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00:00And that was the Yamaha track map.
00:03Absolutely so much of the racing last week was dictated by starts.
00:07There was really one rider that got two good ones,
00:09and that was the race winner, Seth Hamaker, a couple others.
00:12If they did get two starts, made mistakes early, and that was costly.
00:16So a big reset for a 30-minute and two-lap 250 moto here from Northern California.
00:24If you notice, a lot of our contenders, Seth, he's really far on the inside.
00:28So I'm going to figure out how it plays out with this new first corner.
00:33First time today.
00:34Rebs are up.
00:37Gates down.
00:41Hamaker is going to do it again.
00:43Leads him into turn one and out.
00:46He has the whole shot.
00:48Great start by Seth.
00:49He was on the far inside.
00:50He was probably hoping that he'd get a good jump
00:53and then be on the inside like he was, control that.
00:55So great start by Seth.
00:57And after last weekend being your fastest qualifier,
01:00this is exactly how the number 10 wanted to start today.
01:03A little first-turn crash back there.
01:05Derek Kelly, Gavin Towers in that.
01:08Look at Cole Davies in second of the 37 going to work on Hamaker.
01:12Our reigning 250 Supercross champion.
01:14These guys battled all Supercross season.
01:16Cole got the better of them.
01:17So last weekend, Seth got it.
01:19Now Cole has his start.
01:20I think his biggest thing was the start.
01:23His finishes were kind of based off.
01:24No, Davies got it wrong on the downhill and crashes.
01:28Oh, this is the worst spot.
01:28He got up really quick, so lost a lot of positions,
01:31but could have been a lot worse for Cole.
01:34Battling with Kitchen now.
01:36An email, Julian Bomair had just made the move on Romano for third.
01:40Now takes over second with Davies going down.
01:42Another good start for Romano like the first photo last week.
01:45And you see the Honda of Joe Shimoda beginning to creep up on the leaders.
01:50Yeah, I think with the Honda, the squad, you know they needed to work on the starts a little bit
01:54better than last weekend.
01:56But really interested to see what happens these first two riders with Julian and Seth.
02:01Last weekend, there's probably some nerves from both of them.
02:03Now they're back in a familiar spot where they just were.
02:06How would they pull away?
02:07How would they ride?
02:08Now we look like Joe Shimoda's trying to make a pass already.
02:11That's landed Gordon on the inside.
02:13Shimoda going to try to clear him.
02:14But Gordon, a rookie, holds Shimoda back.
02:18Yeah, last year we saw Joe kind of be in this same position.
02:21And he got better and better as his teammate chances were right behind him.
02:24Making some passes really early.
02:26One of his stops in the beginning part of his career was the opening laps.
02:31Joe fixed that last year.
02:32Let's see if he can continue that this year.
02:34Oh, exactly what that Honda HRC progressive team wanted to get the 30 and the 29 further to the start.
02:39They were buried last week.
02:41Shimoda makes the move on Gordon.
02:42Nice pass.
02:43You can see that one coming.
02:44And that's more experience for Joe.
02:46He's been here.
02:47He's rode a lot of laps at this racetrack.
02:48And he knows, depending on how the guy in front of him goes off that finish line jump, he's going
02:53to go outside.
02:53So you start squaring him up.
02:55Great move by the number 30.
02:56So it's Hamaker, Bomair, Romano, now Shimoda, Gordon, Hymas, Kitchin, Benick, Minear, Mumford.
03:04So Kitchin has made a couple of moves.
03:06Remember, he was wheel to wheel with Davies.
03:10But Davies, I don't know if he had another problem.
03:13We'll have to figure out where he is on the board.
03:14He's on the board currently 32nd, 32nd since timing and scoring for Davies.
03:19As for Shimoda on the 30, let's go to Jason Thomas.
03:23Well, you know, last week I was just not thrilled with what I saw from Joe Shimoda, for lack of
03:28a better phrase.
03:29I just expected more.
03:30I have this guy as the favorite to win this championship, and I expect him to be on the podium
03:35when he doesn't win.
03:35And we just did not get that.
03:37But I'll tell you, the first lap positioning has long been a thing for Joe Shimoda.
03:42It seemed like he sorted that out last year, and we saw the results of that.
03:45He was really better than everybody in this championship by a long ways, not named Hayden Vegan.
03:51So today, him getting the start in this first moto, that is a jump start to this series.
03:55And I really believe that if he can continue to put himself in the top 10 on the first lap,
03:59I'm not going to say he's going to run down Seth Hamaker here, but I'm also going to tell you
04:03he's not.
04:04I do think this guy is going to be in the championship fight for the long term.
04:09Well, there's no doubt he's strong.
04:12He's late in these motos.
04:13Katie, what do you got?
04:14We learned earlier that Joe Shimoda had told us that he went back to his 2025 setup.
