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250 Moto 1 SMX Thunder Ridge 2026
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00:00Wow, that's what kind of cost him, maybe his motocross, having these opening laps, first corner, so he's going a
00:06little protective, Moe, Ricky.
00:08Yeah, and you can see right there the radius. See how it kind of narrows up, like James was saying?
00:13Keep your eye for guys around this area to perhaps sweep around that outside.
00:18They won't have to break quite as early because the radius isn't so tight on that first corner.
00:23Moe Mayer essentially facing a must-win. He was the fast qualifier. Here's the progressive keys.
00:28Oh, we got to go. Rebs are up. Kitsch down.
00:34Kitsch is going to make that inside work. Almost.
00:39Landon Gordon had a good start. He got pushed wide. Nate Thrasher is there. Kitsch is to the lead.
00:44In the nick of time, a good start.
00:46What a start by Levi Kitsch. You saw the hustle that he was getting because if he didn't get that
00:50jump, he would be buried.
00:52What a nice jump by Levi getting a progressive hold shot. This is exactly what he needed.
00:57Got Max Boland up to second on the Club of X Yamaha. Backed by a family motorsports.
01:04And now Thrasher gets back around. Boehmer is fifth. Davies sixth. DeFrancisco seventh.
01:10Well, championship situation. I am loving if I am Levi Kitsch right now because why?
01:16The guys that are closest to him for this championship opportunity are way in the pack.
01:21Ryder DeFrancisco seventh. Julian Boehmer 13th. They got a lot of work to do.
01:27Talk about a clutch start. Great job by the 47th.
01:31Well, yeah. We basically have not seen this from Kitsch in a hold shot all year.
01:36And just when he needed it most, he did it.
01:39Yeah, but at the same time, you're going to see Levi really push the envelope of these opening laps and
01:44just get away.
01:44And then the nerve starts kicking in. You start thinking about, okay, I've done executed the first part.
01:50You've got to calm the nerves and let this race play on out because the one thing you don't want
01:53to do,
01:54which we saw it a couple times in outdoors, him up front throwing it away, but so far so good
01:58for the 47th.
02:00Pulling out a bit on Thrasher, then Gordon, Boland, Davies, and Boehmer are getting aggressive.
02:05They're moving toward that Davies, Gordon, Thrasher group.
02:09SMX track crew tilled this racetrack up, so it's going to take a few laps for it to take a
02:14set for these lines to really work in here early.
02:17But Levi Kitsch is doing a great job right now.
02:20Man, a clear track, clean air, making it happen in a time of need.
02:25Saw some hitch in that corner, RC. Is that the tilling, the deep dirt you're talking about?
02:29They did not get that corner clean.
02:30No, they didn't get that corner clean at all.
02:33But, James, I want to go back to that start.
02:34I did not think Levi Kitsch was going to be able to come around first place because, like you were
02:40talking about, it pinches off so early.
02:43Yeah, and the problem was if he didn't get the jump, you saw him all on the back of the
02:47bike trying to get there,
02:48and he was close enough to when he braked, he didn't have anybody on the inside,
02:52and he was able to squeeze the rounding and get that start.
02:55So, clutch start by Levi.
02:57John, now you get in the battle of the teammates.
02:59Coming up, Cole Davies running fourth spot.
03:02Hard to believe.
03:03Well, I shouldn't say it's hard to believe because these guys are the toughest around incredible athletes.
03:08But Cole Davies, after that lick he took last week, great to see him out here battling.
03:14And the key point is that Davies has stretched a little bit on Beaumare, Follin, DeFrancisco.
03:21See, Beaumare and Orange has got to go, got to get to the front and close to Kitsch, but he's
03:26going to have to deal with this trio of Yamahas first.
03:28Right there, where I have highlight on the left-hand side of your screen.
03:31Keep your eye out on those two riders there.
03:34They are the closest in the points to Levi Kitsch.
03:37And they definitely need to come up through the pack.
03:40Yeah, you've got to think, Levi, he's out front.
03:42He's not looking at the guy in second, third, and fourth.
03:45He's looking at the rider in fifth and seventh, or fifth and seventh right now with those two.
