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00:00One of the keys for him last week was, of course, the traditional great starts.
00:03Just a KTM key to the moto here, James.
00:06Yeah, well, I'm going to have good starts on here.
00:07And I know that sounds cliche, but it's two parts.
00:10I think for Jet Lawrence and what we just saw in the 250 class,
00:13you need a start to compete up against Hunter Lawrence or whoever gets out front.
00:16But at the same time, for Jet Lawrence and Hayden Deegan,
00:19I almost feel like this first race is the start of the season.
00:22They both was rookie.
00:23They were coming into it.
00:24Jet had some questions Hayden do.
00:25Now this is your first race.
00:27So let's get a good start to the season.
00:30Right now.
00:30Ah, okay.
00:32Round two to round one.
00:33I like what you did there.
00:34One key used twice.
00:37Time to go around the burn, but we'll talk about some more stories from the track.
00:41JT.
00:42Well, Jorge Prado, this is the Prado we were promised.
00:45And I know 2025, not his best effort.
00:49I'm sure it's a season he'd like to forget.
00:51But last weekend was a shot across the bow of what's to come.
00:55Now, I think he believes he's the best rider in the class.
00:57Hunter Lawrence, I think feverishly and fervently disagrees with that.
01:01And we're going to get another shot for Jorge Prado to go out and show us why he has won
01:06four MSGP championships.
01:07And don't forget, these two right here, they've raced each other for a very long time going back to 2017.
01:12So, just because they're in this championship fight doesn't mean that it's their first go-around against each other.
01:18Yeah, JT.
01:19I'd like to go back to what Stu was saying.
01:20Key to the moto is the start.
01:22Hayden Deegan saying himself that was his biggest weakness last week at Palace starting 15th and 25th.
01:28And talking to the team, though, about him today, they also felt like he had a lot of excitement.
01:32But now, this week, they have been seeing the Hayden Deegan that they are used to and the Hayden Deegan
01:37that we are used to seeing.
01:39So, we'll see how that translates to the track today.
01:41And last weekend, the question was, am I human?
01:44Jet Lawrence.
01:45People were wondering, what happened?
01:46Will he ever be the same?
01:47I finished on the podium.
01:49Well, I showed up in this first practice.
01:51I found my speed back.
01:52And for me, that's a huge smile coming off the injury.
01:55Jet Lawrence.
01:55Let's see if I can take that to the racetrack when I'm back.
02:00And a nice achievement here for Justin Barsha.
02:03He will be entering his 301st 450 pro motocross race or 450 race 300 last week.
02:11That's the good news.
02:12The bad news was he only finished 1716 to the two motos.
02:16I talked to him this morning.
02:17He said they've taken the bike completely upside down.
02:19It was Ducati's first race ever in pro motocross in America.
02:23He's hoping that it's better today after all the bike changes.
02:27And you see he's closing in on his longtime rival, Eli Tomac.
02:30Because, unfortunately, Tomac not going to be competing today.
02:34A scary neck injury.
02:35Hope to get him back at some point this summer.
02:37Get well soon there to ET3, the fourth-time champion.
02:44Let's talk about this guy.
02:45Has some amazing history at Hangtown.
02:47You see the win in 2024?
02:49No ordinary win here, James.
02:51This is one of the all-timers.
02:53Yeah, you're going to watch here.
02:54Watch number four on the KTM go down.
02:57This is the opening lap.
02:58And as a motocross racer, this is the worst.
03:00This does not happen.
03:01But Chase Sexton picked himself up and came from 40th to first on the last lap to pass his teammate.
03:07One of the greatest rides ever.
03:09Number four did it here a couple years ago.
03:12Let's see if he can do that.
03:13If anyone needs a start, it'll be the number four.
03:15Because if you put that guy in clean air out front, we talk about Chase Sexton winning this moto.
03:20Line up next to Prado, who is definitely one of the quickest out of the gate maybe ever.
03:26And it's time for the first 450 motos.
03:29So all the hype, all the drama last week.
03:31What's going to happen as Deegan moves into the class?
03:33Jet Lawrence returns from injury.
03:35Let's reset and restart and do it again.
03:38You know those two will be better today.
03:40They showed it this morning in qualifying.
03:42But now we also know what we already thought we knew, which is that Jorge Prado, Hunter Lawrence, would be
03:48very good this year as well.
03:49And that's a real wild card with Sexton.
03:51If he can get a jump, he showed some speed last week.
03:55Some old school Chase Sexton style speed.
03:58The 2024 champion.
04:00So much to watch.
04:02So much to play for.
04:04It's only round two, but there's a lot of the line.
04:07So let's bring up the Reds and drop the gate.
04:15Jet Lawrence has it.
04:17Hunter right there and Deegan and it's on.
04:20What a great start by both these guys.
04:22They listen to the keys to the moto right here.
04:24And I believe Jorge Prado was in fourth but just got passed by Aaron Plessinger.
04:29But Jet Lawrence out front where he hasn't been all year long.
04:33It's only been two races.
04:34But back where he feels like he's belonged along with the rookie, Hey Deegan and Hunter Lawrence.
04:39And this is what the crowd wanted to see.
04:43Lawrence's versus Deegan.
04:49And they respond, of course.
04:5130 minutes and two laps.
04:53Here we go.
04:55We're set up for a race right here.
04:57They put down a little bit of water, but I still feel like the track is very raceable.
05:00As they go back into the infield, I can hear them proud.