04:18I went to his mechanic, Ben Griffin, and I said, okay, how much better is that bike for him?
04:24He said, you know what?
04:25It might be the placebo effect, but hey, if it works, it works.
04:29And that's really what we want out of Joe Shimoda.
04:31They did go back to that 2025 setup.
04:32And remember, he won the SMX championships on that.
04:35He got second in outdoors last year at 250.
04:37So if he's comfortable and confident on that bike, why not?
04:41Let's go back to it.
04:43Yeah, I agree with that, Katie.
04:44And a lot of times, if you make those changes, it's more for a rider just to say, all right,
04:48something's different.
04:49And I do believe what we saw last weekend for Joe was just some of the nerves at Supercross.
04:53He came back from a gnarly injury, breaking his neck, and he came out phenomenal.
04:57But then there was a couple of races where he looked a little timid, and then he got hurt.
05:01So I think a little bit was bad starts last weekend and the fact that he just came off an
05:05injury this weekend.
05:06Joe looks like Joe to me, and I agree with JT.
05:09I think he will start making his way up through the field, try to close out at number 10.
05:14Well, he is doing it as he challenges Romano for third.
05:18Davies is actually in eight.
05:20So that was a brief glitch, I guess, of the transponder, because he is in eight about right where he
05:24was after he picked it up from the crash.
05:27And we're talking about Shibota.
05:28Let's hear it from him and his thoughts on round one.
05:34We've done a lot of things, right?
05:35Like a lot of new riders on the track, too.
05:37So just kind of who's doing what and, you know, who's fit and not fit.
05:44We learned a lot of that and just needed a good start, to be honest, for the first round.
05:50Well, starts better.
05:52Now, look, he's working on Romano.
05:54Everything's stretched out at the moment as Bomair is a little further up the road and Hamaker is a fourth
05:59-second lead.
06:01Look, James, this morning you and JT were talking about the track maybe being a little flatter or shallower,
06:06and not as deep, however you want to put it.
06:08Is it making it harder to pass right now for Joe?
06:11Absolutely.
06:11I think Joe is quicker.
06:13But as you can see, he can get up the long side.
06:15But these turns, they kind of funnel back.
06:17And there's two lines.
06:18But right now, both lines are really smooth, especially that inside.
06:21So Joe, if this was Sakamoto, I do believe he probably would have had that pass made because of the
06:26track.
06:26But Nick's ride great.
06:28He rode great last weekend as well.
06:29So not like he's holding him up.
06:31But Joe definitely has his work around him and the track to make it a little bit more difficult.
06:35Well, Romano, what he's doing is giving himself a job.
06:40He's a fill-in rider.
06:41Drew Adams out with injury.
06:43Cameron McAdoo out for injury.
06:44They picked him up halfway through Supercross.
06:46I don't think he knows how long he's expected to stay here.
06:49But you keep running into these podium spots.
06:51It's going to be forever.
06:53Yeah, it is.
06:55And what's going to happen is that normally last weekend, maybe Joe would have had an easier time getting around
07:00Nick.
07:00But now Nick has been up there the last couple times, so he's more comfortable.
07:04So he's going to be a lot harder as Joe tries to make that run, Katie.
07:07Yeah, as he's battling there with Joe some of it.
07:09I was talking to Mitch and Kate about Nick, and he said, you know, he did really well in Supercross.
07:13He got that fill-in, right?
07:15And I gave him the carrot.
07:17I dangled the carrot.
07:17I said, okay, you do well?
07:18You got three to four outdoors.
07:20He said, are you doing well?
07:21I'm dangling that carrot again.
07:22And I said, Mitch, that would really stress me out.
07:24He said, I kind of wanted to, right?
07:26I kind of want that to get the fire underneath him, and that's exactly what motivates him, right,
07:30is to make sure that he stays in place and has that right.
07:33Hey, well, at least he's got something dangling in front of him.
07:35He could just not have a job, so I'd rather take that.
07:38But the way this kid's ride, whether it's with Mitch or someone else, he will have it.
07:42He has the talent, and now he's showing the results as well.
07:45He can continue it.
07:47Absolutely.
07:48Holding Shimoda back.
07:49The bottom box is Kitchen, who has caught Pivus, and this is really an indicator of how deep this 250
07:55field is.
07:56Because Kitchen and Himes have won motos and overalls in this series before.
07:59They're riding well, but they're fifth and sixth at the moment.
08:02Yeah, last weekend we saw how great Levi Kitchen was as far as speed-wise.
08:06I do feel like with this racetrack, just as we were watching Joe trying to get around Dick,
08:11it's probably hurting him, these bad starts or top ten start.
08:14On a rougher racetrack, I think he would be able to have that gap separation,
08:18but now everybody's kind of running the same pace.
08:20Now these guys are kind of stuck, but at the same time, a long time to go in this race.
08:25It's tightening up, James.
08:26You see that bottom box.
