He looks great, JT.
24:49He does.
24:49And if you looked at the word resilience in the dictionary, you might find a picture of Hunter Lawrence next
24:55to it.
24:55Think about the heartbreak that this guy went through.
24:57I had the pleasure and also torment of interviewing him right after he lost that championship to Ken Rockson.
25:04You could see the heartbreak and the pain that was going through him.
25:08It was palpable down there on the floor of Rice Eccles Stadium.
25:11And for him to bounce back three weeks later and to, I don't want to say run away, but he's
25:17pulled a five-and-a-half-second lead now out.
25:19Think about how much he's had to summon himself, find himself, and bring his best effort to this race.
25:25I don't have enough good things to say about what we're seeing from Hunter Lawrence right now.
25:28I agree.
25:29And the cool part about that, JT, he stayed down there to allow to be interviewed.
25:33That just shows you what kind of person it is.
25:35But even more than just, you know, being resilient, I think this is what this says.
25:40The way he's raced this first moto, what it tells me, and I'm sure Hunter's thinking that, what happened in
25:45Supercross isn't a fluke.
25:46Because this is what we saw in Supercross.
25:49Like, he was just steady, made it look easy, just pulled away from those guys.
25:53And at one point in that whole series, he was the best guy.
25:56And it wasn't even really close.
25:57So for Hunter, I'm coming back with all that, you know, heartbreak.
26:01At least I come back out here, and it feels just like I left a few weeks ago.
26:05And that only looked well for him moving forward.
26:09Go further back.
26:10Deegan now has Hampshire in sight.
26:13So the rookie here is seventh in his first 450 pro motocross race.
26:16Can he make up any more positions?
26:18Hampshire will be next.
26:19And then Jet Lawrence up the road.
26:21The gap between Lawrence and Deegan has stayed around a 3-4 second mark for about 15 minutes now.
26:28There's Lawrence.
26:29There's Hampshire.
26:30Here's Deegan.
26:31Yeah, I think this is where Hayden, when you talked earlier about he wants to win, but also that backup
26:36plan.
26:37And I think people might look at it as like he's, you know, making excuses.
26:40But I think what Hayden is, he's very, you know, he understands how great these guys are.
26:45And to sit here and be like, I want to win and kind of overlook the fact that they're that
26:49good is not what he does.
26:51He's got too good of a team around him.
26:53So you hear Hayden, when he says, I'm here to learn, he's really giving props to the guys around him
26:58because he knows how deep this 450 class is.
27:01And so he understands that races, if you don't get stars, you might end up in seventh place with a
27:06good rod.
27:07So Hayden's smart enough.
27:08It looks like to me, he's sitting back, just learning, and hopefully finish his top Fizmodo off solid position.
27:15Yes, because for all the bluster, all the top of Hayden Deegan, the one thing he has been mentioning lately
27:20that he takes the most pride in is he never missed a single 250 race due to injury.
27:26So there is a method, even though it looks like pure madness, there is a method to that madness as
27:32far as consistency and building and learning and then coming back the next time.
27:36And it's awfully close now.
27:38You can still see Jet and you can see Hampshire right there.
27:42Here's Danger Boy.
27:43Yeah, and we know, what do we know about Hayden?
27:45Towards those end of the race, man, this guy never lets off.
27:48And I go back to what I said a couple laps ago with Jet Lawrence.
27:51That pass around RJ was very important because of who was behind him.
27:55Hayden smelled that blood.
27:56I don't care if it's his first race or 300.
27:59This guy will not give up.
28:01And you give him an opportunity, he's going to try to seize it.
28:03So Hayden Deegan's doing a great job.
28:06He's always going to be there.
28:08And he's learning as we, you know, every lap that goes by.
28:11All right, he's putting in a charge right now.
28:13Two minutes and two laps to go.
28:15And the fans barbecuing up at the top of the hillsides.
28:18That's motocross tradition.
28:20Getting up close to the action.
28:21Look at that crowd there.
28:23And a lot of them wanted to see this.
28:24They got a little Lawrence versus Deegan in this moto.
28:27Is there anything left in it?
28:29Yeah, it ain't done with.
28:31All that smoke up there, I was thinking it was Cooper Webb from last year.
28:33His bike's smoking.