05:04Oh, they're losing their minds right now.
05:07Hunter rolling up on Deegan.
05:09And Prado has moved to fourth.
05:12Yeah, I was wondering what Prado.
05:13He got passed.
05:14He was in fourth and got passed, but then went back.
05:17So, this is new Jorge Prado as Hunter Lawrence is trying to work on the rookie, Hey Deegan.
05:21As he tries to go up inside.
05:24Almost went down and then they almost collided.
05:27That was really heads up riding by Hayden.
05:30Hayden was going to the outside.
05:31He sends Hunter coming and he's closed that gap.
05:33And now look, Jet Lawrence is right in front of him.
05:42See if Prado can hit your ride and get to this trio.
05:48Yeah, you're right.
05:49Deegan's still right there with Jet.
05:52And Hunter Lawrence just shows talent in that corner.
05:54It looked like he almost lost it and he was standing on two wheels.
05:57But I think what you're going to see is Hunter really try to attack Hayden Deegan in these early couple
06:02laps
06:02because you don't want that kid to have any confidence of you getting to attack him
06:05and just start holding him up.
06:07Then maybe you can start settling into a pace.
06:10But let's say that Hayden Deegan is starting to get away from him.
06:16Ah, so now we see this is what happened to Plessinger, who was fourth.
06:22Oh, okay.
06:24Man.
06:25Uh-oh.
06:26He's about to get some batters.
06:27Oh!
06:28Managed to escape.
06:30And then Sexton down.
06:33Ah, Chase.
06:34Chase.
06:35Where he's at right now, probably losing to front end.
06:38Really easy to happen on a slippery racetrack.
06:40But it's going to be hard to go from last to 40 if I think he's down to 20th spot
06:44right now.
06:45Yeah, this field is going to make it tough.
06:48Well, however it turns out, no doubt, a big improvement for Hayden Deegan.
06:52He can just see it and how much smoother he was this morning, the better qualifying time.
06:56And then it starts for the number one thing that needed to be improved.
07:01A lot better now.
07:02Yeah, a lot better.
07:03Now, I feel like this is the chess start.
07:06The chess match starts happening.
07:08They stay like this for the next couple of laps.
07:09Believe what Jet Lawrence wanted to do, get a start, see if he can pull a gap.
07:13Now he probably realized that he's not going to pull it.
07:15Let's start going into this moto knowing that Hayden Deegan and my brother is going to be there.
07:19So he started going to plan B. Hayden Deegan, now Hunter Lawrence isn't behind me.
07:24So I'm going to start relaxing.
07:25I got a little bit of gap so I can start keeping my eye on the number one.
07:28And believe me, he might not pass Jet, but every lap that he stays there is almost like a pass
07:33in his mind.
07:34He's going to get more confident, and this race will close down as it goes on.
07:38And Chet Lawrence, that hard landing there.
07:40Remember, coming back from a devastating foot and ankle injury, the talus bone in his foot.
07:45Thought it was going to take maybe a year to recover from that one.
07:48He got back to the racetrack in six months.
07:50He looked worse for wear.
07:52He was struggling to even walk last week.
07:55Rode two days this week, but abbreviated, maybe not as much riding as he normally would do.
07:59Didn't ride press day sessions yesterday to try to save himself.
08:03You wouldn't know by watching him, but he is in rehab mode, but making it look good at the moment.
08:10Yeah, and I can tell you Jet Lawrence right now is probably riding tight.
08:14You know, it's been a while since he's been out front.
08:16You know, clearly he has the speed.
08:18He's been here all week long at that pace, especially that second one.
08:23So it's been almost a year since he's been out front.
08:25That just takes a little bit of time to get used to him.
08:27And what's going to happen is that he'll get to a point to where Peyton Deegan stays there.
08:32He'll steadily pull that gap out because he'll just get more comfortable.
08:36And that's the difference between this weekend's Jet Lawrence and last weekend.
08:40Does it just look better than last week?
08:42He looks a lot better.
08:43He looks more aggressive.
08:44And the one thing we were talking about with Jet, he was fast in practice, but it wasn't the speed
08:48that I was looking for.
08:49It was the consistency.
08:51Could he do it like we saw Seth Pan make it really easy?
08:54And he replicated that.
08:56This is kind of what I see now.
08:58And that's when Jet Lawrence is back.
09:02All right.
09:02And he's got two seconds on Deegan right now.
09:05Almost a sense of calm before the storm.
09:07But which way will that storm go?
09:10Will the Hunter after Deegan?
09:11Will it be Deegan making a charge on Jet?
09:14JT.
09:15Well, I think there are storm clouds in the shape of Hayden Deegan there.
09:19And you know what I really like about their program here is, yes, sometimes they have vulnerability.
09:25Sometimes there are things that Hayden needs to get better on.
09:27But they are relentless in their effort to shore those up.
09:30They will identify it, and they will work tirelessly to fix them.
09:34And that was really the key for this race.
09:36Could he, in a week's time, fix the starts, one, and then change a little bit of his riding style,
09:41maybe shift a little bit more?
09:43Well, step one, those starts, they seem to be a lot better.
09:46And if you watch, if you follow his Instagram this week, he posted a story of him on the starting
09:51line.
09:51And it said three words, one million starts.
09:54So I don't think he did a million starts, but it goes to show you that they are trying to
09:58fix the problems he may have going into this championship.
10:01Yeah, and I agree.