03:49So, the hard part is with this 250 class, if you're not worried about the guys behind,
03:54then you've got to continue to race forward.
03:55Because if you allow those guys close, Julian's closing in on those, and then you have a race for the
04:00lead.
04:01And that's exactly what the 13 wants to see.
04:03Well, that's right.
04:04Like James was talking about, you're looking where your next guy is in the championship.
04:08Levi able to look over on those big doubles and see where Beaumare is and where Francisco is.
04:15That is great.
04:16Davies on the inside of his teammate, Gordon.
04:19Can't quite make it work.
04:21And as they slow each other up, that might help Beaumare.
04:23He's trying to close.
04:25Davies again going to give it a shot.
04:28Yeah, it's good to see Gordon up here landing.
04:30And I think if, you know, Cole was racing for a championship, he'd probably allow that pass.
04:35But, you know, Landon's out here racing for his best finish, too.
04:38So, good to see the youngster hang in there with his teammate.
04:42And it's tough to pass in this situation, like I was talking about on the first lap,
04:45until this track takes a set.
04:47Really, there's only one main line that is working well.
04:50But as this race goes on, the incisal will start to form up as well in alternate lines.
04:56And it'll make it a bit easier to make a move.
05:01Talking to Davies yesterday, he said it's actually going to be kind of fun to run without pressure.
05:05He's seventh in points.
05:06Mathematically still in it, but it would take a miracle to win the title.
05:10So, really, he's just out to win the race.
05:11And he said it's fun to have a little less pressure for once.
05:14Yeah.
05:15What I think he's doing, he wants to let these guys know that,
05:17hey, just because I don't win this championship, I'm still in that guy.
05:21And so I think it's an important race for him, but nonetheless, Cole's doing a good job.
05:26He's just got to continue to stay up.
05:30And Fomare continues to close.
05:32Hey, folks, scan that QR code on the screen right now for your chance to win an Insta360 X6 camera.
05:40Fomare now dealing with Di Francesco, who has caught him.
05:43They've made some passes on Follin.
05:51And Kitsch are taking advantage of all.
05:531.5 second lead.
05:55I mean, Levi's had good speed.
05:57I mean, I watched him yesterday when they had access to the track just for press riding.
06:02He looked comfortable on the motorcycle earlier today in qualifying practice.
06:06He was out front just putting in really strong laps.
06:10Here's that battle I mentioned, Fomare and Di Francesco.
06:13So they have both cleared Follin.
06:15And now it is wheel to wheel between two of the three title contenders.
06:20They got Kitsch well up the road.
06:22Well, the good thing for them that this is two motos.
06:25So you just got to continue to climb up in this race.
06:28And hopefully if you can catch Levi, great.
06:30But you got to get up inside that top three because you put both motos together.
06:34And that equals out the overall.
06:35So, yeah, you might not be able to win this race, but your championship still can be won.
06:39What a third place in this moto.
06:41I'll tell you what.
06:42What would be a really good break for Bommare and Ryder Di Francesco is if Thrasher was able to challenge
06:48Levi Kitchen
06:49and perhaps get by him because that would actually throw, that would slow Kitchen up just a little.
06:54It's happening right now.
06:56Thrasher now has Kitchen in sight, JT.
06:58He doesn't.
06:59Could you imagine if Thrasher could find a way to win this race?
07:02It would be so Nate Thrasher.
07:05Every time he's not the story, he finds a way to make himself the story.
07:09And I originally wanted to come in here and talk to you about the live by the sword, die by
07:13the sword inside starting gate of Levi Kitchen.
07:16But I have to shift to Thrasher and how he's inserting himself into the race for the win here.
07:21Yeah, that is certainly the reputation of Thrasher.
07:24Just when you start to count him out, he pulls a win out of nowhere.
07:27That's the scenario right now.
07:29Yeah, he's one of those guys.
07:31I mean, that's why he's going to get another opportunity next year.
07:33He's moving teams.
07:35And he's just one of those guys you always, you never count him out.
07:39Very similar to Pierce Brown, in my opinion.
07:41Yeah, I agree with you.
