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00:00...and a unique formatted racetrack.
00:02Watch that outside, James, because you can see there's Kenny, a fantastic starter.
00:07If he gets a good start out of the gate, Ed is really going to put the 26 in a
00:12very difficult position.
00:14So the outside of him, you've got the 96 of Hunter, and then the 38 and the 2.
00:20And Eli Tomac, Dylan Ferrandez will highlight them, final professional race of their careers.
00:25Here it is, the final.
00:27Rebs are up.
00:28Gate is down.
00:31Hunter Lawrence, a good start.
00:33Can he squeeze him from the outside?
00:35It's a contact, and Deegan to lead.
00:37I told you it's the worst nightmare.
00:39The 94 got out of the gate.
00:41Good, James, and look what happened to Jorge Prado.
00:45Yeah, he's way back.
00:46He's got to go to work, and one of the things with Jorge that he struggled with doing outdoors,
00:50we're passing people.
00:52We just saw what happened in that 250 class, a difficult, but Hayden, Deegan, Ken rocks in.
00:57Hunter Lawrence right there.
00:58This is exactly what Cooper Webb's in for, so there you go.
01:01Talked about it at the opening of the show, Jason, that it is not a formality for Jorge Prado
01:06because the four guys, Hayden, Deegan, Roxton, Hunter Lawrence, can beat him on any given day,
01:12and the situation has arose.
01:14Now, if you're Hayden, Deegan, James, you know this.
01:17You have got to have some serious sprint speed here to hold off Ken Roxton because he is so explosive
01:24early.
01:24Yeah, and if you don't, you'll be getting passed.
01:26I'll tell you how much simple is that.
01:29Deegan admitted in the first couple of weeks they have not raced each other much, Deegan being a rookie.
01:34And he took note.
01:36Oh, he almost goes down.
01:37Saves it.
01:38But can Roxton make the pass?
01:40Not enough.
01:41Yeah, Hunter Lawrence, I've seen that story before.
01:44But nonetheless, this is an improvement that you've seen from Hayden, Deegan, throughout the season.
01:49Just being more polished in the beginning part of the race, this speed.
01:52Yes, the kid's always been fast, but now you're starting to see he feels like he belongs.
01:56And I think this is a huge opportunity whether he wins his championship or not.
01:59But let everybody know that, hey, 27 is going to be my year.
02:03Here I am.
02:05Prado is sixth now.
02:07Oh, bad start.
02:08Rare for the rider, averaging a 1.5 starting position in the playoffs.
02:14Right there.
02:15I told you right there.
02:17If the 94 got a good jump out of there, it's going to be the worst nightmare for the 26.
02:22And he did.
02:23JT just pitches Jorge Prado off in a time of need.
02:27Yeah, very uncharacteristic there.
02:29But I'll tell you what, guys.
02:30He has made quick moves.
02:31He is already up to six.
02:32I was watching him work through traffic.
02:34You can tell how much this means because this is very atypical.
02:37Usually it's start dependent.
02:39Not so much right now.
02:40You see the urgency of Prado's riding.
02:42Yeah, this is where it comes from.
02:45Important for Jorge.
02:47This is where you find out there's Christmas cards.
02:49Which one of these guys kind of like you because they can be difficult on you or they can allow
02:52you to go.
02:53So hopefully for him, RJ doesn't hold him up too much.
02:55He can keep marching his way forward.
02:57Yeah, I think he's ran through his options of Christmas card lists.
03:01Why?
03:01Because he's got two more people.
03:03And that's your brother right in front of him and maybe Cooper Webb because I can assure you he ain't
03:08going to get no Christmas cards from Lawrence, Roxen, or Deegan.
03:12That's the tough part.
03:13The four riders that can beat him for the title are 1, 2, 3, 4 as he goes to work
03:17on Hampshire.
03:18And then you see Webb just up ahead.
03:20So distance-wise, not that far back.
03:25But he's going to have to make some passes.
03:26Deegan, by the way, points as they run.
03:28If he were to win the race like he is right now, win the overall, he would be the champion
03:33as Prado finds a line on Hampshire.
03:36Yeah, that corner's getting a little blown out, Ricky.
03:39I misspoke.
03:39It wasn't your brother.
03:40It was RJ Hampshire.
03:42Same colors there on that Rockstar Energy Husqvarna.
03:46Great to see RJ out here.
03:47He'll be leaving this team, headed over to Ducati next year.
03:50And RJ doing a fantastic job right now.
03:53Great to see him out here.