10:01And the difference between this class and 250, that you've got Jet Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence.
10:06These guys are worldly talent.
10:08So, Hayden Deegan can get a 10th place start in a 250 class and make his way up just like
10:12Levi.
10:12This class is too good.
10:14I mean, these are the best riders in the world.
10:15So he understands that I've got to get a start and even think about competing with those guys.
10:20So that's number one.
10:21But I think this moto, Jason, is going to tell a lot about Hayden Deegan and where he is on
10:26the 450 because I believe, like, he's going to sit here.
10:29If he's able to, like we saw in the 250 class, let a couple laps go and then go after
10:33Jet Lawrence,
10:34then that would tell me that he really knows that he has everything that he's needing.
10:38He's just letting his race play down and go.
10:40So, if not, then I think he's going to have Hunter Lawrence in it.
10:43And to me, what it would tell me is that he's good, but he's not ready because I believe Hayden
10:47Deegan would be attacking the number one if he could.
10:50But only time to tell.
10:52And Hunter Lawrence just lurking.
10:54Man, it's hard to say who's improved more, Jet or Hayden.
10:58Both mats will be better than last week, not just with the start, but with the riding as they're battling
11:03last week's winner, Hunter Lawrence.
11:12And you got Ferrandes back there in sixth, and shout out to Mikkel Harrop on the 5'11 triumph there
11:19in fifth.
11:19Another good run for him.
11:20So, five of the top six riders are international riders.
11:24Harrop, the Danish rider, Ferrandes out of France.
11:28And, of course, the two Australians, Lawrence's and Spaniard Trotto.
11:34Yeah, I love this position because it's going to show you if Hunter Lawrence, I don't think he'll allow this
11:40gap, if he can, to get too much farther ahead.
11:43I think what he's doing is learning Hayden Deegan.
11:45It's kind of seeing what he is.
11:46So, if he has a pace, he's just going to sit here, keep Hayden Deegan in check as we go
11:50to Jorge Prada, who's starting to lose his toe.
11:53I think Hunter Lawrence, if he can, he'll just sit there and let this race go and kind of get
11:57the tendencies of the guy of Hayden Deegan,
11:59a guy he hasn't raced in a while before and see what he's going to do.
12:02Yeah, Prado a little bit in no man's land.
12:07Little gap to Lawrence and a gap over Harrop for Prado.
12:12So, let's check in with the triumph rider right here.
12:15Katie.
12:15We know that Mikkel Harrop had a great pallet hole shot there.
12:18The team today did a few extra starts this morning and they said he's like a diesel.
12:23He needs to have a little bit more oomph to start the race in order to hold on to what
12:28they have.
12:29And we see that he did that again today.
12:31I asked how he liked the bike, you know, obviously last year being on that 250 and he said, you
12:35know, I like the whole bike.
12:37I'm a bigger guy, so I like the power and it just suits my riding style.
12:40So, Mikkel Harrop being a good conversation, he's here in the 450 class.
12:43Oh, he is.
12:45He's such a well-spoken rider and because he did not race supercross, he actually went to some of the
12:50bigger amateur races just to get in some race intensity and gate drops.
12:54Often didn't even finish on purpose.
12:56He'd pull off to let the amateur kids get the result they need.
12:59He just wanted gate drop time and he's got company now.
13:02Here comes Ferrandez on the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati.
13:06Yeah, great to see Dylan up here.
13:08I expected a lot from Dylan, Justin, but there's also this race team, a new race team, Ducati, coming into
13:15this sport.
13:17And last weekend, I didn't really see much from him, but this is what we expect from Dylan, a champion
13:23before.
13:23And we also know how many times in laps Justin's been around as RJ goes right in front.
13:28But looking forward to seeing what this race team does all year.
13:31This is March Banks on the monster Kawasaki.
13:36You got Webster, the Australian there, went off the side of the track on the right.
13:41That's going to allow March Banks to get him.
13:43That'll move March Banks to 10th.
13:45Yeah, Garrett rode great last weekend.
13:47Some bad starts and obviously that incident with Eli Tomac, that first moto.
13:51I expect big things out of Garrett.
13:52I believe he's starting to look for a ride as well.
13:54But really a bigger rider, just like, you know, hair up in fifth, I think it's a good thing for
14:00him.
14:00Here's the update on the Oakley riders in this one.
14:04You got Perandis and Hampshire at 6'7".
14:06Barsha just up ahead of this battle in eighth.
14:09Sexton recovering for the early crash, 14th.
14:12Blossom, Jordan Smith, 15th and 24th.
14:15Checking back in with this second-place battle.
14:18Deegan, and it looks like another attack for the 96 in route.
14:22Yeah, that's kind of what I was saying.
14:23I felt like with Hunter Lawrence, if he had the pace, he would sit back, you know, wait.
14:28Because obviously he's looking at Hayden, but he's also keeping an eye on his brother
14:31if he wants to have a chance to win the race.
14:33And Jet started to do what I thought he would.
14:35He'd just get more comfortable, starting to ink that gap out.
14:38Hayden's starting to come back, so it's time to make that pass if you can to Hunter Lawrence
14:42if you want to have a shot at winning this race still.
14:44So he's not thinking about Deegan in second.
14:46He still wants to be in touch with the leader.
14:48Well, I mean, obviously he's thinking about Hayden, but now he understands that if Hayden could,
14:52he'd probably go after my brother.
14:54So clearly he doesn't have the pace, and I do.