07:42And the races that he's won before have been on these Speedway-style tracks, the more fast racetracks.
07:47So not surprising to see him.
07:49Now, I'm going to tell you this.
07:50This is, Levi's in the danger zone right here.
07:53This is what I said earlier.
07:54When you hold shot, you just run, just go wide open.
07:57And then the reality kind of sinks in.
07:59So I think these next two laps are very important for him to stabilize his gap.
08:03Starting to see a few small mistakes.
08:06But being the first time being in a position is not surprising either.
08:10He's doing a great job so far.
08:11Yeah, he is, James.
08:12He's got to really pay attention on himself.
08:15Race ahead of him.
08:16Do not worry about what's behind you, especially the first three guys behind him.
08:21With Thrasher, Gordon, Davies.
08:23Not championship contenders.
08:26And DeFrancisco getting closer and closer to Beaumere.
08:31And Davies no longer right there with Gordon.
08:33He actually lost a little ground.
08:34So what direction will this battle go?
08:37Can the 13 and the 34 get to Davies?
08:41Or will Davies go back to Gordon?
08:43These guys run in very similar lap times, James.
08:46Over here, 117s for the most part.
08:49Rider DeFrancisco at the fastest lap of the race.
08:52The last lap of the 116, though.
08:54Will.
08:55Yeah, guys, you were talking about the injury from the big crash that Cole Davies had last week.
08:59So I was just checking in with his kind of team and family on that.
09:03And they said, look, he was pretty banged up.
09:05His elbow.
09:06He had essentially what they call a Charlie horse, a dead leg there on one side.
09:10Great pass there for Cole.
09:12He clearly looks a lot better this weekend, guys.
09:14And they said partly that was just to do with the therapy that immediately came from Dr. G, Dr. Gubinick
09:20there, who looks after him.
09:22And he was just praising him, really, for just being on top of that last weekend and being able to
09:26pull back to this kind of racing form this weekend.
09:28Yeah, I talked about it a little bit, Will.
09:30Great to see him back out here.
09:32But I was just telling James while you were talking here that, man, I think that Cole Davies is going
09:37to march up front.
09:38Oh, look at this battle right here.
09:39Wow, DeFrancisco marching up and making the move on Beaumere.
09:43That is very critical for the points.
09:45Yeah, and that's actually, I don't know if Julian led him by, but almost smart because what they don't want
09:50to do,
09:50they don't want to start battling and slowing each other down.
09:52And Roderick D's look great all weekend long.
09:55Really, since that second race last weekend, I've seen this type of ride.
09:58But I'm with you, Ricky.
09:59I think 37 is going to get in this party.
10:02And for them, for Roderick D and, you know, Julian Beaumere, that's exactly what they want.
10:07And it's been a busy weekend for Beaumere for a couple of reasons.
10:10He's got to get to work because DeFrancisco trying to get away.
10:13I want to show you the side of the screen here.
10:16Those are the riders that are out with injury.
10:18Lottie Van Drunen went down in practice yesterday for WMX.
10:21Barsha hurt himself last week.
10:23Chance Hymas, who is part of Team USA for Motocross of Nations, hurt his wrist yesterday.
10:29Oh, and a rider is down.
10:31Is that Gordon that we just caught?
10:33Oh, it's Thrasher second place.
10:34Anyway, the 13 of Beaumere, he has raised his hand.
10:37And I believe he will now be taking the spot on Team USA from Motocross of Nations for Hymas.
10:44So that will be Team USA next week.
10:46So a lot on the plate for Beaumere.
10:47He's got to focus.
10:49Man, I'm just thinking for confidence, James, like we're in a championship situation.
10:54If you're Ryder DeFrancisco, you have to be feeling it and that confidence rising.
11:00You're in third place right now.
11:01You are buried in the pack.
11:03Levi's still in arm's reach.
11:06Yeah, he is.
11:06I mean, he's coming up along with the 37.
11:09And again, once Cole gets here, the way this track is coming, Cole was at 115 over a second fastener.
11:16Now, leader Levi.
11:16Levi bumped his pound up, but nonetheless, they're closing.
11:19This is Nate Thrasher for second place.