03:55And the other factor in these playoffs, remember, there's money on the line for every position in the race, every
04:00position in points.
04:01So even a rider like Hampshire, not really a title contender, still has incentive to ride hard.
04:07Prado with a new line.
04:08He bounces off the top.
04:10Is it enough?
04:11Yeah, you're probably going to watch RJ back out, which he kind of does.
04:14Jorge is going to go around outside.
04:16So RJ could have made it a little more difficult, made him, you know, question if he just cut over
04:21a little bit.
04:22But nonetheless, I think if I'm Jorge, now the problem, the goal really starts.
04:26Because now you've got Cooper Webb.
04:28He ain't letting you go.
04:28Hunter Lawrence, so very important for him to keep marching up.
04:31That's going to be difficult.
04:34I tell you what's going to be difficult is dealing with Deegan.
04:36He has pulled two seconds now on Roxen.
04:39Another two seconds.
04:40Roxen and then Lawrence.
04:42Well, did he also think about, whoa, hold on to it.
04:45Uh-oh, he's going.
04:46He's getting a little buck wild here early on.
04:49I don't know if it's full desperation mode right now, but he is absolutely sending it right now.
04:57Coop doing a great job here as well, having a lot of speed.
05:01He had a ton of intensity, excuse me, early on today, James, when we were watching him in qualifying practice.
05:08I mean, there's a lot on the line for Cooper Webb because he understands that they all could be on
05:13here.
05:13But, yeah, the good thing for me, that small mistake, he's not losing a toe to these two in front
05:17of him, but he's got a long ways, Will.
05:20And James, back to Cooper Webb there.
05:22Just the motivation that he is carrying into these playoffs in the finale here today.
05:26Chatting to him, he's like, I've never been in this situation before, and I didn't realize how deep this had
05:31gone.
05:31But he basically hadn't gone healthy there into the offseason and gotten to that point and gotten through Pro Motocross
05:37since 2021.
05:39And he said, this time, my goal was get through Pro Motocross healthy.
05:44He said, this started at the beginning of August, his setup for these SMX playoffs.
05:49He said, I've just been working hard, and this has been my goal, and this is the result.
05:53So, nobody should doubt where Cooper Webb is motivation at any point.
05:57But this year, his eye has been on these players that are really seeing it in his performances.
06:04There's no doubt, definitely the best run of the playoffs for the three-time Supercross champion.
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06:27It's stretching down the gap between Webb and Lawrence, Roxanne and Lawrence, and Roxanne and Deegan.
06:34Deegan is answering the call early in this one.
06:38Ricky, I got a question for you.
06:39When you start thinking, if you're Jorge in this position, what's your goal?
06:44You probably understand that I'm not going to catch Hayden, or even Kenny at this matter.
06:47Like, is your goal, I've got to beat Hunter Lawrence at this moment?
06:51100%.
06:51That's what, like, yeah, not going to catch these guys, exactly what you said.
06:54But I need to pass as many people in front of me.
06:57At least let me get to Hunter and be on that podium.
07:00Because he'll take a little bit of pressure off going into that final round.
07:04Or final moto, excuse me.
07:06And he's catching Webb now.
07:08Pronto has Webb in sight.
07:10Do we want to talk about Salt Lake City this year?
07:14Why are you bringing up old stuff?
07:15And how they were beefing?
07:17Yeah, you got to.
07:18I mean, well, you're going to find out.
07:20Yeah.
07:22Pronto fastest lap on the track last time around.
07:24And that's why he's been able to bridge the gap to Webb.
07:29Oh, no.
07:31Ferrandez is out.
07:32This is his final race.
07:34Not sure if there's an issue.
07:36It's okay.
07:38Yeah, certainly hope that's the case.
07:40We had heard from him in the pre-race show.
07:41He said the number one goal is to try to channel out the emotion and focus.
07:46You certainly don't want to go down because you're overcome by everything else.
07:51Hope he's all right.
07:52Prado's doing a great job for timing and scoring.
07:55You can see right here on the left-hand side of your screen.
07:59He was the fastest guy on the track by a tenth.
08:04So running pace and that's in traffic.
08:07Boy, he was.
08:08Deegan then just topped it.
08:11They're dropping the hammer now into the 115s.
08:15You went from the fastest to the fifth fastest that quickly.
08:18Wow.
08:19Look at that.
08:20That's crazy.
08:23Saw Robson about a lap or so ago.
08:25Had Deegan in sight.
08:27Deegan drops the hammer.