14:57So, yeah, I am thinking about how I'm going to pass this rookie.
14:59But at the same time, I'm doing that now to get after my brother.
15:03Otherwise, I would just wait him out and pass him later.
15:05I see.
15:06Yeah, it's only 10 minutes into this moto, and it has been a waiting game for all of us.
15:12Which way is this going to go?
15:16Yeah, well, if anybody has the experience riding with Jet Lawrence and knows where he's good
15:20and what makes him great, it's the 96's brother and Hunter Lawrence.
15:24I mean, he's dealt with this guy the last couple years, finished in second.
15:27So he knows what happens when Jet gets really comfortable.
15:30So Hunter is like, man, I got to start picking that pace up and try to get around Haydeegan if
15:34I can.
15:35But, hey, it's still riding really good at this moto.
15:39Talking to Hayden's dad, Brian, this morning.
15:42The teams can control the power of the bikes with the mapping and the EFI tuning.
15:46But he said Hayden didn't want any of that.
15:48He wanted all the power in his wrist and control it himself.
15:51Thought that was the way to go.
15:52Looking back now on the opener, they've decided to make some changes.
15:57And they also are encouraging him to just rev that bike a little less.
16:01High revs are the key in the 250 class.
16:03You don't hear it as much in the 450s.
16:06It's definitely made big gains in a week.
16:11Yeah, Hayden's getting better.
16:12And I think he'll learn a lot from this race, probably even more than the last one,
16:15because he's up there with Jet.
16:17He's in front of Hunter last weekend.
16:19He didn't have that clear racetrack.
16:21So he's going to learn a lot.
16:23And we know how quickly this kid learns.
16:25It wouldn't be a surprise to me if he learns during this moto
16:28and actually closes that gap back up at Jet.
16:31Wow.
16:36It's the section where Hunter keeps getting close.
16:39And that bottom box, you got Hampshire, the Husqvarna closing on Harrop.
16:45That would be for sixth.
16:50RJ, we know what he does.
16:52He's going to be here every moto, continue to charge.
16:55And if there's a little bit of motivation trying to find a rod,
16:58it's going to take that intensity up.
16:59So yeah, watch out, Harrop.
17:02You got company now with RJ.
17:04And then just ahead of them, you got Miranda's Prado.
17:06And then these two, Deegan getting off the back of the bike, hanging it out.
17:11As for Hampshire, let's send it back to Katie.
17:13Yeah, Stu, you're talking about the motivation.
17:15And he was telling me it is such motivation to not have a ride done and signed still delivered.
17:20He did say last week at Apollo he was in a big riding mode and not quite in a pushing
17:25it mode.
17:25However, he did say at one point he got passed by Deegan in the final laps.
17:29You want to talk about some fire, he said.
17:31There was some fire under him.
17:32So not only is it without a ride, if you see him make a move there,
17:36not only is it not having a ride, but it's also getting passed by Deegan
17:40that really amplified RJ waiting to put a performance on today.
17:44Oh, and he just couldn't make the move on Harrop, doing everything he can there, Katie, to make the move.
17:49Yeah, RJ told me last week, he says, man, it got me mad when Deegan got me
17:52because he says he's gritty, and he is, but I feel like I'm the gritty guy, too.
17:57I'm tough, too.
17:59He didn't want to get passed late.
18:01Harrop's going to have to deal with it now.
18:03See Deegan hanging tough in second to the top box.
18:06Yeah, I wouldn't make anybody mad.
18:07I mean, hey, when you're refrigerating in your house and took your Kool-Aid.
18:11So, you know, RJ's like, I'm going to sit well with him.
18:14But.
18:17And every time Hunter starts making tracks toward the 38th,
18:21Deegan pulls back away.
18:23Looks like Hampshire made the pass on the 31, so he's around Harrop.
18:27Yeah, that was a great line by RJ.
18:29Just squared him up, and that's just really time on this racetrack,
18:31knowing how these lines play out.
18:34They passed, but it's not giving up.
18:37And RJ sees Dylan Ferrandez made that pass on Mikhail,
18:42so he needs to go after the number 14 in fifth place.
18:48Yeah, RJ will try to close on Ferrandez.
18:50Gap is 5.2 seconds.
18:52Dean Chitlortz and Hayden Deegan.
18:54And the yo-yo battle back there for second continues.
18:58As Hampshire.
19:00Harrop's hitching a ride here with him.
19:04A little close off that racetrack.
19:09Halfway through this one, reminder to stock up on Monster Energy at Grocery Outlet.
19:17And what's going to happen next in this photo?
19:19Harrop looks fresh.
19:21Yeah, sometimes as a rider, when you feel like you get passed,
19:24you would just expect the guy to be able to pull away.
19:26RJ's starting to get away right now, but you can almost sit back,
19:29and if that guy doesn't get away from you, it almost gives you confidence.
19:32Like, okay, it was his lines that he had, really, not necessarily my riding.
19:37So you'll follow him and then follow his lines.
19:39And if you're RJ, you've got to keep that rabbit in front of you,
19:42keep chasing you, otherwise you start right behind him and close that gap back up.
19:49Check back in with Jet Lawrence.
19:50Has it up to 5.6 seconds.
19:52Wow.
19:53I don't know if he was worried,
19:54but there were a lot of worries just in general last week.
19:57That was not the typical Jet Lawrence performance coming back from injury.
20:01A lot better here, JT.