11:22Does he get a little help right here, Ricky?
11:23Oh, he's going to go up here and feels.
11:26No, he doesn't.
11:27He feels the pressure from Cole Davies on the inside and the front wheel just climbs out of that rut.
11:33He gets cross-rutted, and it is game over.
11:36I hate to see that for Thrasher.
11:37He's riding so well.
11:38So that'll move DeFrancisco to third.
11:40He's gone around Gordon.
11:43Bomair has to follow him through.
11:44So now he's challenging Gordon.
11:48St. Julian do this all year long.
11:50Just when it looks like he's out, he continues to come back.
11:54And he is one of the fittest guys out here.
11:56We've seen some of these second races.
11:57He's been the strongest.
11:58So I don't expect him to fade off as this race goes.
12:01I actually expect the opposite to get stronger.
12:03See what happens to close that gap up in front of him.
12:06Another nature has been absolutely wonderful to these great racers here this weekend.
12:12So I wouldn't think fatigue would be too bad.
12:15The temperatures are just right.
12:17Oh, nice job keeping it low over those doubles.
12:20Bomair still, though, not able to make the move on Gordon.
12:25Important pass for him.
12:27Landon's riding really good.
12:28Fast enough to where, you know, Julian's not that much faster.
12:32So it almost kind of holds you up.
12:33So important for him to continue going.
12:35But even at Ryder in third place, this is where I go.
12:38And you heard me say, sometimes you've got to have that rabbit to chase.
12:41For Ryder D, he can't see the two in front of him.
12:44So sometimes it gets harder as a Ryder to look forward to really find that pace when the guys are
12:48too far in front.
12:49Start riding behind you.
12:50Maybe these two will close in on you.
12:52Oh, Bomair missed the line.
12:54Almost went down.
12:55Gordon wanted to focus forward and go with Di Francesco.
12:58Try to ignore this pressure.
13:00Good luck with it.
13:03He's on the inside right here, James.
13:06And going to meet him at the exit.
13:08Bomair makes the move on Gordon.
13:09Yeah, made a business with business right there, didn't he?
13:12He did, but there's been a lot of passing going on in that corner right there.
13:17See, many passes go down.
13:19Great pass by Julian Bomair.
13:21He'll have some clean air, some fresh track in front of him.
13:26Maybe close back into the gap to the rear tire of Ryder D. Francisco.
13:31He was turning in another great lap.
13:32He was the second fastest on the track.
13:34The first was Cole Davies.
13:37All running.
13:38Listen to this lap time right here.
13:40Okay, you had Levi Kitchen.
13:41He had a 116.8.
13:43Cole Davies had a 116.8.
13:46And Ryder D. Francisco running a 116.8.
13:51The problem is Bomair, you can see, is three and a half seconds off of D. Francisco, who he started
13:56ahead of.
13:56So the Red Bull KTM man here from Arizona has to get going.
14:00He's the third of the riders that were the top three in points coming into this.
14:06This is what I love about the SMX Playoffs point system.
14:09How they're regular points in the first round, then they double the second round.
14:13And for championship weekend, they are triple points.
14:17It's putting the pressure on these guys when they have to perform, putting a premium on execution.
14:28You know, James, this racetrack, a lot of the riders doing the same stuff.
14:32Very, very hard to make up time on your competitors because of that.
14:37Davies has done it to a degree.
14:39He now has the 47 of Kitchen in sight.
14:42Yeah, you'll probably watch Levi.
14:44He's wanting to continue to push forward.
14:45But if Cole gets there, he'll make that decision as well.
14:48Like, hey, almost you want to, if he's there, almost let him go.
14:52You don't want to even slow yourself down.
14:54Just jump behind him.
14:55But he's doing a great job.
14:56Really impressed for a lot of these guys to continue going, JT.
15:00Yeah, James, I understand what you're saying there.
15:01But, man, I struggle with that only because of what the math can do in race two.
15:07Let's just assume Kitchen doesn't get such a good start.
15:09And he's fighting for position a la DeFrancisco and Beaumare.
15:12This one position and how the overall would factor in in those points could mean everything.