08:29Goes 115 sticks to stretch it back to 2.2.
08:34And I think of racetracks in a way that, you know, Hayden Rod, especially on this 450,
08:39this suits him really well.
08:41I think what happened last weekend, that track started going away,
08:43it got slippery, and him trying to adjust, those are the things that he has to continue to learn.
08:48I think the way this track is, allow him to just be Hayden Deegan,
08:51and that's why you're starting to see him maybe stretch that gap out and run so solid.
08:55Well, Moranis is out.
08:56Let's check in with Eli Tomac.
08:58He is 14th.
08:59I know it'd be safe to say the emotions have overcome both of them.
09:0414th is certainly not what we expect from Eli.
09:06I don't think the fans are going to care about it either way.
09:09I want one more beast mode ride out of him, just for old time's sake.
09:14That'd be a way to go, right?
09:17Always.
09:18You might still get one, but I'm sure it's difficult.
09:21But at the same time, he's speaking a lot, Eli.
09:24Yeah.
09:25They asked him yesterday if he had any messages for the fans.
09:31Just thank you.
09:34And there's nothing like being at a supercross race or motocross race, being in the battle and hearing the fans.
09:40It's such a unique environment and it's a, like I said, man, it's been one heck of a ride and
09:50I've enjoyed every moment of it and enjoyed the moment with everyone that's out there cheering for us.
10:00We got to jump out of the booth during the opening ceremony when Tomac came out.
10:04That was chills for sure.
10:06That fan response for the three.
10:10Closing on Nichols.
10:12It's academic as far as the results are concerned.
10:15It doesn't matter for Tomac tonight.
10:18It's good to see him out here.
10:21Guess what Colt, I mean, he'll remember this.
10:24Colt that is.
10:25I mean, I've got to race him.
10:26All these guys, you can see him.
10:28Nice pass by Eli.
10:31No, he's not where he wants.
10:32He might be actually having fun at this moment, you know?
10:34I think he's at peace with it, talking with him a little bit.
10:37Just, you know, he just, just his vote, his voice, the tone of voice and what that's like.
10:43And again, I go back to it when we're talking in the pre-show, like, being content with what we've
10:51accomplished.
10:51So long as he is there, which obviously I believe he is, then just go enjoy it, man.
10:59Working on Nicole Harrop, who should be on his last run here in the United States,
11:04going to go back to racing MXGP in Europe next year on the triumph.
11:08Tomac makes the move.
11:11Love that we're going to, we're going to lose Mikkel to the triumph team in Europe.
11:19Might have to make a call to the UK and say, hey, not so fast.
11:23He's really enjoyed his two years here.
11:25He said he would love to stay.
11:26They got work to do over there, though, with the new 450 that they'll be racing on that side.
11:30Prado back to Webb now.
11:33Webb's done a great job being able to kind of keep Prado at this length.
11:37Just as I say that, Prado inches up to him right on the rear tire.
11:42But, I mean, it's going to be very, very hard to get by a guy that is as savvy as
11:46Cooper Webb, JT.
11:48Not an easy thing to do.
11:49Cooper Webb likely knows what Prado's going to try before Prado even tries it, which makes it even more tough.
11:55But I can't express how important this pass is.
11:59We're kind of seeing the points as they run there.
12:01But with this triple points format, that will change so fast.
12:05And it could set Prado up into a position where all he has to do is beat Hayden in race
12:09two to secure this championship.
12:11With him only needing a third overall.
12:13This is a, it doesn't feel very important fourth versus fifth.
12:17But the points, it means everything right now.
12:21Webb's one of the toughest ones to get around.
12:23And Prado's learning that firsthand.
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12:47Get it today.
12:48James, you saw his mechanic, Jorge Prado's mechanic saying,
12:52need the two now, needing Cooper Webb now.
12:55What's your, what's your thoughts on that?
12:57Do you agree with that?
12:58Or another thing, too, actually a two-folded question.
13:01Do you feel that he's gambling of he knows he'll get a better start next moto and at least be
13:08in a good enough position to get third overall?
13:11Well, yeah, well, I think his mechanic's spot on.
13:13And I'm agreeing, like, you've got to get him out on Cooper Webb.
13:16What JT said, between fourth and fifth, it's a huge difference because now it changes a lot of things.
13:22And then, yeah, if he is playing that game, unlike what we were talking about with Levi,
13:27I actually think Jorge needs to make this pass.
13:30That's not a gamble I would want to pay because how good are all these guys have been riding all
13:33day.