20:02He is certainly a lot better.
20:04And it's not just the speed, it's the form,
20:06and it's how he looks, kind of have what James is touching on there.
20:09But, you know, I'm curious as to the couple of last, couple of last.
20:12He's really put in kind of a push here.
20:14He's built that gap up.
20:15And I don't know if he's just kind of starting to feel a little bit better,
20:18gaining a little bit of confidence,
20:19or it's something I was wondering about.
20:22You know, Hayden's calling card has been a weight race push.
20:25He has so much tenacity and aggressiveness late in these races.
20:29But Jet Lawrence can't be expected to be 100% yet.
20:32So is there a chance, James, that he's kind of pushing now, build up a gap
20:36so when we get to the last five to eight minutes,
20:39the gap is simply too big for Hayden to close down?
20:42Yeah, I think everything you said, JT, is spot on.
20:44I think all of them are true.
20:45I think, as I mentioned earlier, if Jet, you know, that gap,
20:49he pulled it early and then that gap came back and stayed there.
20:52But I was like, if he gets, if he stays there,
20:54he's going to feel more comfortable.
20:55He hasn't been racing all year.
20:57And then he'll build or just start inking that gap out.
20:59And then with Hayden Deegan, yeah, Jet doesn't know Hayden.
21:03He hasn't raced him in a while.
21:04But we've seen what Hayden does on TV.
21:06If you let him stick around, he only gets better.
21:08So I think Jet starts putting in the pace.
21:10But to me, it just looks like it's more repeatable for Jet Lawrence.
21:14And he's pulling that gap rather than, you know, he's like making an attack.
21:18I think he's just faster.
21:19Yeah, he was over a second faster than anyone the last time around.
21:23Katie?
21:24Okay, talking to the team,
21:25they said that they picked up the rear brake a bit
21:27so Jet's foot doesn't have to reach so far.
21:29I've only spent minimal time on a bike
21:32and it was really difficult to maneuver my foot around on the pedal,
21:36around on any kind of the shifty or whatnot.
21:39How much, Stu, does that help a rider like this
21:42and an injury that he had to just pick it up even a little bit?
21:45Yeah, I mean, I think when you're dealing with an injury
21:47with your ankle and the flexibility,
21:49a lot of people think you don't really slam on the rear brakes.
21:52You move your ankles, your toes, you kind of, you know, break that way.
21:56So you have a lot of movement in your ankle.
21:58So if Jet last weekend ankles were stiff and he gets to a race,
22:02you know, you really wouldn't know that until you got to a race.
22:04And that's like one small area that they could put.
22:06But at the same time, I feel like this racetrack is a little bit easier
22:10than last weekend's racetrack.
22:13There's some hills, but the way it lays out,
22:15it's not so much pressure.
22:16As you can see, Jet Lawrence, he's calmly coming into corners.
22:19He's being patient and he's riding better.
22:22But who's turning up the notch is Hunter Lawrence on Hayden Deegan.
22:26Now, as JT was mentioning what he thought Jet was doing,
22:29I actually do believe Hayden tried doing that, pulling away from Hunter,
22:32and he did his best, Hunter stabilized that gap.
22:36Now Hayden's in his own, what he would like to call,
22:39the danger zone of Hunter Lawrence at the moment.
22:42Yeah, Deegan did take a look over his shoulder there
22:45and saw the 96 closing.
22:47Does it again.
22:49Yeah, I mean, they got a huge lead on Jorge Prada.
22:51So it really depends on how Hayden wants to handle this race.
22:55So you got to fight Hunter.
22:56Will he try to slow this race down and try to recover
22:59and then get within five minutes and hang on or what's going on?
23:08Probably about the fifth time I've said this.
23:10Which way is this battle going to go?
23:12Every time it looks like Hunter's about to engage in a duel.
23:17Doesn't quite happen.
23:19Still 10 minutes and two laps left.
23:21So I believe what Hayden and Brian was talking about, you know, working on,
23:26it's just the high momentum, really his aggressive rotting.
23:30And I think what's happening, Jason, is on certain parts of his racetrack,
23:33Hayden's rotting style actually works for him.
23:35So going down those hills and those straight lines, he's able to attack.
23:38So that's normal.
23:39And that's where he pulls that gap.
23:40But anywhere where these switchbacks is really technical,
23:43Hunter Lawrence is close back up.
23:44So I think it's more of where Hayden's pulling away on the racetrack
23:48rather than he's going faster overall around the racetrack
23:52as Hunter Lawrence closes that gap back up.
23:54All right.
23:55Got to head uphill.
24:02So coming down these hills a lot, you'll see Hayden kind of pull that gap
24:05because he's really charging down where Hunter's kind of relaxing.
24:09You can see Hunter breaking early or hopping over stuff.
24:12Hayden's really slamming it in.
24:13And so he'll open the gap back up.
24:15But when the track slows down and it's more technical,
24:18Hunter closes that gap back up.
24:20And to me, he's doing it pretty easy.
24:22So I think he's just waiting for that pass.
24:24Uh-oh.
24:24Got to get around the lap traffic.
24:26It's Vinnie Lou Hovey there.
24:29No worries.
24:33Deegan's been good at that little left-hander.
24:35It's been tough on a couple of the riders.
24:38Landed that jump.
24:39And we're right back where it was.
24:41Yeah, this is a great line by Hayden.
24:43And they're not the fastest line.