08:27That's actually Carson Mumford in seventh on the AEO Power Sports KTM,
08:32and Davies beginning to move toward Kitchen, who's moving toward Himes, who's moving toward Gordon,
08:39and then this Shimoda and Romano battle just ahead.
08:43Yeah, I think a lot of that kind of has to do with they're running the same pace,
08:46so when the guys in front of you, they get close.
08:48Maybe they start, you know, slowing each other down by blocking some of the lines,
08:51allows the guy to come up behind him, so more probably their line selection and battle each other
08:56rather than the guys behind him a lot faster.
08:59And Joe still working on Romano.
09:01There you see Julian Beaumere looking for back-to-back moto podium finishes.
09:06What a phenomenal return to racing for the Red Bull KTM rider out of Arizona.
09:10Here's the New Yorker Romano.
09:14And Shimoda trying everything.
09:16Yeah, I think what Joe needs to do, if I was him, I would try to stay close to him
09:19when I get close to the finish line.
09:21If I can't pass him before, because as he made the pass earlier,
09:24if you know this racetrack, the way the lines are, it kind of opens up some of the doors.
09:28So if he can stay close, he might be able to have to square this Nick up and make that
09:31pass.
09:38Nick's riding awesome right now.
09:40Yeah, he's going to hold him up, because they've actually put a little distance
09:44between Gordon and that pass.
09:50Yeah, and what you'll see is, as long as they have this little bit of gap,
09:54that gap will stay behind them.
09:55Those guys won't be able to close, but if Joe gets closer and it makes Nick change his line,
09:59that's when the guys behind him will close him up.
10:03Bottom box is Pymus, who has now caught Gordon.
10:06So shout out to the kid, running fifth right now, the California native land is Gordon.
10:11And there's Kitchen as well.
10:14Joe's not close enough, but let's see what Chance does.
10:18Gordon might get past in the same spot.
10:20Chance probably funnel in behind him, stay here.
10:25He messed up.
10:26So the line that Gordon would take, see how it kind of opens it up.
10:30If you can stay on the inside, land on the outside and square that up, you can have a straight
10:34shot.
10:34Just beat that guy to the next corner.
10:36But Landon kind of did a great job.
10:38Made me learn from being passed by Joe earlier in the race.
10:41Every lap is the same with this fight for third.
10:45Shimoda trying.
10:46A couple of line changes for Romano, helping him out.
10:50Now Shimoda's going to be down the inside, which will be the outside of the bottom of the hill.
10:53Here we go.
10:55Yeah, Joe's been working this line, and what he's trying to do is just get a run so he can
11:00just make Nick nervous.
11:01And then hopefully Nick stuffs it inside the inside berm and Joe continue that momentum.
11:05But at the same time, it's Ian Wallace up there.
11:14Romano last week was up around this spot for most of the first moto.
11:18Thought he was going to get the career best, but for him as a fourth.
11:21He did it at his home race at Utadilla, but that's going back four years ago.
11:25Just missed it last week.
11:27In position for a career high again, even if Shimoda gets him.
11:31But you know he'd love to be on the podium, and he's fighting for it.
11:34Yeah, he is.
11:35Joe's been going inside right here.
11:37See if he can square that motorcycle up and run on the inside.
11:40Oh, that was close.
11:41But there's still another opportunity, depending on how he lands off this jump.
11:47Sassabrella routing outside.
11:52Oh, you love just hearing it when they're going for it.
11:54Here we go again.
11:58Oh, double scrub.
12:06And all that for Don.
12:08Yeah.
12:09Yeah.
12:11He's doing a great job at blocking him in.
12:13Let's see if Joe's a little bit closer to his lap than he was the last one.
12:17Let's go back out of the start.
12:29That's a tough corner because it's not like your normal one.
12:32They're turning the whole way, but at the same time, they're able to get on the gas.
12:35So as they're on the gas, the bike wants to stand up and go straight.
12:38So as they're turning, that's why you see them, you know, pulling in the clutch sometimes and a little bit
12:44of hesitation because the bike wants to go straight off as they're on the gas.
12:51All right.
12:51Outside line for Shimoda again.
12:53It's just too far out.
12:54Can't make it work.
12:56But what's impressive is look at the gap.
12:58They've actually pulled away.
13:00Himes has made the move on Gordon.
13:01But Himes lost more time with Gordon than Shimoda has lost with Romano.
13:06And then Gordon in the bottom box now has Kitsch in the field.
13:10Yeah.
13:11I don't know what happened.
13:12It looks like Chance just picked up the pace because he was able to get around him.
13:16And Levi's still stuck behind.
13:19So Chance is making his way up.
13:21And he's starting to close that gap on his teammate as well.
13:24Shimoda's got to be getting tired of this.
13:25Well done, Nick Romano.
13:28One line here.
13:29All right.
13:30Here we go.