13:33Got it.
13:35What can you say about Hayden Deegan and this response under pressure?
13:39Getting it done so far, Will.
13:42That's right, Regan.
13:44And, James, you were talking about kind of Hayden's progress and what we're going to see there as we start
13:48to head into the 2027 season.
13:51And just as a little insight, I got to chat to him last weekend and said,
13:55hey, you know, what's the progress here?
13:58Where are you at on the big 450 kind of picture?
14:00And he was very positive about it.
14:02He talked about his program.
14:04This may surprise you guys at how much he's simplified it in the sense of his kind of group around
14:08him.
14:09It's always been like this big entourage that follows Hayden.
14:12And he said, I've trimmed that right down.
14:13My group is now small.
14:15And basically, I'm just trying to simplify it.
14:17He's got a new trainer off the bike, on the bike, a nutritionist, mental coaching.
14:22He told me he put on 70 pounds of muscle in a two-week span.
14:26So Hayden Deegan is setting himself up.
14:28I don't think we've seen the best of him yet, as we know.
14:30He is setting himself up for a strong 2027 season.
14:34And this win would help a lot.
14:35Yeah, I agree with it, James.
14:37You and I talk about it off the air a lot.
14:39And we get some heat for it when we do talk about it.
14:41But he did this same situation in the 250 class.
14:45So really, it's not a surprise.
14:47It's just taking him some time on the 450 to learn those adjustments to make.
14:52Yeah, and the dangerous thing for all the rest of these guys is once he did it once, second
14:59one, then third one, and fourth one, and he just went on a tear.
15:02So this guy is one of the guys that, look, man, you give him a sniff of it.
15:06He's cleaning house.
15:08You know, crumbs, he's taking the whole factory.
15:10Forget the loaf.
15:11He's factory.
15:12Take it in the whole store.
15:14I love it.
15:15See the mechanic there, that's Brent Duffy.
15:18That's Hayden's longtime wrench.
15:20This will be his final race in this sport.
15:22He's moving over to Formula One to work for the new Cadillac F1 team.
15:26Got to hang out with Duff a bit last night and a lot of other people who he had worked
15:31for in the past sharing some stories.
15:34He and Hayden go into the top together.
15:36Will it end with a world title?
15:38We're going to find out soon.
15:39I actually really like the balance of Hayden's bike this weekend.
15:44I'm not sure if because we're on this hybrid track, JT talked about what the track conditions
15:49were like.
15:49Looks a little more settled in the back end, maybe not so much preload, meaning the back
15:55end being high, a lot of tension on the spring, and it's very balanced and flush, if you will.
16:00Of course, I say that, and that's what happens, right?
16:03Go figure.
16:05I mean, he's pushing the pace because, you know, you see the 96 come in.
16:08Ken Rocks is still there.
16:10And Ken, okay, he sees that.
16:12That's going to give him a lot.
16:13So this track is starting to change, starting to get a little bit slipperier, but here you
16:16go.
16:17What happens here, you can see that the dirt's going away.
16:19It's very hard and slick.
16:21Lands over jumps.
16:23Oh, and then there was a groove or a ledge on that takeoff is what happened, and he wasn't
16:29perfectly squared up, and he just caught an edge, JT.
16:33Yeah, that was certainly a close call, but I wanted to touch on something I heard James
16:37say yesterday.
16:38You know, yes, they're racing for a championship, and that could not be more important, but I
16:42think for Hayden Deegan, he's racing for a little bit more here because if he can find
16:46a way to win this race, possibly win this championship, letting that fester and grow all offseason where
16:53he's just riding and remembering this race and what that does for his confidence going
16:57into January 27, I don't even think you can measure how important that factor is.
17:03No, you can't.
17:04We talked about this.
17:05Ken Rockson is trying to, he doesn't want him going into the offseason like that.
17:09He's closing.
17:10You know Kenny saw that mistake, but yeah, it's bigger than just this race.
17:13I mean, all these guys, they got plenty of money.
17:15They want to win this, of course, but Kenny be racing next year.
17:20He wants to beat Hayden.
17:21He doesn't want Hayden in the offseason.
17:22Same thing with Hunter Lawrence.
17:23So, yeah, this race, Hayden might walk away winning, but the big win goes all offseason going
17:29to next year.
17:29And it's, I want to touch on what you said, a very valid point at the beginning of this
17:34race, and, you know, Hayden knowing that he can win going into this offseason, I mean,
17:40it's so clear about the difference between knowing and believing.
