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00:00Valentin Guillaume, the Swiss native.
00:02He is the FMF Privateer Power Award winner.
00:05Had a good result last weekend.
00:07Opened some eyes last year coming over from Europe
00:09and looking to replicate that again in the Gizmo Mods Yamaha.
00:12All right, KTM keys to the moto, James.
00:15I'm going to try my best Steve Harvey impression with the family feud.
00:18And that's the Lawrence brothers.
00:20The way they won those first two races has been very dominant.
00:23It's going to be up to everybody to really kind of stop that from continuing to happen.
00:26I think we've got some challengers.
00:27And one rider not on the gate today is Chase Sexton.
00:29A brutal crash yesterday on press day.
00:33This is a strange one.
00:35And as he put on social media, cooked his knee and he is at least out for this weekend.
00:39Hopefully it's not worse than that.
00:41This is 2024 champion of the series.
00:44So bummer and again well soon to Chase.
00:46This is it.
00:47Two motos in each class.
00:48First race of the day.
00:50Today is 4.50s.
00:5130 minutes and two laps.
00:5240 riders on the gate.
00:54You got Lucas Kunin, the MXGP point leader jumping in.
00:57Second fastest in qualifying.
00:59Hunter Lawrence to Monster Energy.
01:00Fast qualifier.
01:01Watch out for Hayden, Deegan and more.
01:03Here we go.
01:12Two Yamahas, two Hondas.
01:14Cooper Webb.
01:15Hayden Deegan.
01:15But it's going to be Jet Lawrence to the lead.
01:18And Hunter trying to make moves on Webb from third.
01:21If you're Honda HRC, this is exactly where you want to start.
01:23If you're Jet Lawrence, this is where you want to be at.
01:25Hunter actually got a great jump out of that gate.
01:28But he got out pulled by his younger brother, Jet Lawrence.
01:31And Hunter firing around the outside.
01:34That'll set him up on the inside here around Webb.
01:37Not quite enough.
01:38They put a little bit of water on the track in certain spots.
01:40But Hunter Lawrence, I've seen this story before.
01:43If I allow my brother to get out front, he's going to be hard to beat.
01:46So I expect Hunter Lawrence is going to try to do everything carefully
01:49to get around that number two, Cooper Webb.
01:51And then shout out to Dylan Ferrandes there in fourth.
01:54Plessinger coming back after a rough weekend last time out at Hangtown's fifth.
01:59And Deegan has been shuffled to sixth, but quickly making moves.
02:02And I mean quickly.
02:03He's already around Webb and up to Hunter.
02:05Yeah.
02:05Hey, Deegan.
02:06Some great passes getting around his teammate, Cooper Webb.
02:08He knows he needs to follow these guys.
02:10Said he learned a lot last weekend.
02:12Raced him with the Lawrence since that first moto.
02:14He's going to learn a lot today.
02:15This first moto as well.
02:17Coonan is seven.
02:19And listen to this crowd.
02:26Well, this is the battle everyone wanted to see.
02:28Deegan bringing the hype into this class.
02:30We've seen huge crowds at these first three races.
02:33And there's fans in both directions.
02:35There's fans that want to see him win.
02:36There's fans that want to see him get beat.
02:38And he started with the Lawrence.
02:40So we're going to see which way it goes.
02:42Yeah.
02:42Hey, Deegan definitely is one of the fan favorites out here.
02:45Good or bad.
02:45But he's doing a great job at, you know, keeping these guys preoccupied.
02:48As he makes a small mistake right there.
02:50I think with Hayden, he's just got to keep the pressure on.
02:53You know, not necessarily trying to pass him at the moment.
02:55But just let him know, especially with Hunter Lawrence.
02:57And he looks like he's going to go on the inside of his brother right here.
03:00Yeah.
03:01Some struggles for Jett.
03:02So here comes Hunter.
03:03Going to run it around the outside.
03:07No room.
03:10This is close.
03:11Yeah, this is really close.
03:12Last weekend I talked about if Hunter had the pace, probably Jett would let him buy him.
03:16I don't know if he's going to do that here.
03:17Because Hunter's been fast all day long.
03:19When you look at that second practice, Hunter looked comfortable.
03:22More like the Hunter we saw at the first race.
03:24So Jett's going to have to do a good job at keeping him at bay.
03:26We know how that game goes.
03:28Battle back here is Coonan working on Webb for fourth.
03:33That's in the bottom box.
03:35Hunter still battling for the lead.
03:37Wow, Lucas made some great passes that opening lap.
03:40He was able to get around both teammates, Jorge Prada and Aaron Plessinger.
03:43So it looks like he's got the pace and he can get around Cooper Webb.
03:47Yeah, maybe he has a chance while still early to catch on to the back of these guys.
03:54Deegan hanging in there with Hunter.
03:58As for Jett Lawrence, yes, he got the win last weekend.
04:01But I think everyone is wondering, with that foot and ankle injury, will it be track to track?
04:06Will he be better some weekends and not as good as others?
04:10So you never know in these first photos exactly what you're going to get.