13:30So I bet Nick would probably go inside right here if he's not.
13:35Yeah.
13:35There you go.
13:36Good defending right here.
13:38He sends out what happened in the last lap.
13:39He's going to get past.
13:41So Joe has to go to work somewhere else.
13:44Let's hear it.
13:52Fending it right now.
13:57And this is great rotting by Nick.
13:59Defensive rotting because that was a lap ago.
14:02All the things that happened.
14:03That's Joe.
14:04Now he should have the pass.
14:05Oh.
14:07I thought it was coming as well.
14:09Oh.
14:09Shawna runs it around the outside.
14:11And Romano's right where he wants to be.
14:13Yeah.
14:13This is great defensive rotting.
14:15And Joe's starting to get tired of that.
14:17Let's see if he can get alongside of him.
14:20Hit the brakes.
14:20Now square him up.
14:23Got a shot.
14:24There you go.
14:27Woo.
14:28Can't say Romano didn't try.
14:30No.
14:31It's not.
14:31But that's how good these guys are.
14:33You make an attempt on the pass.
14:36If you don't make it happen, that router's going to block you.
14:38So now you have to go to plan B.
14:40Joe showed the cars.
14:41Nick bounced it back.
14:44Oh.
14:45Romano coming back on Shimoda.
14:46And they got to go.
14:47Because Hymas, as you mentioned, is starting to close in.
14:50Look at this.
14:53Romano right back on Shimoda.
14:55Yeah.
14:56Now Joe should have a gap.
14:58You know, Nick probably knew Joe was faster.
15:00So when you get past as a router, if you were to slow a router,
15:03you want to pass that guy back instantly.
15:04Because if the guy's faster, he's going to pull away from you.
15:06So Joe has that gap.
15:08Now he can ride his lines and see if he can close in on second place.
15:12So we'll go full box to the next battle.
15:14Hymas is next.
15:14Then it's Gordon and Kitchin.
15:17Davies has dropped back to 11th right now.
15:20It's still Mumford, Menear, and Timmerman.
15:22Top 10.
15:23Katie.
15:23Yeah, on Landon Gordon, this guy obviously being a rookie here
15:28and is battling with a vet like Levi,
15:31you'd say this is a lot of knocking the rust off for the rookie.
15:33And that's exactly what they said last week it was for him.
15:35He's happy with the bike, but he tightened up his nerves,
15:38got the best of him, and he said he got a little bit tired.
15:40So with the battle with Levi here,
15:42it's everything that Landon Gordon has in him as he gets passed by Levi
15:46to maintain his speed, maintain his fitness,
15:48all the way through these photos as a rookie.
15:51Well, yeah, Katie, I just was kind of watching Levi Kitchin make the pass
15:55as you were talking about Landon Gordon.
15:57And stop me if you've heard this before, guys,
15:58but so goes the start, so goes the results for Levi Kitchin.
16:02I believe he could run the pace of Seth Hamaker
16:05if given the chance on the opening lap to do so.
16:07But these starts have been so punitive over the course of his career
16:11and start to think, make picture, will the story of Levi Kitchin's championship run be,
16:17can he get the start or can he not?
16:19Well, I think it is in modern times.
16:21I think back this first year with this team,
16:23he was nailing the starts and nailing the finishes,
16:26and they have gone by the wayside.
16:28We talked about it during the Race Day Live qualifying show.
16:30They've tried everything, but haven't seen much improvement.
16:33Halfway through this race,
16:35reminder to stock up on Monster Energy at Grocery Outlet.
16:38So, yes, Hamaker has been the best starter so far this year
16:41and the best finisher.
16:43You could argue that Kitchin has been as quick, if not quicker,
16:46but it doesn't matter.
16:48Yeah, I think with Levi at the moment right now,
16:52I mean, his speed looks, he looks good.
16:54I think really the way the track is,
16:56it's not allowing him to be able to, you know,
16:58close in our past opportunities like he had last weekend
17:01because he's able to close in on these guys really quick.
17:05But just with the racetrack, it makes it a little bit difficult.
17:07So, I think Levi's doing a good job.
17:09He's just got to continue to move up in that top five.
17:12Yeah, we've definitely seen this track.
17:13The battles are lasting a little longer, harder to make moves.
17:16Kitchin's going to try to make one on Hymas.
17:21This is for fifth and sixth.
17:25And Romano now in sight of Hymas as well.
17:28Kitchin, quick pass.
17:30Nice pass.
17:31Yeah, Chance got stuck with that in side.
17:33Levi just had that flow.
17:35And, I mean, this is kind of what you see.
17:37If the guy's in that side, that top's in.
17:39He's moving up.
17:40And now he's going after his teammate.
17:45It's going to be two in one lap for Kitchin.
17:57Throwing everything out at his kitchen.
17:59These two buddies off the track.
18:01But every man for himself, just like we said last week.