24:44But right now, Hayden's not worried about chasing Jet.
24:48He's not even worried about going forward.
24:49He's worried about, okay, where Hunter is.
24:52Like, I need to start learning how to block some of these lines.
24:55So he's trying to move his way forward.
24:57But he also has, he understands that Hunter probably has his number.
25:00So he needs to try to have that counterattack once he gets close.
25:03And that starts by shutting these lines off.
25:15So still no change.
25:16It's still Hunter about a second behind.
25:18He got hair up back here with Marchbanks.
25:20So Marchbanks, I think that's going to be seventh now for him on the factory monster Kawasaki.
25:29Marchbanks gained the most position of any rider last week.
25:31Now, it was unfortunate.
25:32He got into that crash with Tomac in Moto 1.
25:35He was able to eventually get back on the track.
25:37But at a bad finish, that led to the bad gate pick.
25:40And a bad start in Moto 2.
25:42So sometimes when you pass the most riders, it's only because of bad news that led you there.
25:47Garrett showing some poise and some speed.
25:52He moves up.
25:53Yeah, Garrett looked good to me last weekend.
25:55Even the off-season videos looked good.
25:58So it's kind of a ride I expected.
26:01But unfortunately for him, just a bad start and some incidents.
26:05Maybe not getting the results that he wants to, how good he's riding.
26:09Yeah, Garrett said after the race, he figures that he thought Tomac was going to let off.
26:14He figures that Tomac thought he was going to let off.
26:16Just a racing deal where the two lines came together.
26:18And certainly Eli got the worst of it.
26:21So again, shout out to the legend there.
26:24I hope Eli gets well soon.
26:26Verandes has now been caught by Hampshire.
26:28Hampshire digging deep, as always.
26:31Yeah, if RJ's like, man, don't you got a two-year deal?
26:33All right, I don't have a ride.
26:35Let me get this pass on, man.
26:38Fight is on.
26:39This is for fifth.
26:40Much better for Verandes this week.
26:42He was just poking around the top ten a week ago.
26:45Now top five.
26:46But for how long?
26:48Yeah, we'll see.
26:49I mean, Dylan was kind of stuck in a no-man's land.
26:51He didn't have anybody in front of that he can chase.
26:54So it's easy to start riding behind you, especially when you got to 24,
26:57knowing that he's never going to give up.
26:59So Dylan has any kind of pace.
27:01And he'll really put this fight up against RJ.
27:03But RJ seems like he has some great lines going at the moment.
27:12Long way to go up to Prado.
27:15He's 15 seconds ahead of this.
27:21He's starting to see that hard pack release come out.
27:25Choppy braking bumps.
27:27Six and a half seconds left.
27:29Jorge Prado.
27:31Now we're in front of the way.
27:32A couple sections still have some moisture left,
27:34but other ones have dried out for sure.
27:40RJ's got him in sight.
27:42Got to get around.
27:42Mozem in here.
27:47Here's an opening.
27:53Another one.
28:01Not at all.
28:05Back uphill they go.
28:11Yeah, this is a great fight by Dylan.
28:15And I think it goes back to what I was saying earlier
28:16about not having that rabbit chase with Jorge.
28:19Because once RJ got there, he's picked up the pace.
28:22And what it does for a rider, it makes you,
28:24it upsets you if you're in an RJ spot.
28:26Because you're like, man, I closed in on this guy.
28:28I shouldn't have that pass.
28:29That guy picks it up the pace.
28:30And it makes you nervous.
28:31And tough, Katie.
28:33Yeah, it is tough.
28:34Dylan Perrantes' pit board, though, says all out.
28:36So the team wants him to give him his all right now.
28:39But one thing that the team did mention to me earlier
28:41is that he is becoming more patient with both age
28:44and experience, patience with the new bike.
28:47But, you know, the other thing about Dylan
28:48that was really interesting is it's a new bike,
28:51but the team kind of remained the same.
28:53So it was less relationship building,
28:55but more R&D, building a bike, all from ground zero.
28:58So it has been a big learning curve,
28:59regardless if his personnel is similar.
29:02Yeah, thanks, Katie.
29:03Bottom box is Hunter Lorax on Hayden Deegan again.
29:06Yes, although the Ducati brand is new to this,
29:09a lot of the technicians over there
29:11with the factory connection suspension team,
29:13they were working with Perrantes
29:15the last two years at Phoenix Honda.
29:17So, yep, a lot of familiar faces.
29:20They also used to work with Justin Barsha
29:22and Barsha's younger 250 class days.
29:24So they kind of put the band back together
29:26and Barsha rode for TLD when they were a gas-gas team.
29:31The first top five for Ducati.
29:34Pretty much anything Perrantes or Barsha gets
29:35this year is going to be setting a new bar for Ducati.
29:39But look at this.
29:40Hunter Lorax, this is as close as he has been
29:42with Deegan since the opening lap.
29:44To the inside.
29:50Makes it happen.
29:51Can Deegan come back?
29:52Hey, Deegan's always been great at responding,
29:54but if he has anything...
29:56There it is.
29:57He tried.
29:57He had an opening.
29:59Now what that does,
30:00it just makes Hunter a little nervous a little bit.
30:03Now he's on the far-end side.
30:08First shot he had of making some contact.
30:10He took it.
30:12And Hunter pours it on.
30:14Yeah, you know it.
30:15But also Hunter is a veteran.
30:16He kind of understands that.
30:18Look, Hayden's going to take that shot.