15:18So, I think jumping in behind the mix is what I said.
15:21But, man, it could cost him thinking about race two.
15:23I see your point there, JT.
15:26But I'm going to go with my man James here.
15:27I wouldn't defend this position too hard over Davies because if Davies is faster,
15:33you're just going to burn up a whole bunch of energy.
15:36You're probably going to force too many situations where risking falling down
15:41and you could take what could be an easy second place
15:44and turn it into something behind Ryder DeFrancisco.
15:48Yeah, I'm with you.
15:49And I think you've got to think about a lot of these guys haven't been in a position,
15:52you know, to be in this spot.
15:53So, it changes a lot.
15:54But, Levi, I've got to give him credit because he's stepping up.
15:58When Cole started running those fast a lot of times, Levi did it.
16:00Actually, all four of these guys, going back to Julian Balmere,
16:04they're putting in their best time.
16:05So, this is what we wanted.
16:07Every athlete, lot to moment, spotlight, they step up and they're showing as much.
16:12Levi's starting to stretch that gap again.
16:14Got to give it to Levi Kitchen as well.
16:16There's been so many times he's been the bridesmaid.
16:19Coming up just a little short on the championships.
16:22I go back a couple years ago against R.J. Hampshire,
16:25the divisional Supercross championship in the 250 division.
16:29Then the most recent Pro Motocross championship coming up short.
16:33And now, here he is with another opportunity to seal it up.
16:37He is doing a fantastic job early on.
16:40We go back about a month ago, the Pro Motocross finale.
16:43That was a disaster round.
16:44He had a shot at Davies for that title.
16:47It was over in just a couple of laps after some crashes.
16:51Now, to show this type of championship medal, only a few weeks later,
16:55an incredible 180 rebound for him.
16:59And fending off Davies a little further back now,
17:02you've got Gordon and another monster.
17:04Yamaha star racing machine, Pierce Brown.
17:07Thrasher after the crash is seventh.
17:09Bowen, Dundee, and Schwartz on the Bar X.
17:11Toyota, Redlands, Yamaha is 10, Benick 11.
17:17And time running out, three minutes and a lap left.
17:22Round around the outside.
17:25They're closing in on Julian Balmere right in front of him, too.
17:29They sure are.
17:30Yeah, I don't know if Julian lost that toe to Ryder D,
17:33but nonetheless, he's starting to go back,
17:34which is quite surprising because I thought he'd do the opposite.
17:37He was a no-man's land there because Ryder D Francisco pulled away,
17:42and Julian was just kind of, yeah, out there by himself.
17:45And it's allowed Gordon and Brown to close the gap.
17:49There you can see it.
17:50They are right on him for the most part.
17:52Not what you would have expected from Balmere,
17:54who had an 18th in the mud first playoff race
17:57and then won last week.
17:59So he showed what he could do when his back is against the wall.
18:02Back to the lead, and Davies has caught Kitchin again.
18:06This is big.
18:07Yeah, this is big.
18:09Now, you know, sometimes in this situation you see Levi go to the far inside.
18:13He hasn't went there all day.
18:15So let's see if he takes a look over.
18:16How does he fight and hang on this position,
18:19or does he kind of allow Cole Davies to go?
18:21They've got the nice gap on Ryder D.
18:24There he goes to the outside right here.
18:26It's going to be interesting to see how hard the 47 will defend this position, James.
18:32Yeah, tell him about his body language.
18:33I don't think he's going to defend it too hard.
18:35But still, one thing with Levi where Cole's got to be understanding, too,
18:39if Levi gets to about a lap left, then I actually say he should race to try to hold on.
18:44And the one thing you want to do in this situation,
18:46you don't want to over blow up like you said.
18:48But if you're that close, one mistake by Cole, you can win that.
18:51And to JT's point, that might be dividends towards the end.
18:54I'm 100% in that situation.
18:58Davies on the outside.
19:00Good job by Kitchen to get that corner clean.
19:02Davies fight back again to the lead.
19:05We're going to see.
19:05That looks like there's going to be a reaction here from Levi.
19:09Great pass by Cole.
19:12Do you think Levi thought better of it?