04:14Deegan looking to take advantage.
04:15He's all over Hunter now.
04:17Yeah, Hayden, there's certain parts of this racetrack that I would say he's not as good in here.
04:22And this part that we just went through, Hayden is able to close in.
04:26So it's going to be hard.
04:27One thing here in Colorado, with these long ruts, it's really hard to be up on a guy because you
04:32can't see.
04:33As you can see, Hayden kind of gives him a gap.
04:35I think he's more doing that so he can have that vision because, as I mentioned, the ruts aren't very
04:39long.
04:39It's not easy to make a mistake.
04:41Lucas Kunin.
04:42Oh, wait a minute.
04:43Prado's back.
04:45Prado on the inside.
04:46Can he make the move on his teammate for the day?
04:48And he does.
04:50Nice pass by Jorge.
04:51I think Lucas.
04:52Oh, no, that was Aaron Plessinger.
04:53Oh, that's Plessinger.
04:54Sorry.
04:54You're right.
04:55Kunin's moved ahead of this group.
04:56Yeah.
04:57I talked to Plessinger real quick this morning.
04:59Rids are sore.
05:00Had a big flip in the first turn last week.
05:04But he said, man, I don't want to miss this one.
05:06So he's out here.
05:06Maybe not quite 100%.
05:08Hampshire and March Banks coming through Dext.
05:13Oh, here it is.
05:14Another move by Hunter for the lead.
05:16Got it this time.
05:18No.
05:18Jet's fighting back.
05:20Yeah.
05:20Jet's going to have the momentum.
05:21I don't think Hunter's going to be able to squeeze unless if he hits the brakes.
05:24Square bump.
05:25Woo.
05:26Great racing between the brothers and Deegan shadowing them the whole way.
05:30Oh, these boys are going at it.
05:32Sorry, Pop's going to be awkward at the dinner table right now.
05:38And Hunter.
05:40Oh, I thought he had it, but not quite enough.
05:42Jet was able to weather that storm.
05:44Yeah.
05:44Hunter had that pass, but Jet had that momentum and he just drag raced him.
05:48So all this is doing is keeping that number 38.
05:50If I'm hate Deegan, this is exactly what I want.
05:53And if you look at that background right there, it's hate.
05:55It was a little far on the inside right there.
05:57Looks like Lucas Coonan that made his pass, JT.
06:01Guys, I know the battle for the front is heating up, but look at Hayden Deegan.
06:03I love what we're seeing from him because if you look, he has just progressively gotten more and more aggressive.
06:09Last week in the first moto was a step forward.
06:11This is even another.
06:13He's actually applying pressure instead of having pressure applied to him.
06:17Yeah, JT.
06:18And this is a tough spot for Hunter, I'd imagine.
06:20Right, James?
06:20Oh, really tough.
06:21I mean, he was so focused on Jet.
06:23And this is the strong side where I feel like Hayden is really good.
06:26Now we're going to get past this jump.
06:28The last couple laps, they've been able to open this up.
06:31But at the same time, you see Hunter, he's got to back it off.
06:34Here it is!
06:35Deegan makes a run, James!
06:36Looks like he's going to get it, but this is off camera.
06:38Hunter should have the outside, which is going to put him on the inside.
06:41Hunter's just got to get through this corner clean.
06:43Ape's going around the outside.
06:44As we say that, they're almost getting back on Jet Lawrence as well.
06:48Unreal racing between the three.
06:50Hunter around the outside with Jet.
06:52He got...
06:52Oh, they almost made contact!
06:54And that's enough for Deegan to make the move!
06:56Yeah, that's exactly what you were talking about, Jason,
06:58where Hunter's in a tough spot.
06:59Now, if I'm Hayden Deegan, I'm going to attack Jet right now
07:02because Jet probably doesn't know it's Hayden behind him.
07:05He probably thinks it's his brother,
07:07which means he knows Hunter's not going to run it in on him.
07:10Hayden Deegan will, so Jet's got to pay attention to that.
07:13He's going to hear that .38 Yamaha behind him wide open.
07:17Almost three wide over the finish.
07:24This is what everyone wanted to see.
07:27Deegan able to make the move on Hunter.
07:29Hunter going back after him.
07:31Now, Hayden's been really strong on this part of his racetrack,
07:34so let's see if he can close up to Jet.
07:36Hunter's losing a little bit of toe,
07:38which is only going to help Hayden go offensive on Jet Lawrence.
07:56Can he hold off Deegan, who's riding well?
08:01Now, we've seen Jet in the past.
08:03I would say this is kind of fool's gold in a little bit,
08:06meaning Jet takes a couple laps to get going,
08:09and once he gets going, he starts stretching his gap out,
08:11so they understand they've got to close that gap on him
08:15above Hayden Deegan as Hunter Lawrence is starting to lose the pace
08:17a little bit with these guys.
08:20There's so much strategy in the way the Lawrence's race and energy management
08:24of when they go fast and when they wait.
08:27It's so hard to know exactly what you're getting.
08:29We've wondered for years with Jet when he maintains these small leads,
08:32but right now he is absolutely under fire.