30:19But if I could put in a quarter lap as I got a gap now,
30:22then Hayden would just take a...
30:24All right, third place, a good moto.
30:25Hunter Lorax has been applying that pressure that whole time.
30:29Just waiting for the moment.
30:31I think he realized that Jet's on a different level.
30:33I'm not going to catch him.
30:34So I'm going to sit here, wear this rookie out,
30:37learn about him, see where he's good at.
30:39So when Hayden gets better, I'm learning as well.
30:41Now he's putting in that tack and easy work.
30:44Oh, man.
30:47Class in management there.
30:48He had the gap at almost exactly 1.3 seconds
30:53for about 15 straight minutes.
30:55It stayed almost exactly where it was the whole time.
30:57Pours it on, makes the move.
31:00All that being said, though,
31:02still a step in the right direction for Deegan,
31:04even though he just got passed.
31:06I mean, yeah, I mean, I honestly didn't think
31:08he broke bad last weekend.
31:10Okay.
31:10I think what he's understanding is that
31:13these two Honda boys, they're good.
31:14Okay.
31:15They're really good.
31:16And so there's just a level.
31:17But I mean, the kid's broke good.
31:19Bad starts, 4-5, but good start.
31:21He's in the top three, but nobody's at this level
31:24at this moment right now.
31:28I'm going to check out Jet here.
31:32And it's the right foot, by the way, that has the injury.
31:34And there he is getting on that brake.
31:36So they raised the brake pedal.
31:38That's the one in front of his foot there.
31:40Yeah.
31:41So this is what Katie was talking about,
31:43Jet raising his foot on his rear brake.
31:46And this has been able to have that flexibility.
31:49Imagine your ankle not being able to move as much.
31:51So he has to lift his foot up to actually tap the rear brake,
31:55depending on what angle he comes in.
31:57And that's an adjustment.
31:58It's a huge adjustment for a rider.
31:59We've seen guys do this.
32:01You think about Max Boland and the 250 class,
32:03learning how to use a rear handbrake.
32:05It takes time.
32:07And if it only took a race, and this is where we're at,
32:12you know, it's going to be pretty good.
32:14Yeah.
32:15He said the lack of range of motion.
32:18So you've got to press down on that pedal.
32:19And he doesn't have full rotation down with the foot.
32:23So they just have the pedal start higher.
32:24So he doesn't have to push down as far on it.
32:28But I've got to imagine you have so many instincts built up.
32:32Yeah, it is.
32:33And the rear brake does a lot more than just stopping these guys use it.
32:37I mean, they tap the rear brakes in the air to change the angle of the bike.
32:40They can hold it down to keep the suspension from bouncing up.
32:42So there's a lot of places they would use the rear brake, JT.
32:46And, guys, I'll be honest with you.
32:48I did not expect JT to look like this in week two.
32:52After watching last weekend, he did not look right to me.
32:55Watching him limp off the podium, I was in pain watching him try to walk.
33:00I just didn't think we would see this quick of a turnaround.
33:02And I know it's only one moto through the day.
33:05But watching him in qualifying, watching him in this first moto firmly in command,
33:10this is a really, really quick recovery.
33:12And if it's only going to get better from here, these guys better buckle up.
33:17I'm with you, JT.
33:18I think some fans watching were just concerned like, oh, no,
33:21it's Jett Lawrence just going to be diminished in general.
33:25And it was going to be a long time, baby,
33:27where we'd really get an answer to that question.
33:29He might be answering it right now that it's A-OK.
33:33Because this looks eerily like his previous two championship seasons
33:38and a whole lot better than a week ago.
33:39So, you know, I think the concern was just health and how that foot could be.
33:43Obviously, he's got a great team, so they did a lot of work.
33:46I love the management that they used, whether they chose not to ride here on days.
33:50It's working out.
33:51But it was never going to be about, like, could he have speed and all that.
33:55This kid has so much talent.
33:57And if he could have the help and get on the motorcycle,
34:00he'll figure out how to ride around the rear brake or whatever issues he's dealing with.
34:04And to me, that's what's happened this first moto.
34:07I go back to what I said at practice,
34:09how big that was for Jett Lawrence to have that speed.
34:12So now he knows he can go fast.
34:13Even if it hurts, he can go fast.
34:15And now being out front, he got more comfortable,
34:18and he's learning how to race in a place where he's so used to being up front.
34:23And this is what you get.
34:24Now, you told me earlier today something that's so interesting,
34:27the mind of an athlete.
34:29Pain, you're saying, isn't really the problem.
34:31It's performance.
34:32If you have speed, you deal with the pain.
34:34No, absolutely.
34:35I mean, I think for us, you know, the pain is normal.
34:38Like, every time we come out, it's hard.
34:40But as an athlete, the thing that fears you the most
34:43is you've not been able to do what you do best.
34:45So if that's Jett Lawrence, it's speed.
34:47Coming to the first race, you know, like, all right,
34:49I know my foot's going to hurt, but if I'm in practice
34:51and I'm trying to go fast and I'm third and I'm way down,
34:55that kills a rider and all this work is for nothing.
34:58And you can kind of see just how it works with other guys and mentality.
35:01So Jett having that speed, that second practice, the way he did,
35:05you saw the difference.
35:07And this part, getting on the racetrack, getting used, is easy.
35:11That's going to happen.
35:11If you put this guy out front, he's going to get easy.