18:04And Kitchin has made two passes in one lap.
18:07And Hymas looking to follow.
18:08Man, Levi's riding this track like he owes him money out there the way he's rolling.
18:13That was a great lap.
18:15And for Romano, look, he put in a huge effort to hold off Shimoda.
18:19And your reward for that is a whole cavalry rolling up.
18:24Doesn't ever stop in this class.
18:27A little gap right now.
18:29Man, shout out to Mumford on the AEO KTM.
18:32They get some support from KTM, but they are not the full factory team.
18:36And he's riding very well in seventh.
18:40Let's give you the check-in on this squad.
18:42Monster Energy first, sir.
18:43Kawasaki doesn't get much better with the first for Hamaker.
18:46Kitchin up to fourth.
18:47Romano's sixth.
18:48So we know last week that was not just a one-week thing.
18:51They're strong again today.
18:53No, that's good for the team.
18:54I mean, good starts.
18:56I mean, this guy's always been a good start.
18:57But I said in the opening couple laps, I wanted to see how the top two, Julian and Seth, last
19:04weekend, just a little bit of nerves.
19:05I mean, they both were good.
19:06Obviously, Seth wrote really good to get his first overall.
19:09But what you're watching here is a guy that's been there and done that before and now starting to believe
19:15that he belongs up front.
19:16Because this guy's a little different than he was even that first moto and last weekend, the way his gap
19:21is.
19:22His class might not be as open as we thought if he continues this moto and the next one.
19:27Yeah, looking to start the year with two 1-1 finishes.
19:30Look, the best he'd ever had in his career as we see the second-place gap here to Bomer, sixth.
19:35But the best finish for Hamaker had been a fourth.
19:41And now he's been ones and twos to start the year.
19:46Yeah, no, great ride.
19:47But his troubles are just kind of beginning.
19:50You're going to look behind him.
19:51You're going to hear that number 30, Joe Shimoda.
19:54And then right behind him, you're going to see that Kawasaki 47.
19:57He'll pop in there as well.
19:58He's coming.
20:01Well, we talked about the starts.
20:03As you see, Mumford looking to make moves.
20:05This is on Romano.
20:08Mumphy, as they call him, to the outside.
20:14Can't quite get it.
20:15I was going to say, we talked a lot about the starts and how it's hard to make up time
20:18in this track.
20:18But you're seeing the, as the phrase would go, the cream starting to rise to the top.
20:23As Shimoda, Kitchen, and Hymas have all climbed into the top five.
20:27Shout out, Mumphy, though.
20:29Yeah, Carson's riding really good.
20:30And also, what you're saying with the track, the track's starting to roughen up.
20:34Now these outside lots, inside, they're starting to be a difference maker.
20:38So, before, it was really wide open.
20:41Now, you're starting to get the rough.
20:42So, Nick's struggling a little bit.
20:44We saw this kind of happen that the last weekend, two things starting to happen fast.
20:48But at the same time, the track is changing, which is making it harder for him to hold these guys
20:52behind him.
20:54And also, Cade Minear starting to roll up on that battle behind Mumford.
20:59Shimoda, you saw him get closer.
21:01And now he is right there with Omer for second.
21:04This is what we expected from Joe.
21:06I mean, you saw him do this last year.
21:09Always the same guy every week in and week out.
21:12You know, he would just make his way.
21:13If he started up front, he rode like this.
21:15He got a bad start, and he rode like this.
21:17But now, to me, Joe, I thought he looked pretty good last weekend.
21:20But now you're starting to see him riding with that confidence.
21:23And this pass is going to happen.
21:26Just wait for a moment.
21:34Well, definitely, Shimoda has figured out some of the lines to pass with all the work he did with Romano.
21:41Still, though, for Omer.
21:44Got to be happy to start the season this strong.
21:48Whether it's a second or a third.
21:49Yeah, I agree with that.
21:51I mean, back-to-back, Motos up and running top three looks really good.
21:55And again, don't forget, this guy just came off an injury.
21:58He didn't ride much this Supercross season, so he's only going to get better as well.
22:08Katie.
22:09Yeah, you're talking about Julian Bomair coming back from that injury.
22:12I want to give you guys just a little bit of a reflective look.
22:15This was like nine months ago at Charlotte SMX.
22:18He burst fractured his lower lumbar, right?
22:20He didn't ride, and he was in that back brace for three months.
22:23He told me there has never been a darker time in his life.
22:26He went off social media for five months, which he did say was a blessing.
22:31And the treatment and following all the protocols is really what he says made a huge difference.
22:37He did exactly what the docs ordered.
22:39When he wanted to get back on the bike, they said no.
22:41And he said, okay, I'll wait.
22:43And he continued to do and follow orders.
22:45And it's really paid off for Julian Bomair.
22:47Or him coming on the bike when he feels and the doc feels at the right time.