08:35Here it comes!
08:37Hayden Deegan hanging it out!
08:39Almost got it.
08:40Yeah, you see how those lines play out.
08:42Like, he gets on the camera angle.
08:44Hayden has it in the beginning part, but he goes a long ways around,
08:47and at this point, let's not kid ourselves.
08:50Hayden Deegan at this moment, like, yeah, he's in it for the championship,
08:52but what he really wants is to be able to pass that number one.
08:55What that'll do for his confidence moving forward,
08:57now he knows he has that pace, he can beat those guys,
09:00and this is the section he's been really strong at.
09:06Oh, this is it right now.
09:10Fans loving his action.
09:20JT.
09:21I just watched the mechanics boards there,
09:23and, uh, Brent Hayden Deegan's mechanic put breathe on the pit board.
09:26I was expecting breathe the waiter attack now,
09:29because I think right now he has a chance to get in on Jet.
09:32If Jet settles in, that's the worst thing that can happen to Hayden.
09:35So I actually kind of disagree with the mechanic's pit board there.
09:38Well, they're playing the long game in their own way, JT.
09:41I asked his mechanic,
09:42look, they work on a lot of things during the week to adapt to the 450.
09:45And I said, but how do you make sure what happens during the week
09:48actually happens on race day?
09:50And he said, I put it on the board.
09:52And Hayden does read the board every lap.
09:54A lot of riders do not.
09:55They are very focused on the notes during the week that are made,
09:58will be on that board and follow it.
10:01Yeah, but, you know, in this moment right there,
10:03I don't think Hayden's looking.
10:04Hayden's like, breathe.
10:05We barely got oxygen up here.
10:07What are you talking about, Will?
10:09That's right.
10:10It's tough breathing up here, Jason.
10:11Going back, Jason, to what you were saying about what they're working on in the week,
10:15talking to Brent Duffley myself today as well.
10:17So, look, this is a lot about him getting used to the 450,
10:20and a lot of that James is going to be deciding what gets used.
10:24He's used to that kind of wide open, high rev style of racing that we have seen him do in
10:29the 250s now for many years.
10:31And getting out of that rhythm of doing that, breaking a habit, as Brent put it, has been the most
10:36challenging thing.
10:36But he said, actually, the altitude is going to make that tougher.
10:39So, this is potentially the biggest test for him, James.
10:42Do you agree with that?
10:44Is this altitude conditions going to make keeping those revs low tricky for him?
10:48Yeah, yes and no.
10:49But I also feel like with the altitude, because we're at elevation, it's going to make the bike slower.
10:53So, it's going to make him feel more like he did on the 250.
10:56So, he's going to be able to hang it out, which we're seeing it.
10:59And I think Hayden's doing a good job as Jet throws that foot out because he wants to get in
11:03this rut.
11:04Now, Hayden's been the strongest in this last segment.
11:06He's been four laps in a row quicker than Jet, but as I mentioned, Jet's starting to get comfortable.
11:11And you can see one corner, he's getting that gap.
11:13So, back to what you're saying, altitude, yes.
11:16But I think Hayden, he's a young kid.
11:17He wants to go after them no matter how he gets it done.
11:20Well, yeah, James, you mentioned confidence.
11:22Oh, no!
11:23Deegan lost the back end, almost sent it off the side of the track.
11:27And now Hunter's right there.
11:29Yup, it's double the trouble.
11:30You got one getting away, you got the next one.
11:33I think what Hunter was doing is kind of what he did that first moto last weekend.
11:36Deegan's sitting back.
11:37As you can see, these little white pebbles on this racetrack, there's a lot of rocks here today.
11:41So Hunter's probably sitting back, getting away from that ruse, letting this thing settle down,
11:46and try to attack and preoccupy Hayden even at the moment.
11:50But Deegan quickly able to get back away just a bit, up to the top of the hill.
11:59Do we have enough data already to say that this is an improvement for Deegan even over last week?
12:03What do you think?
12:04Yeah, I mean, the kid's going to improve every single weekend.
12:08I mean, yes, he's up here fighting, and he's been fighting.
12:10He's the only one, really, that's been able to fight these two guys besides the first lap
12:14and the second moto.
12:15So Lucas is doing a great job, as we'll highlight him right now.
12:18But I think let's see how this moto goes.
12:21That's where it's really going to play out how much he's gotten better, because Hayden has the speed.
12:25He can run up to pace in Jet Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence, any lap, just whether he can do it over
12:2930 minutes.
12:31And as for Coonan here, solid in fourth.
12:34Did race in America last year at Motocross of Nations, but this is his first pro motocross race.
12:39They raced in Latvia for MXGP last Sunday, flew to California, rode a bit there two days this week,
12:46and had to drive the motorcycles out from the KTM shop in California to get him ready to race, as
12:53they say.
12:54And he's doing well right now.
12:56Back to this.
12:57Deegan, about a second off of Lawrence.
13:01Yeah, we're going to find out the speed-wise on Hayden Deegan.