19:16Yeah, well, I think, you know, he did his best.
19:18But sometimes when Cole's, Cole we know has that speed.
19:22And when he's got it going, you can't do anything about it.
19:25So the one thing you want to do is just like you don't want to throw it away
19:28as we're watching these guys battling for sixth, seventh, and eighth.
19:31Yeah, but that's respect.
19:33You know, that's respect for Levi and his craft.
19:35Why?
19:36Because if he knows if he can't push that pace, then why even try?
19:40Look at the big picture right here.
19:42He is in front of Ryder DeFrancisco,
19:44and he's given himself an opportunity to fight for this championship
19:48rather than trying to go for the moto win.
19:50He's in a great spot.
19:51It's really not going to make that big of a difference.
19:54Save yourself.
19:55Well, that's what makes this two moto format so intriguing.
19:58Kitchen pulled the start that he needed, maybe the start of his life,
20:00but it might only give him one position over DeFrancisco.
20:05All DeFrancisco has to do is reverse that in the second moto,
20:08and that could be enough to flip the overall and the title.
20:12You never know in the two-moto format.
20:15This is a battle between Brown and Gordon, best one on the track.
20:18Bomer has pulled back ahead.
20:20Yeah, and Jason, just to talk about that more, I completely agree with you.
20:24I think if Levi would have got a start and he'd just allow Cole to just go around it,
20:28then I think it'd be a mistake.
20:29But the pace that Cole has, he was coming anyway.
20:33So that's where I'm going.
20:34You got what you need.
20:35You really wasn't going to stop him.
20:37The only thing that could happen, you try to run that, you end up going down.
20:40So it wasn't Levi really letting him go.
20:42I think Cole's just riding that good.
20:45You don't have a choice at this moment.
20:46Well, I was going to say, we're being generous to say that Levi had the decision to make.
20:49Sometimes there's nothing he can't do.
20:51And this is a great battle.
20:53You almost see a wonder if Pierce was going to go to the inside to try to get it hit
20:58by Gordon.
20:59Oh, Gordon makes a little mistake there in the corner, but a good rebound.
21:04He defends the inside.
21:07But it really brings me back to when we were battling for a championship in 06, and I knew that
21:11I couldn't beat you.
21:12But I knew that if I could hold on to you long enough, I could pull a gap between myself
21:17and Chad Reed, who I needed to beat for the championship.
21:20And Brown, RC, has completed the pass on Gordon.
21:23And, man, honestly, white flag is out, but Bomerdau too far ahead.
21:27No, he's not.
21:28But this goes back to what JT said on his report.
21:30Pierce Brown is another guy that he can win.
21:32Remember, two years ago, he won the final SMX playoff race in Las Vegas.
21:39Great to see him coming back from an injury with a solid finish.
21:43Yeah, he's had to do it out of the wild card race, had to qualify in the afternoon for all
21:47three of these.
21:48And making the most of it, he would actually be into the top 10 in points.
21:54He'd be up to eighth in points, make himself a lot of money for having been out of the top
21:5820 when the playoffs began.
22:01Can Bomerdau even hold off Brown?
22:03He cannot afford to lose more spots.
22:06Last lap, and it's going to be the title contenders, it appears, going 2-3-4.
22:12And Davies looking at the moto win.
22:15Yeah, I think Julian kind of lost that toe to Roder Diaz, watching Cole Davies.
22:21There it is, Davies.
22:22He's back.
22:23He takes the first moto win.
22:25Maybe the title is out of reach.
22:29But he still showed he's the man at this 250 Classic.
22:31Don't forget, there's 50 grand to win these races overall.
22:35Look at Brown.
22:35Brown is not giving up on Bomer.
22:38Last turn.
22:42Bomer gives him a look.
22:43He holds on.
22:44It will be Kitson's second.
22:45That is huge for the title.
22:48DeFrancisco and Bomer follow him through.
22:53Good stuff.
22:55Great racing.
22:56Yep.
22:56Great racing.
22:57And really great job to Levi Kitchen and Ryder DeFrancisco.
23:00Both doing a fantastic job putting theirself in a really...