28:35But, yeah, the one thing with Hayden, as he's learning,
28:39because of how great he's been and some of the comments that he's made,
28:42you've got to look at him.
28:43And when he's making passes, I think it's like the defending Super Bowl champion.
28:47You get the best from everyone.
28:49So when he's making a pass on RJ, anybody else?
28:51Oh, no.
28:52That is Chase Sexton.
28:55Ah, bummer for Chase.
28:57Yeah, so now he slits down to seventh right there.
29:01Wow.
29:03I don't know if he stalled it or whatnot, but.
29:05Yeah, is he back underway?
29:07I think he did come across.
29:08So he eventually got the bike going.
29:10Well, he was third.
29:11Then it looked like it was going to be a fourth.
29:13And then he'll drop the 2024 champion of the series.
29:18Back to seventh as mentioned.
29:20And Deegan is definitely digging down the stretch now.
29:23Yeah, he's digging in.
29:23But he's also coming up to a guy who's kind of like him as the race goes on.
29:28RJ is the same way.
29:29He never gives up.
29:30Really strong.
29:31And, you know, still a good ride by Hayden.
29:34Six, if he can get past RJ, top five.
29:37But the main thing is he saw Jet Lawrence.
29:39He saw that pace.
29:40And if you can keep it on two wheels, there's always something to build.
29:44So I'm sure he's going to be disappointed that he was ahead of Jet at one point and got
29:47passed.
29:48But he's also taking notes while that was going on.
29:50Yeah, I mean, he has to take notes.
29:52And that's what I was saying back to my point.
29:54You know, I think Hayden understands that as much as he talks, these guys are generation.
30:00Jet Lawrence is Victor Wimbiana.
30:02He's a freak.
30:03He's an alien out here.
30:04So you're not just going to roll over.
30:05So once he made that pass, Jet was going to come back.
30:08So Hayden knows that.
30:09Or if not, I'm sure the guys that start racing will let him know as he makes the pass on
30:13RJ.
30:14Quick work of RJ there in that roller section.
30:16So now Deegan is going to be fifth.
30:20Jet Lawrence up to fourth.
30:21Top away.
30:22Jet has finished top three in 51 of the 54 motos he's competed in this class.
30:29He's not too far back at Justin Cooper, but might not get a podium in this one.
30:34Yeah, as dominant as this guy has been, Jet Lawrence, especially at this race, he's never
30:38lost.
30:39Come here, if you finish on a podium, it feels like a failure compared to all this other
30:42success.
30:43But I think this is a great moto for Jet.
30:46He's gotten better.
30:47He looks a lot better.
30:48And he was able to hold off Hayden Deegan when Hayden was going and Deegan finished this
30:51thing off.
30:52And the one guy that's out front, at least he's your brother, so you understand how good
30:56he is.
30:57We know how good Jorge is.
30:58So I think it's all right for Jet Lawrence.
31:03And that gap stays about the same, that two to four second range between Jet and Deegan
31:08as they followed each other from outside the top ten to in it.
31:12And Justin Cooper, as he always does, hanging strong around those podium positions.
31:17The rider out of New York and the Yamaha, a steady third.
31:22Prado stalking Hunter for the first half of this one that Hunter got away.
31:26Does Deegan have a charge in him?
31:27Can he get to Jet one more time with two to go?
31:31Yeah, I mean, Hayden ran this 2-19-7, that last lap, compared to Jet, 2-20-6.
31:38But both those guys were, Jet was a faster, second faster, Justin Cooper.
31:43Hayden was two seconds faster.
31:44So that gap's starting to close.
31:46If Justin doesn't keep this pace up in the next lap and a half, he's going to have
31:50that number one all over him.
31:52Yeah, because there is a major carrot dangling in front of Deegan.
31:56You know he wants to get to Lawrence.
31:57Lawrence doesn't want to let him do it.
31:59And that's going to bring them closer to this 32, who is in third.
32:04Lap and a half to go.
32:05If you're Justin Cooper, you'd be like, all this hype, I'm the number one guy on the race team
32:09out here.
32:10That's right.
32:11You know, with his team.
32:12But not, you know, not unexpected with Justin Cooper.
32:16He's really good.
32:17This next lap and a half or half a lap is going to tell you whether he can hold this
32:21off.
32:23Okay, here's the gap.
32:24That's a lap rider and another one.