13:04Sometimes when you make a mistake and drop back, especially on this racetrack,
13:07when you're too close to the guy, you can't see.
13:10So sometimes those mistakes are made because you're so close.
13:13Now he's going to have an opportunity to go.
13:15But I believe Hayden just went down.
13:16I think he made a mistake.
13:17Yeah.
13:18I think he was off the track.
13:19JT.
13:20Yeah, I was just going to compliment Hayden on the resilience of that lap,
13:24being able to close back in on Jett.
13:26Immediately goes right back off the racetrack, and we had the same setup we had a lap ago,
13:30where Hunter's all over him yet again.
13:33Yeah, looks like he got off balance in one of those ruts.
13:35I thought he was going to go down, but then we just saw him off the side of the track.
13:39Here it is.
13:39Yeah, we're going to get down.
13:40You can notice all these ruts.
13:42I'm assuming, yeah, he starts losing the front end.
13:44He does a great job.
13:45A really good save right there.
13:47This track is a lot of off-cambers, so the corners are always falling away from it.
13:51It's hardly any flat ground around this racetrack.
13:53And once you start getting leading one way, it's easy to continue going that way.
14:00And once again, quickly able to shed the pressure from Hunter to the kid.
14:0620-year-old, two-time, 250 champ, hanging tough.
14:12Yeah, now this, if Hayden's able to close back up on Jed, I think that's the improvement that you'll be
14:17able to see.
14:17And I believe, no matter how this race ends, he's able to do that.
14:21Hayden's going to start believing, like, okay, I got the pace.
14:23Not only I'm just not hanging with him, I'm able to make a mistake, lose that time, and gain it
14:28back,
14:28which means next time I'm in that, I'll just calm down a little bit, let this thing go,
14:32because I have the pace.
14:33As you can see him, he's starting to make a few mistakes.
14:35I believe a lot of that's coming to him, changing his lines.
14:38The track hasn't fully developed, but Hayden's doing a good job.
14:42He's going to have that number 96 on him in the moment if he doesn't get it going.
14:45Yeah, this has become the yo-yo battle.
14:47He makes the mistake, Hunter closed in, he pulls away a little bit, makes another mistake,
14:50Hunter gets him again, and it is on for second.
14:54Yeah, Hayden switched his line up.
14:55If you notice, he was on the outside, now he went to the inside and swearing like that.
15:01You know, being a rookie and not really understanding, I wouldn't say not understanding,
15:05but really trying to learn how these guys race, because Hayden clearly is still right there on Jed,
15:10but sometimes you get nervous, as his mechanic said, you need to breathe, calm back down,
15:14and it's hard to do that when you've got another brother coming up on you, putting that pressure on you.
15:19Yeah, this is about the closest Hunter has been consistently for about 10 minutes now.
15:24Deep breath, says Brett Duffy, the mechanic.
15:33Oh, Hunter's applying it now.
15:36Yeah, Hunter's definitely applying it, and I wonder, is Hunter going to get a signal from his pit bull?
15:42Because if you look in the background, the guy in fourth place is starting to come up.
15:47He was the fastest guy on the racetrack right now.
15:49He is starting to catch these guys, so Hunter probably understands,
15:52maybe I can't sit back like I did last weekend, because I'm going to have Lucas on me,
15:57but nonetheless, all three of these guys are riding great on the challenging racetrack.
16:02It's really this section right here where Deegan is able to shed that pressure from Hunter just a little bit,
16:07top of the last few laps, and the 96 able to close back in.
16:11Yeah, I think a lot of that, Hayden's got an interesting line right here on the far inside,
16:16but sometimes, like in that opening part, there's so many rocks here.
16:20I think Hunter's probably sitting back, or if he's trying to change up his line, he's not able to follow,
16:25but as we say that...
16:26Wait a minute, he's right back to Jet, and we're only halfway through this moto.
16:31Quick reminder to stock up on Monster Energy.
16:34Not sure if Jet Lawrence made a mistake or what it was, but Deegan is right back in the fight.
16:41Yeah, that was...
16:41I mean, right back in it.
16:43Yeah, really, really quickly.
16:46Yeah, we've got to keep an eye on that.
16:49Well, certainly, there's always a concern with Jet, and the crowd senses this three-way battle on again.
16:56You're always watching.
16:58Maybe aggravates the injury.
17:00You've got to worry about that.
17:01We're going to check in with the Monster Energy riders out there.
17:03You've got Deegan second, March makes up to six, went back to eight,
17:06and it is about as close between these three as it was in the first half.
17:11Now, this is one area where I know they're brothers, and they're racing against each other,
17:15but sometimes you can work together.
17:17If Hunter knows Hayden's starting to close up on my brother, then I need to get up on Hayden
17:21to keep him preoccupied how Hayden was doing me earlier, maybe make a mistake,
17:26and you notice everybody's starting to tighten up here.
17:32I swear Hayden's been really quick after this finish line, so see if he can do that in another lap
17:36in a row.
17:39Oh, this is great racing for sure.
17:42And still 13 minutes and two laps to go.
17:44Deegan is right in it.
17:51There's Kunin.