22:51Okay, it's amazing that he's on the racetrack at all.
22:54Honestly, I didn't know when or if we would see Julian Bomair return, to your point.
22:58But Joe Shimoda, you saw him finally get assertive.
23:01And I think he realized he's got to go.
23:03And I'm very curious to see how Levi Kitchen approaches this.
23:06Because remember how aggressive and how assertive he was in passing Romano and Haimus.
23:11He wasted no time.
23:13And Joe Shimoda is going to have Levi Kitchen on him right now as he already goes by Bomair.
23:16Yeah, thanks, JT.
23:17It's coming apart a little bit for Bomair.
23:19And the battle is on.
23:20The crowd responding to it as well.
23:22Shimoda versus Kitchen for second.
23:25Yeah, when you pass the guy around outside, that's authority.
23:27He could have got punched out.
23:29And, yeah, I think Levi at the moment, I mean, he is rolling.
23:34Yeah, Joe better watch out.
23:36Is Levi going to do what we saw in race day live?
23:38Just his body language.
23:40And there's the pass.
23:43Man, for how hard it had been to pass.
23:46Look how guys they got close on that jump.
23:48Kitchen is making it look easy.
23:50Yep, and we saw him do this the first moto last weekend.
23:53I mean, it looked pretty easy.
23:54Once he decided he wanted to go fast and he was clear, he was able to make that ground.
23:59Problem for him, he's 11, almost 12 seconds behind his teammate.
24:03Levi's been the quickest the last three laps.
24:07But between that, his teammate's running a great lap time as well, pulling away.
24:12And we can show you how big that 11-second gap actually looks, although Joe's not giving up on it.
24:19Going right back after him.
24:22This is Hamaker.
24:24That's a lap rider.
24:27Still waiting.
24:29Still waiting.
24:31The camera's not.
24:32Still.
24:32It ain't frozen.
24:34It's still there.
24:35But, you know, at one point, that gap got down to about six seconds.
24:39And I was watching the lap times.
24:41And then Seth, this mechanic, probably told him that, hey, these guys are coming.
24:44And immediately he dropped two seconds.
24:46So I think he's playing the gap right now.
24:50He's got the pace.
24:51And I think this might be the farthest these guys come up this moto.
24:55It does look like, for the moment, Titchin has been able to shed that pressure from Shimoda, trying to return
25:04fire.
25:07We're back up to a 1-2 for the Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad again, just like last week.
25:12And, yeah, they look better.
25:16And this is what happens.
25:18I mean, one guy, and even with Nick, I mean, in top six right now, ran up front for a
25:23while.
25:23When one guy starts rolling on the team, when you've got these young guys, man, the whole team starts to
25:28elevate.
25:29And you're seeing that.
25:30And I've got more good news.
25:31I'm going to show you that 13-point lead that Hamaker had after round one.
25:36How big is that actually historically?
25:39Well, I remember it off the top of my head that on this team, Joey Savace back in 2016 won
25:43the opener.
25:44I believe he had a 15-point lead to start the year.
25:48So Hamaker's close to that.
25:50Zach Osborne had a 14-point lead the next year.
25:54So this is the third largest point lead all time after one round.
25:58And guess what?
25:59But it looks like it's going to end this moto with an even bigger lead.
26:03Yeah.
26:03Seth Hamaker.
26:04Yeah.
26:04No, with that lead, I mean, you've got to think of his confidence growing as well.
26:08I mean, both these guys are riding good.
26:10The Levi's pace, if he was up there with Seth, he would have a battle.
26:13So not like he's not fast.
26:14But it is rare not to go 1-1 and still come out with a double-point gap that big
26:20as Seth has after three motos.
26:23Well, the rest of the class was just super inconsistent last week.
26:27And Caden Dugnigan on the podium last week overall without a podium in the motos.
26:32It's all up and down.
26:34Once again, we send a shout-out to Mumpy here, riding so well in the top 10 in what is
26:40such a tough class to do it in.
26:42And behind him, Enzo Temmerman.
26:46Welcome back to the races, kid.
26:48One of Kawasaki's amateur prospects.
26:51Then broke his femur in the offseason.
26:54Been back at the mic for two months.
26:56There he is.
26:56And we have to say the inevitable.
26:58You see the tall Kawasaki kid of the 92.
27:01It's like our buddy Adam Stine Cirillo out there.
27:03And Temmerman wearing it well inside the top 10.
27:06Welcome back.
27:07Yeah, he's got a little AC style as well.
27:09And I was actually excited to see this kid.
27:11I saw some of his racing as an amateur.
27:14You give this kid a shot and some health and a little bit of confidence, he's going to be good.
27:20Really good.
27:20Now, he's not on the full Pro Circuit team.
27:23He's on a team green bike.
27:24But he would like to get a shot with that team.
27:28And ride well.
27:29He might do it.
27:29And then behind him, he's got Caden Muneer.