32:25Cooper hits the top of that left-hander.
32:27Then there's Jet Lawrence.
32:29Then another rider a lap down.
32:32Yeah, Jet lost some time.
32:33So I wonder if he got stuff behind these guys or Justin picked it up.
32:38There's Deegan.
32:39He's still pushing.
32:40Oh, yeah.
32:42He kind of knows, like, if he's going to have any shot at Jet, it would have to be why
32:46he's stuck behind these lapers.
32:47But Jet seems like he's cleared it a little hard, but almost just a little over a lap and
32:52a half left.
32:53I don't know if there's going to be any changes now.
32:55White flag about to fly.
32:57Hunter Lawrence looking to start this season so well.
33:01Prado solid in second.
33:03And Justin Cooper doing what he does.
33:06Way under the radar.
33:07Not a lot of talk.
33:08No hype for this guy, but looking to put it on the podium.
33:11But he does.
33:12Talking to his team and his mechanic earlier.
33:14They say, honestly, in some ways, Jet Coop might actually almost be too smart.
33:19He's very calculated, very analytical.
33:21That's why he's been incredibly consistent in his career, but doesn't have as many race
33:26wins as the riders he's generally battling with on the track.
33:31Justin Cooper has never missed a pro motocross race since he turned pro, which is an astounding
33:37stat.
33:38250 and 450 class.
33:40That's never not lined up for a race.
33:42He's been able to stay healthy for the most part.
33:44And now one lap to go for the man who is the poster child for left brain thinking.
33:50The logical, analytical, unemotional 96.
33:53If there's anyone equipped to take a heartbreaking loss in Supercross, put it behind him, and
33:59win two weeks later, it's this guy right here.
34:02Absolutely.
34:02Absolutely.
34:03I mean, you can go on days about what makes Hunter Lawrence a Hunter Lawrence.
34:07I mean, yes, he has the talent.
34:08He has the team.
34:08He has a perfect system.
34:10But what he has is an understanding and, you know, realization on life.
34:15He has perspective.
34:16Yeah.
34:16And that guy, to be Jet Lawrence's brother, to be your younger brother, taking all this
34:21hype, finished second to him two years in a row, really close to lose another championship
34:26by one point when you could almost say he was the best guy through the latter, at least
34:30the second part of that season.
34:32But to always get back up and fight and to live through that, that's why he can come
34:37out here and have a board and race when we have all this hype of everybody else.
34:41This guy's been doing, shows up and does exactly what he did a few weeks ago in Supercross.
34:46It made it look really easy to me.
34:48And technically, this will actually be two straight moto wins because Hunter won the final
34:53moto of last year.
34:54He's able to hold Jet off at Bugs Creek at the last race of the year and talking to some
34:59people at the team with Honda, including Trey Canard, their test rider.
35:03I mean, he said that's a big breakthrough as Hunter was getting closer and closer.
35:07We saw him hold Jet off at the halfway point of the season at Millville, Minnesota.
35:11He has been getting closer and closer to that elusive 450 title.
35:16He don't get much closer than he was a few weeks ago in Supercross.
35:20Could this be the campaign where he gets it done?
35:23You can't start it any better.
35:25No, it looks good.
35:26But as I said, during Supercross, nobody's raced this version of Hunter Lawrence.
35:30I mean, he hasn't seen this probably the best his whole career.
35:33And this is what you get.
35:35This guy has it all.
35:37And all is going to include the first moto win of the year.
35:40Maybe not the hype of everyone else.
35:42How about the results?
35:44Hunter Lawrence wins the first moto of 2026.
35:49And it's going to battle right down to the line.
35:51Solid run for Prado's second.
35:54And J. Coop is going to take it across in third.
35:57He takes a look over.
35:58Holds off Hunter or Jet Lawrence just behind Prado and Hunter.
36:03And welcome back to ProMotoCross.
36:06I don't think Jet Lawrence is 100%, but it's enough to score points in fourth.
36:11And Hayden Deegan will end up fifth.
36:13A great ride from our top five.
36:15Hayden Deegan as well.
36:17RJ.
36:19If I'm the Lawrence camp, I'm very happy.
36:22We know Hunter.
36:22We know he's back.
36:23Jet looked better throughout that moto.
36:26A solid day for all these guys.
36:33And as always, the unemotional approach takes a moto win.
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