17:52Yeah, he is inching up just a bit.
17:54Gap was a little closer to eight seconds.
17:57Now it's down to 7.1, Will.
18:01They're doing an incredible job right now, Jason.
18:04As you said, James, I got a little question for you here.
18:06You may not realize how much of an important part you've actually played in the Kunin twins being over here.
18:12But talking to them yesterday about them describing this as their dream to race in America.
18:19They said that that started in 2013, watching you race forward in a Supercross race.
18:25They thought it was the most exciting thing they'd ever seen.
18:27And at that point, they decided they wanted to race dirt bikes.
18:31Their dad actually a four-wheel racer, so they did a little bit of go-kart racing too.
18:35So I just wanted to let you know, James, the fact that they're here and we're seeing...
18:38Oh!
18:39Sorry, Will.
18:39Deegan was out.
18:41Wow.
18:41Thanks.
18:42Thanks for that mistake by Hayden.
18:44I'm kind of getting a little choked up.
18:46That's an honor that both these brothers are over here and they looked up to me.
18:50So really cool.
18:52Oh, Deegan's got another problem.
18:53And now Kunin is by.
18:56Oh!
18:57He's going for the lead.
18:58Hustling.
18:59And now two crashes.
19:01Yeah, that's easy.
19:02It can happen.
19:03The first one, he's just trying to push it on a track that's really slippery.
19:06And that second one is probably just a little lack of focus.
19:10Difficult this racetrack is, but he's still in four right now.
19:13JT.
19:14Guys, I'm a little upset that Hayden went down because I wanted you guys to see this line
19:19the next lap.
19:20At the top of the hill, he is using an inside.
19:22And I'm not an AMA official, so I'm not going to say that this line is out of balance.
19:26But he's dangerously close to being so.
19:28Well, I think Hunter picked up on it last lap.
19:30We'll see if he goes there.
19:31Jet has not seen it.
19:33So when they come around, it's at the very top of the hill.
19:35Hayden is going farther inside than anybody.
19:38And I think a couple of track parkers got blown off the track, allowing him to go inside of the
19:42berm.
19:43He was making up huge amounts of time every lap.
19:45I think that would have been the difference.
19:48Yeah, that's what I was saying earlier.
19:49He's got an interesting line up there.
19:51But, yeah, this is on the very top of the hill.
19:55Now, watch Hayden.
19:55He's going to go.
19:56You see those track markers laying down.
19:58Now, he's able to get on the gas.
20:00He's on the inside.
20:01And there's a little berm right there.
20:03That's a lot of time made up.
20:04And one of the reasons that's made up is because he has something to bank off of.
20:09Clearly, he's able to make a lot of time on these guys.
20:14But the damage done with the two crashes fourth.
20:17And there was so much wondering of where Lucas Kunin would fit into this group.
20:22Man, he's two seconds closer.
20:24Now, another half-second closer than that.
20:26He's made up over three seconds, I'd say, in the last two laps.
20:30No, he is coming.
20:32He's got a great pace.
20:33And I think, if you notice, Jack kind of took a couple of looks back.
20:36So, not sure what's going on.
20:38If he's looking where Hayden is or whatnot.
20:41And Hunter Lawrence, I'm assuming he's not going to sit behind him if he can.
20:45He's not going to do what he did last weekend.
20:47He understands he needs to try to pass him.
20:49Because there's a guy in yellow gear.
20:51A little throwback to Roger DeCosta coming up right now.
20:54Now, Lucas Kunin on the gas.
20:56Hunter Lawrence, this is his time to go.
21:07Still great racing between the brothers.
21:10As they try to suss each other out.
21:13And what makes it so interesting, I mentioned, there's so much strategy in the way they race.
21:16But they also know each other's strategy.
21:19So, it's even harder to figure out what's happening when they're racing each other.
21:24Yeah, this is a dynamic between brothers.
21:28I'm more curious how Jet's feeling.
21:31And Willie, he understands that Hunter probably has that pace.
21:35If Hunter almost goes down, will he hold him up at this point?
21:38Because clearly, Hunter has that pace.
21:40And Jet's kind of got something else going on.
21:42But as we say, that one mistake, that gap comes.
21:44But look at that number 104 in the background.
21:48He is there.
21:49He is coming.
21:52And I would imagine at this point, I don't know if they know that.
21:55Maybe it's on the board.
21:57But you've got a figure.
21:58They were battling Deegan.
22:01They didn't see 104.
22:02He was eight seconds back.
22:04And there he is.
22:05Yeah, and what's impressive about what Lucas is doing, he didn't have a toe.
22:09So they were just far enough away from him that he didn't have that rabbit to chase.
22:13So for him to put his head down and lock in, able to do that, now he can kind to
22:18see him.
22:18So it makes it easier as a rider because you've got that rabbit to chase.
22:21He has that pace by just his normal lines.
22:25Oh, this is absolutely incredible.
22:28Now the gap is stabilized.
22:29It's back to 4.1, now 4.6.
22:33And it's so hard to get a read of what you're getting out of Jet when he's leading these races.