35:14Speed is one thing that you can't, you either have it or you don't.
35:17Jett Lawrence found it.
35:18And now he's found himself 10 seconds out front as well.
35:20Oh, man, only took seven days.
35:23What a massive improvement.
35:24Obviously, the start, getting that whole shot is a big part of it as well.
35:28But this is a quality and quantity win.
35:32It's not just a victory.
35:33It's not just a start.
35:34It's how well he rode to get it.
35:36He left Deegan in the dust.
35:38He did the same thing to Hunter, who was back there dealing with Deegan.
35:41And honestly, you do not often see this big of a lead.
35:44This is actually a big lead based on how Jett normally runs these races.
35:48Yeah, I agree.
35:49But that being said, that 96, I know he's not going to lose any confidence in himself.
35:55And I will say that Jett really put it to Hayden.
35:58But I think early, I mean, he put it to all these guys.
36:01But early in this race, Hunter Lawrence saw that pace to run my brother down is not going to happen.
36:05He put all his weight on just beating Hayden Deegan.
36:08So I don't think Hunter Lawrence was racing this guy after a few laps.
36:11I think Hunter is riding great.
36:13He's keeping his gaps 10 seconds.
36:14And they both out front.
36:16This is going to be a really close race.
36:18Even though this gap is really big.
36:20Yeah, Moto 2 could be a rematch.
36:22Yeah, so you think if Hunter almost made that pass on Deegan immediately, had he done that, we might be
36:27in for a battle here.
36:28Well, the answer to that, I think it just shows you when Hunter, like you said, he stayed within two
36:33seconds of Hayden Deegan for 20 minutes.
36:35I mean, he was just sitting back, just waiting for him, seeing when he wanted to make that pass, seeing
36:40where Hayden was.
36:41That's the type of rider Hunter Lawrence is.
36:42So once he realized that jet is too far, I'm not taking that risk, but I'm going to beat everybody
36:48else.
36:48So Hunter knows that game.
36:50And trust me, he's fine.
36:53Another thing to watch here, Prado is hammering down.
36:55He just ran a 157.9.
36:58Second quickest rider on the track behind Hunter.
37:01And he has taken what was a big gap to Deegan down to just four seconds.
37:06And he is going three seconds a lap faster at the moment.
37:09Now, you figure Deegan might be managing it, could probably ramp it back up if 26 gets close.
37:15We'll have to keep an eye on that.
37:16That would be for the Moto podium.
37:19But Prado, I wouldn't imagine he's throwing down 157s if he didn't have at least a bit of hope that
37:25he could get there.
37:25Yeah.
37:26Uh-oh.
37:26Yeah, I believe he went down.
37:28Well, I think he was going for it.
37:29Yeah.
37:30Yep.
37:31But going to my point, I was going to say, Jorge Prado is just like, I mean, um.
37:36That's it.
37:37Off the track.
37:38Yeah, that looks like a bike issue to me.
37:41Wait a minute.
37:41Wait a minute.
37:42Is he done?
37:44Yeah.
37:45Unreal.
37:46Still second of the points coming into this race.
37:49I thought maybe it was off track and losing a few positions.
37:52No, he's dropping all the way down the board on timing and scoring.
37:55And this is a disaster for one of the title contenders.
37:58Jorge Prado appears to be out.
38:02And Jet Lawrence appears to be back.
38:08Man, this kid's looking good.
38:10Answer to starts.
38:13Found some answers that he was looking for himself.
38:16And now he's able to sit down to recover.
38:19So it's not taxing his body.
38:21Looks good.
38:22Well, with Deegan moving into this class and Prado certainly improving this year, I think
38:27everyone just wanted to see everyone have a shot at it.
38:30Whether you're a Jet Lawrence fan or not, you certainly want to see all the contenders
38:33there.
38:33It's unfortunate that Tomac got lost last week from this field.
38:38We hope we get him back.
38:39But you do want to see Jet Lawrence do Jet Lawrence things and may the best man win these races
38:44in this title.
38:45And this is a huge step forward.
38:47If you want to see Jet Lawrence at his best, he's certainly a lot closer today.
38:52And it's got to feel good.
38:55Well, he's won a lot of these, but this one is one of the biggest.
38:59Jet Lawrence returns to the number one spot.
39:03Taking a moto win in pro motocross.
39:06Does that yank those taros off?
39:08Love it.
39:09The authority.
39:10The champ is back.
39:11And look at RJ and Dylan Ferrandez.
39:13Of course, going for it all the way to the end.
39:17Ferrandez fourth.
39:18Hampshire not giving up, but might be out of time.
39:22Great ride by both these guys.
39:24But yeah, Dylan didn't have that gap in front of him.
39:27That rabbit hard to grace for.
39:28But when RJ got there, no friendship moves here.
39:32Hey, Jet got better.
39:34Deegan got better.
39:34But that's a big improvement for Ferrandez on the Ducati.
39:37Top five.
39:38That's the first ever for them.
39:41And you got a whole tough under fire from Hampshire.
39:44But here's the story.
39:4645 moto wins in this class.
39:49Already near the two-time champion and this year's Supercross champion, Ken Rockson.
39:54But few are bigger.
39:59What the hell are you doing right now?
40:00What are you gonna do?
40:00Oh, my God.
40:01Hank the Waller.
40:01Oh, my God.
40:01That's what you're doing right now.
40:03Yes.
40:03Oh, my God.
40:04Oh, my gosh.
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