17:44A lot of us believe, a lot of riders believe that they can win.
17:47Knowing it, in my mind, is a completely different situation.
17:52He actually can go out there and execute it, and there really isn't a doubt in your mind.
17:57Completely different situation now.
17:58The lap rider, Freezy, held up Roxen, and the gap went from 1.4 to 2.4.
18:04And now you see Hunter Lawrence starting to get back into the picture.
18:07So, Roxen's on the ropes.
18:08He's running out of time to get back to the rear fender.
18:12Yeah, a little over two minutes left.
18:15Yeah, it's, you know, another mistake by Hayden or Brian Kenny back in.
18:19But I think just like that 250 class, Hunter's starting to settle for, you know what, third place is all
18:24I got, knowing he's got another moto.
18:25But the real shocking is, is Hunter's doing a great job, is Jorge and Cooper Webb.
18:31Actually, Jorge closed in, but Cooper had about three seconds on him for a few laps.
18:36So, yeah, it's going to be a dangerous game.
18:40Finish in fifth place from Jorge Prado at this moment.
18:42Oh, he is absolutely on the ropes.
18:44Prado has to get top three overall.
18:45Well, and it's like you were talking about in the 250 class, James, about you get to those two to
18:51three laps to go, and that's basically where they're at right now.
18:55If you're Cooper, you're going to hang it out just to make sure you do not lose that position.
19:00I agree with 100% what you're saying there, and I feel like this is that type of situation.
19:05And there you can see, Duke's pulled out.
19:07Yep.
19:09This would be huge.
19:10I mean, but again, this just shows you how polished and how good and how high the level is in
19:19this 450 class.
19:21All these guys so capable.
19:22We talked about it at the top of the show.
19:26Showing up when they need to.
19:29And Prado is a little actually banged up despite winning the race last week.
19:33Curtis Brisk at his back.
19:34We saw him limping on the post-race show, and he cased a jump early in that one.
19:39He said he wasn't able to ride much this week, really just focused on treatment and therapy.
19:43Then we saw a hard landing off a jump earlier this weekend and tweak the shoulder a little bit.
19:49Now, James, you're saying none of that really matters.
19:51Title on the line.
19:52You're going for it anyway.
19:53Well, I mean, I think he looked good just like this guy.
19:55But, you know, we talked about it off camera before we came in, just listening to Jorge's interview in the
20:00pre-race.
20:00It just sounded a little different.
20:02And I think with two laps left after this, it's not surprising because this is a new series.
20:08This is a new moment for him to be in it.
20:10So one good thing is we saw a lot of people start doubting Jorge after last year.
20:16He believes in himself more than anybody else.
20:18So I'm sure he'll come out this next moto and come to form.
20:21But at the same time, he's in a dangerous world right now in fifth place.
20:26Yeah, well, JT, this is what I want to ask you, like what James was saying.
20:29And we were talking about it.
20:30Did you sense what we were sensing from Jorge when you spoke with him?
20:36Well, I honestly just felt like he was taking it all in.
20:39Like normally he's so calm and self-confident.
20:43I noticed a little tension in him.
20:45It actually surprised me a little bit because he normally just believes he's going to win everything.
20:50Every time the gate drops, he believes he's going to win.
20:52That pre-race interview an hour before we went out was probably the most nervous I've seen him maybe ever.
20:57So maybe we're seeing a little bit of that here.
21:00That's kind of what we thought watching it, JT, from the pre-race show.
21:03Meanwhile, Deegan a lap to go.
21:04Almost loses the front there.
21:07But he has pulled it back out over Deegan.
21:08And I'm sorry, Deegan has pulled it back out over Roxton.
21:12Yeah, Kenny was able to close up.
21:13And I'm not sure if Hayden got stuck behind those lap riders.
21:16But what can you say about this?
21:19I say a lot.
21:20It's unbelievable.
21:21It's a very, very impressive ride.
21:23It is.
21:24And just talking to him off camera last week before we did the interview,
21:27I asked him straight up the difference between what that win did for him at Columbus the first round of
21:32the playoffs.
21:32And he told me, he's like, what you said, the difference between thinking a win and knowing is a huge
21:38difference.
21:38He says, I go to the gate knowing now.
21:41And he's showing it here.
21:43I believe in and know it, man.
21:44You wouldn't think that makes a big difference, but it sure does.
21:50And how about this?
21:51On this gate, we mentioned Roxton's starting ability, Prado's starting ability, Hunter Lawrence's starting ability.
22:43You