22:39This race flew by.
22:40We only have eight minutes left in this.
22:42Wow.
22:43That flies when you're having fun.
22:44Yeah, it is.
22:45Four riders really throwing down the Lawrence's Deegan and Kunin.
22:48This is exactly what the fans wanted to see today.
22:54And it is not over because Hunter is still there.
22:59Oh, Jet!
23:02Look, we have to mention the obvious here.
23:04The foot, the ankle injury, and these ruts, and this track.
23:07Any time you see the mistake, it almost makes you wince.
23:13And I asked Jet yesterday, we haven't really seen a rutted track yet.
23:16How's it going to go?
23:17And he said, we'll see.
23:19And he's got to fight now.
23:21Yeah, he's got to fight.
23:22And at no point he's been able to rest.
23:24Because any time he does that, the guys behind him are able to close.
23:26So it makes him push.
23:27And what makes this track even more challenging, you have all these ruts.
23:30But if you notice in our screen, there's light pebbles around the race.
23:34The tires don't like those pebbles.
23:36They don't grip into that.
23:37So the bike is continuing slotting.
23:39Then you're slotting into this hair comb, which makes it more challenging.
23:43So injury or not, it's easy to get a foot caught out or anything here.
23:47And I think that's what you're starting to see.
23:48And that's what you saw when, hey, Deegan, went down.
23:51And now we hear Deegan.
23:53It is under review where he was going inside in that corner.
23:58So race control will eventually have to make a ruling on that as more laps click off.
24:03And it's still Lawrence versus Lawrence.
24:08They picked up the pace a little bit that last lap, which kind of bridged that gap to Lucas.
24:12They kind of stayed the same.
24:14Lost a little bit of time.
24:15But, man, I'm very impressed by this Jet Lawrence.
24:20I mean, just little things like that.
24:22Just being able to hop on a name.
24:24This must be really hard for Hunter and these guys behind him.
24:27Because they're like, he's right there.
24:28We feel him.
24:29Wounded duck.
24:29And the next thing you know, he just puts in a quarter of a lap and just gets that gap.
24:34And it's demoralizing.
24:35Because you're like, I've got to work really hard to get back up to him.
24:39And I've been calling it microdosing.
24:42It's like a section, a corner, one little area.
24:45He just supplies it real quick and just gets that gap again.
24:49The amount of times it has looked like in his career, 250 class as well,
24:53that someone has Jet on the ropes.
24:55And next thing you know, he's just able to get back away.
24:58And what happens eventually, because he's been able to do that in his whole career,
25:02that little bit of microdosing.
25:03So when they lose that time, they've seen him being able to just pull away at that point.
25:07So it's not like another rider where they feel like they just, all right,
25:10I'll just get back.
25:11They've seen this story before.
25:13So they don't, they stop believing because he does it so many times.
25:18A couple lap riders here is Kunin in that yellow gear.
25:21Like you said, that is styled to look like the great Roger DeCoster,
25:24a fellow Belgian who runs KTM's motorsports program over here in America.
25:30One of the all-time greats of the sport.
25:32And they built gear to look like his for the 1970s.
25:35Now, the one part with this racetrack, just how it's set up,
25:39Jet's able to rest in certain parts like this section.
25:42He's able to rest.
25:43And I know it's really challenging, but what's going to happen,
25:45Hunter can't pass him.
25:47So Jet knows that.
25:48So if he's starting to feel it a little bit or something bothers him,
25:51he knows if I just get through this section, I can sit down a little bit more,
25:54gain my energy back to when we get to the open part.
25:57Now I can fight Hunter off.
25:59And maybe that's why you're watching Hunter close up on these tighter parts.
26:03Every section where it's a one line, they close up on them.
26:05And then Jet picks up the pace on those opening sections.
26:08So it might just be the form, Will.
26:10And Jet's been talking about what his new reput is like,
26:14because the guys usually ride kind of a couple of days a week,
26:16maybe more than that if they're sort of testing and making changes on the bike.
26:20Well, Jet's only been on the bike once a week.
26:22This is the new pattern.
26:23And that's to rest the foot.
26:25Because what he said is I've got to get back to kind of what I feel like on,
26:29you know, before I start racing on a Saturday.
26:32And he's like, that just takes time.
26:33It takes the whole week to essentially be set.
26:35So that he's not going through these race weekends,
26:38making it worse every week.
26:40But he also reminded everybody that his fitness pace, James, is there.
26:44So he wasn't at all concerned that he would lose that.
26:47In fact, he said actually racing at the weekends is going to keep that fitness pace.
26:50But his week does look different.
26:52So it's just more things that Jet Lawrence is adapting to.
26:55And yet, it doesn't seem to be changing the results.
26:58Yeah.
26:58I mean, that's a great point, Will.
27:00And yeah, his fitness is good.
27:02Eventually, if he's not able to ride,
27:03it really comes down to like bikes that are working on that.
27:07And then eventually, if you're not able to do it,
27:09the fitness will come into a point.
27:10But they've done so much work off the motorcycle.
27:12He feels pretty good.