27:33Oh, actually, Muneer's just ahead of him.
27:36Muneer slipped past Bumford.
27:39Folland, actually, behind Temmerman in 10th.
27:41Yeah, you know what the crazy part with these young kids?
27:43It's now before you got a ride whether you were good enough.
27:47I mean, it was pretty simple.
27:48These kids are great.
27:49The problem is there's so many good kids these days that an injury, it basically sets you.
27:55It's why you don't have a ride, because of an injury, not because of your talent.
27:58If he rides like this, it ain't if, it's when he gets that ride.
28:03Well, yeah, because Romano became the fill-in.
28:05I would just have to guess that maybe that would have been Temmerman if he was available
28:09when they needed a rider to fill in.
28:11Obviously, Romano tried to make the most of it, running sixth.
28:14And nobody's touching Seth Hamaker.
28:19Yeah, Levi's closing the gap a little bit.
28:21I think if Seth can get through the next lap or so,
28:24then Levi would probably start, you know, focusing in on second place for this moto.
28:29But about eight seconds, I don't know if Seth made a mistake,
28:33but Levi was about two seconds faster that last lap.
28:36Teddy?
28:37I was asking Seth what the secret sauce to Paolo was last weekend,
28:41and he said, look, I rode three.
28:42Everything just kind of felt natural, but I am trying to keep my expectations low.
28:46So I said, are you doing, like, the same routine, like, left foot into your sock
28:50and right foot, you know, that kind of thing?
28:51And he said, oh, yeah, I'm doing everything exactly the way that I did it.
28:54In fact, he was eating breakfast the same way.
28:56I said, what you got?
28:57He said, a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich two times.
28:59O.J., you know, that same routine, but that does pay off, Stu.
29:02I mean, for you, did you kind of have any of those little things that were your special,
29:06hey, I'm doing this, and I know I'm going to win if I do?
29:08Oh, absolutely.
29:09And if I was eating an egg sandwich like Seth, I'd be running out of eggs every weekend.
29:14You know, I think us, we just want the, you know, same thing.
29:17And so we get a little superstitious on that if it works, and it's the only reason I won
29:21is because of that sandwich, and so far, Seth, it's going to be eggs between motos.
29:27Now, Seth has always had speed.
29:28You mentioned, especially in qualifying, and always a good starter.
29:31It's the consistency that has come around specifically the last two years.
29:35There's Mitch Payton, the team owner.
29:36Got to be happy with the one-two right now.
29:38You have heard through the interviews with Seth how much effort has gone in
29:42with his riding coach, Michael Burns, and everyone around him.
29:45He rides with the Loris family.
29:46Down in Florida to calm him down.
29:49And then he said something in qualifying today I'd never heard a rider say.
29:52The goal today, keep the cortisol levels down.
29:56Yeah, he's keeping them down.
29:57I mean, I know Levi's trying to raise those up, but, you know, the thing is,
30:01it's like when you watch a performance like this compared to even last weekend,
30:04it's not like Seth went home and got faster.
30:07I mean, he's always had the speed, but what he's doing and showing me is that
30:10he can do it when he needs to.
30:12And that's where I feel like that consistency comes.
30:14It's not about just like, all right, I'm going to be able to ride the same speed
30:17or faster over a period of time.
30:19It's about doing it when you need to.
30:21How easy can you do these laps?
30:23And all I'm seeing is a guy that just knows that I know my pace is good enough
30:28to win these races.
30:29I'll pick it up when I need to.
30:30And that makes it a consistent rider, and that's what you're seeing.
30:33And we're also seeing a ton of lap traffic, Aiden Kiefer there on the Phoenix Honda.
30:37That's a torrid battle, and that's one of the things that really only the fans get to see
30:41at these races.
30:42You can go back.
30:43That is, I think you just saw a battle for 29th, 30th, 31st, and 32nd,
30:48and those four riders were going at it just like they were battling for a podium.
30:53That is typical for a motocross there.
30:55Yeah, and it's different.
30:56And we do a great job of TV, Peacock, NBC, and we try to do our best at these passes,
31:02more passes you were just mentioned.
31:04But I feel like it's like a hockey game.
31:06Like, yeah, the eye's on the puck when you're watching on TV,
31:08but there's action everywhere.
31:10So there's a different feel even when you come to these races,
31:12and that's why you look outside.
31:14As Menear makes the pass up Nick, that's why these fans come out here every weekend
31:19and week out.
31:20As for Romano here, the effort he put in to try to hold Shimoda back,
31:25what does that do?
31:26That's not energy management, I would imagine, that 10-minute flurry.
31:29No, no, and you kind of know what usually happens is that you're holding your breath.
31:34You're kind of getting nervous, especially you're thinking about where this guy,
31:37you know, try to hold off the guy behind you, and just start holding your breath.
31:40And the problem with this 250 class is you can't relax.