27:14Clearly, he knows how to ride a motorcycle.
27:17And being able to ride around these injuries is starting to get away.
27:20I think Hunter made a pretty big mistake.
27:21This might be the moment that if Jet puts in a good lap,
27:25maybe Hunter will start thanking for that second moto
27:27since he doesn't have Lucas on the back of him.
27:31So Coonan, he was closing for a bit.
27:34Now he is about six seconds back, nearly seven actually.
27:36Here is Deegan.
27:37We'll check back in with him after the pair of crashes.
27:40He had Jet Lawrence in his sights.
27:41Again, you never know when someone has him in his sights if he really is on the ropes or not.
27:47But then those two crashes have sent Deegan back to a distance for 16 seconds off of the lead.
27:53But still, and I know how racers are, they're going to take the positives out of it.
27:57So if you're Deegan, you're going to say, man, I was closer.
28:00Right?
28:01Oh, absolutely.
28:02I mean, if I'm Hey Deegan, probably the crash is the best thing because then, you know,
28:07let's say he didn't pass him and he gets fast.
28:09At least you can be like, man, I had him.
28:11I had him.
28:11I went down.
28:11I had him.
28:12And that's what I'm believing going back to the pit.
28:14Absolutely.
28:15Okay.
28:15Jorge Prado did not ride yesterday.
28:18They opened up a practice session for everyone because with the elevation,
28:22the teams always want to get into the press day ride, which is usually for a limited number of teams
28:27and riders.
28:28So teams suggested, can you just let everybody ride Friday so we can adjust to the elevation?
28:33They did that, but Prado elected not to do it.
28:35So really haven't seen him much this weekend.
28:37Didn't get the customary good start.
28:38A solid ride here in fifth.
28:42That's the good news.
28:43The bad is he lost a ton of points with a bike problem last week.
28:47Came into this one 41 points down.
28:50And he's going to need to respond quickly if he has any hope of climbing back into title contention.
28:55Yeah, it's a tough position.
28:56But I also believe what I was saying about Lucas, that gap got built up between those top four.
29:01So Jorge hasn't had anybody to really chase.
29:04So sometimes that gap looks a lot bigger than what it actually is.
29:09Maybe if he was closer, he might be able to run.
29:10Hey, Deegan's pace are those guys, but he's not able to see him.
29:14So now he doesn't have anybody behind him, which Garrett Marks-Fanks is running six.
29:17Great job.
29:19And yeah, those guys are too far gone.
29:22And it is Hampshire, Plessinger, Ferrandus, and Craig in the top ten.
29:26Jet took a look over his shoulder and a pretty big gap now, JT.
29:29He has.
29:30And you wonder if that was a concerted effort by Jet.
29:33He turned in almost two in a row, two of five flats, which are some of his best laps of
29:37the race.
29:38I've seen him take a look behind to kind of gauge where Hunter's at.
29:42And they talked about this last week.
29:43Jet said, I felt an opportunity about halfway to try to, quote-unquote, break Hunter, break the will of Hunter.
29:49And Hunter noticed it as well.
29:50And you wonder if it's a little bit later in this race, but if it's happened the last two laps
29:54or not.
29:54Oh, it definitely has.
29:56Sorry, Jason.
29:57It has.
29:58And that's why I went back and bummed Jet.
29:59Hunter made that mistake, put in that hot lap, and then make Hunter just start.
30:03Like, all right, I'll get him the next moto.
30:04He's done it two times in a row.
30:06And I know for Hunter, that's got to be hard because he's been so close.
30:10And how that first race went at Paula, how Supercross has been.
30:13He's been able to make passes on everyone else when he's in that situation except for his younger brother,
30:20the number one, which he's going to share the heart with after this race.
30:24It looks like Jet is going to make it three straight moto wins as you go back to this battle.
30:30It is Plessinger and Hampshire.
30:33It's been a rough season for Plessinger, both in Supercross and motocross,
30:37but good to see him digging and still out here.
30:41They've got a little gap over Ferrandes.
30:44There he is, Ferrandes in the green gear on that Red Bull Troilet Designs Ducati.
30:49The team says at this point they are down to making refinements to the bike, not massive changes.
30:54For Dylan in the first year of Ducati out here racing for a motocross.
30:58And the clock is going to expire here.
31:01Jet Lawrence could be two laps away from making another moto win.
31:03It wasn't easy, but the result could be the same.
31:07Yeah, the results are looking the same.
31:08And now Hunter!
31:11How far back is this?
31:14Yeah, so this was going down that hill where Hayden had the interesting line.
31:17So assuming he's gotten passed by Lucas at this moment.
31:25That is...
31:26Okay.
31:27I thought for a second that was Ferrandes and it would have been much further back.
31:32He is still in second place.
31:35He should be in third place.
31:38Okuda got him.
31:39Yeah.
31:39Well this could be massive for the overall.
31:44Trying to twist that bike in the air.
31:46Yeah.
31:46That was Lorenzo Licorcio on the 50.
31:49That was a lap rider.
31:51We got a little bit of footage of what happened to the 96.
31:54This is huge.
31:56Yeah, and where he was picking his bike, I was on the tallest point of the racetrack.
32:00So, see if we got it on the top.
32:04Wow.
32:06Yeah, just kind of the way he looks.
32:07Looks like he just lost the front end.
32:09And you can see the marks going there.
32:10And all those rocks and mulch I'm talking about.
32:12It's easy for that to happen.
32:14Those guys are going.
32:15But Hunter is trying to straighten that front end.
32:17Because look at these ruts here.
32:19Can you imagine going through these things with a fender that's pointing the wrong way?
32:23That's why it's important for him to straighten that thing out.
32:26Needs the alignment job.
32:27And he's only three seconds up the track from Deegan, who you can see back there.
32:31And you know Deegan would love to pass him.
32:34And there's still two laps to go.
32:37Yeah.
32:38Hayden, I'm sure his mechanic probably told him that he's there.
32:42Hayden's going to put a full-on sprint.
32:44Because this would be another win for him in the bank if he's able to get back up on the
32:48podium.
32:48And you know he's going to come.
32:49If Hunter has a bent up motorcycle, that's going to make it easier for Hayden to be able to do
32:53that.
32:54And how about Lucas Coonan now in second?
32:58Yes, he inherited it because Hunter went down.
33:01But credit to him for being close enough to take advantage.
33:04And Deegan is sending it.
33:08Wow.
33:10That's one way of slowing down.
33:16Man, I know a lot of people, they don't like him revving a bike.
33:19But what that's also doing, these Yamahas are so loud.
33:23Hunter can hear that.
33:24So sometimes you rev that motorcycle, make a guy think you're a lot closer to what you is.
33:28And there he is.
33:28He's right there.
33:31Oh, what a massive change this would be.
33:33First of all, even the third is going to make it difficult for Hunter to win the day overall.
33:38Just lost a couple of points there to a rider that is not in the championship.
33:42Coonan.
33:43And Deegan could make it worse.
33:44JT.
33:46Weege, I'm telling you right now, if he gets close enough, he's going to use that line,
33:49which I believe is out of bounds.
33:50We'll probably hear more about that later.
33:52But he's going to use that line if he can get close enough.
33:55Hunter will have no idea he's going to go there and he'll go right by.
33:58Again, that's under review, that line that Deegan's been using.
34:03One's on the podium, one's not on the podium.
34:05Yeah, there's a few lines on this racetrack that you can see all the stakes laid down.
34:10And these guys are searching for that traction.
34:12But, yeah, that line is a little suspect up there.
34:17We will let the AMA make the call on that.
34:19Now, just as quickly as Deegan got, though, to Hunter, now the gap has stabilized,
34:23and the white flag will be in sight soon.
34:27Looks like Lucas closed up the JT for 3.2.
34:31What?
34:342.2 seconds on the last lap.
34:37And, again, I'm going to tell myself one of these days not to fall for it
34:41when someone gets JT Morris in their sights.
34:43But the clock says the kid's got a shot.
34:47I mean, he was three seconds faster that last lap.
34:50So I'm assuming JT was probably just trying to get to the end of the race.
34:54He'll pick it up this lap.
34:55But what this is doing for Lucas is just kind of smart.
34:58Wow.
34:58You kind of push him to the end.
35:00So maybe he's not resting up and starting to recover between the boat.
35:03If you push him to the end, that means he's going to have to exert that energy.
35:07The lap router, he found that line.
35:09And they're just trying to, they're tired.
35:12They're just trying to do as middle amount of riding as possible.
35:16Three-quarters of a lap to go.
35:18There's JT.
35:21There's Koonen in that yellow gear on the Red Bull KTM.
35:24Yeah, you see JT take a look back, and it almost had a double turn right there.
35:29Quickly, as you see the bike sliding around, this track is very difficult
35:33because the tires are always pushing away from you here on this racetrack.
35:37And you throw all these rocks and this mulch on it,
35:39it makes it really tricky and easy to make a lot of mistakes.
35:50And the fans have loved every minute of this 30-minute and two-lap race
35:54because every time the riders came through that valley, there was a battle.
35:59This time it is Lawrence versus Koonen.
36:04And JT's got a quarter of a lap to go, but a tough section right here.
36:08Yeah, this bar is important for JT to get through it.
36:10If he can get through this.
36:12Look at that from Koonen.
36:14Came into that corner hot.
36:16No problem.
36:18He can see the one now.
36:22They were close, but a strong round by the champ.
36:25Expert class in race management.
36:28Koonen is right there.
36:30But Jett Lawrence hangs on for a big first moto win.
36:35And welcome to pro motocross for Lucas Koonen second.
36:39Riders down all over the place out here.
36:41As we check in with Hunter Lawrence.
36:45Deegan gave it a shot.
36:48Hunter will take third.
36:50Great ride by all four of these guys.
36:52Oh, yeah.
36:54That was a show.
36:56It was as advertised.
36:57Look at that.
37:00Lucas Koonen, Jett Lawrence.
37:02A classic.
37:02A classic.
37:02A classic.
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