31:44There's another guy coming.
31:45So just what you had to do with Joe, you just had to do it with Menear as well
31:50and all the other guys.
31:51So it just makes it look way worse than what it is because of the position he was in.
31:56So Menear, he's going to be the best of these star rookies in the finishes in this moto.
32:01Caden Dugney got all the headlines last week with the podium,
32:05but he has worked his way up the Australian to sixth.
32:08Yeah.
32:08You know, and speaking of that, you know, we saw Cole Davies go down earlier,
32:12but I've been watching the laptops, and I don't know what happened last weekend at second moto,
32:16but he was up front.
32:17I know he had a tip over, but then he faded back, and in this moto, the same thing.
32:21He got up with inside the top ten, and he's just been making his way further back and further back,
32:27and I don't believe his balls.
32:28So kind of strange to see that from my Supercross champ.
32:31Yeah.
32:32Davies in 11.
32:33And Bumford not giving up.
32:35He has now caught Romano.
32:37Man.
32:38Bumford charging.
32:39Yeah, and that goes to my point with Nick.
32:42You know, you really don't have a chance to relax in his class,
32:45so he just got past, you know, by Menear.
32:48Now look at him.
32:49Half a lap, he's got Bumford on him as well, and behind him you got Timmerman.
32:54So it just continues to go, and once you kind of lose that toe and that flow,
33:00you're going to have a hard time just recovering.
33:01That's more to do with this feel rather than what you're doing.
33:04And that battle, he wasn't in that battle with Shimoda.
33:08Probably, like you said, holding his breath.
33:10But he'd look a lot different right now.
33:11We're seeing the result of that here.
33:13Yeah, yeah, no.
33:15I mean, I think the battle makes it, what happened with Joe makes it harder for Nick
33:20to ever recover because holding your breath and getting tight,
33:23then he doesn't have a chance to relax.
33:24Or if he does, then he has another guy.
33:26So, yeah, no, the battle caused this to happen,
33:29but I think it's just more of, you know, he doesn't have a chance to recover.
33:33And I think Nick's still doing a great job.
33:35He's not throwing it away.
33:37He's finished it here.
33:38It's not the top ten.
33:39I think he'll just get better and better.
33:42But tough race for him right now.
33:43Yes, just in a battle the whole line and still going.
33:46Here's Bumford.
33:48Yeah, and I believe, kind of to my point,
33:51I think what Nick was trying to do was relax a little bit,
33:54and then he had somebody up inside,
33:56and that's what I mean about trying to recover if you can't.
34:00And they can't because as they battle,
34:04Boland and Davies are back there 10th and 11th.
34:08Yeah, well, you got the rookie, the Timmerman, right behind these guys.
34:13So, yeah, it's tough.
34:17Boland might have just made his way around Timmerman now.
34:20So, yeah, the battles never end.
34:22Last lap now.
34:27One to go.
34:28Can Bumford make this move?
34:31Up ahead.
34:33Well, the man in the Fox gear,
34:38Sirius and Fox Raceway.
34:39Well, this time it's going to be Hammaker hammering him at Hangtown,
34:42at least in the first photo.
34:44Yeah, I've hit him with a Hammaker in the first one.
34:46I hit him with a couple of japs this one.
34:47So, yeah, with some beat-up kids after this.
34:50But a great ride by Seth.
34:52You know, I just like the up and downs.
34:55You know, you think about 30 minutes plus two laps,
34:57and a lot of people are like, man,
34:59it's kind of overwhelming when you look at it.
35:01But this race has come down to laps and moments.
35:03And when Seth needed to pick up the pace,
35:05he raced it, then he was able to relax.
35:07And unlike his teammate,
35:09this is the difference between having a good start
35:11and that gap where Seth is able to counteract
35:14to anything that's happening on the racetrack.
35:16So, funny story.
35:17We've covered this before.
35:18Seth's mom never watches a race.
35:20He's too nervous.
35:21At Salt Lake City Supercross, she tried.
35:23She went and watched a heat race.
35:24I said, how'd that go?
35:25She's like, yeah, I'm good.
35:27Never doing that again.
35:29So, she's probably unaware how well it's going for her son.
35:31But it's going very, very well.
35:34Again, all three motos this year,
35:37all better than his previous career best in pro motocross.
35:41Hamaker, Hammers, Hangtown, and Moto 1.
35:48This guy's feeling it right now.
35:51He is.
35:55Solid ride by the top three.
35:57Looks like Joe's going to come in third.
35:58Another good ride by Julian.
36:03You know, he said at the top of the show,
36:06he won big point lead.
36:09As they cheers Shimoda coming through.
36:11There's Mom.
36:12Well, what she actually does,
36:13she has a timer for 30 minutes
36:14to walk down to the podium.
36:17Now she's got to ask how the moto went.
36:19She didn't see it.
36:20What's the level?
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