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00:00Jorge, I don't know if I like that position.
00:02No, I for sure don't, but that may have been the best game that he had to choose from from
00:08that fifth position.
00:09And if he doesn't like the first moto, if he doesn't get a good jump out of that gate and
00:14the best guys are on his left, his inside, he's going to have a tough road to hoe right here.
00:20Tomatkin and Hayden were on the inside of him in moto one, and that hurt both Prado and Lawrence.
00:25Will it happen again? The pressure rises, the revs come up.
00:29Gates down for the finale, and Deegan gets the start.
00:34They're going to pitch him off. Prado's able to grab the progressive hole shot when he needed it.
00:39What a start from our red plate leader, Jorge Prado.
00:45Talking about execution in that 250 class, we just saw Levi do the same thing, Jorge does it again.
00:51And Deegan getting a little squirrely there, going into the rollers.
00:56This is going to be interesting. Why?
00:59Because if Hayden wants to win this championship, remember, Jorge has to be outside of the top three overall.
01:07So there might have to be some fancy footwork if you know what I'm talking about.
01:11Hey, Ricky, I have my popcorn, baby. I am ready to go.
01:14Hopefully you put some extra butter on it for me.
01:16I believe me, if he gets close, it is going to be popping in here.
01:19If Prado wins the moto, he's the world champion. It's that simple.
01:24Deegan, Lawrence, and the rest have to pass him.
01:29Lawrence was side-by-side with Deegan over the tunnel jump, came up short, doubling off of it.
01:34And that allowed Deegan to lock down that second-place spot and now concentrate on the 26.
01:40Yeah, you can see James looks like Deegan is taking his time a little bit right here early on in
01:46this moto.
01:48Getting a feel for that track. Completely different than that first moto.
01:51Yeah, and you've got to assume that all the pressure's on Jorge at this point.
01:54So you know as a racer, being in that championship, Deegan probably knows he's not going to ride the same.
01:59And the fact is, if I'm Hayden, I'm taking my time, letting this thing go, Jorge's not pulling away from
02:04me, it's game time.
02:06Oh, Deegan, similar area, Lawrence had a problem a lap ago, almost goes down.
02:12A lot of racing left, 18 minutes on a lap.
02:15Roxen is eighth, Webb fourth. Could it be down to these three?
02:21We saw last weekend, Hayden, once that track kind of went away, it got slippery, maybe he struggled a little
02:25bit more than he did earlier in the day.
02:27So what he's got to do is, I know Jorge's right there, but he's got to keep it calm because
02:30this track will come up and bite you as it goes on, Ricky.
02:33I think it'll get better and better once they get a little bit of the slickness off.
02:37Yeah, 100%. It has stopped raining at the current moment, so that'll help JT dry up a little bit.
02:45Yeah, the track will start to work in. That moisture will kind of mix in with the drier dirt here.
02:50But I just kind of wanted to talk about Prado because this is what he does best.
02:54If you let Prado ride around on his own at the front, he will ride away with this championship.
03:01It is on Deegan to put pressure on him.
03:04This is what Prado's done his entire life is get a good start and manage races from the front.
03:08So, you know, this little gap, it seems like there's a battle waiting to set up,
03:13but Deegan's going to have to get up there and force the issue if he wants to get this title.
03:18Yeah, I think he will. The fact that he has it. Oh, that was close.
03:21Jorge went to go scrub that. You saw him catch his foot peg and Hayden watching all that.
03:26To me, Ricky, we saw Hayden make a few mistakes.
03:30The fact is, he's still there and you know he's going to be revving that Yamaha wide open,
03:34letting Jorge feel like he's a lot closer to what he is.
03:37But here's what has changed the game. They have begun to drop Hunter Lawrence.
03:41And if it plays out like this, even if Deegan makes the move on Prado,
03:46and Prado's starting to look back a little bit,
03:49Prado could still get second in this photo and still win the title.
03:54It would be just enough to be third overall and still hold it.
03:58Yeah, but let's make no mistake about this.
04:01Do you really think that Hayden is just going to try to make a clean pass?
04:05Bingo.
04:05He has to sweep the leg.
04:07No, he knows Hayden. He knows how to ask.
04:09He knows how to pass everything.
04:12That's right.
04:12That's right.
04:13I don't think that scenario is going to happen, to be honest with you.
04:16Well, we saw Deegan in that position last year,
04:18and, yeah, he did not settle for just making the pass.
04:21Ah, Mikkel Harrop took his run here, and SMX is done.
04:26Trouble there for the Danish rider.
04:28So in this situation, James, if I'm Jorge Prado,
04:32and I have third place locked up overall,
04:35if I get second behind Hayden Deegan,
04:38if Hayden starts to pressure me, I'm pulling over and letting him go by.
04:42And I'm just going to ride it on home for the checkers.
04:45Yeah, but the fact is, Hayden's got this overall locked up,
04:49and the way he's got it, the biggest threat for him was Ken.
04:51He's a little bit farther back, Hunter Lawrence.
04:53So the fact that you see Hayden taking these chances,
04:56trying to get to Jorge, tells you that he wants to slow this race down.
05:00So if I'm Jorge, to what you said, if you let him go,
05:03I actually think Hayden would slow down as well
05:05because he doesn't have anybody around him at the moment
05:08to really worry about the overall.
05:10He's still going to get it, you know?
05:12100%.
05:15Now, Roxxon seconded Moda, one bad start here.
05:17He's six, but he's moving forward.
05:21That helps Prado eventually.
05:23That's one of the other contenders pretty far back now.
05:27But it could all pivot on Deegan getting aggressive.
05:30And he said yesterday in the press conference,
05:33last year I was willing to break my collarbone,
05:35trying to win the title.
05:36He was stalking Joe Shimoda all over the track.
05:39He was not going to just pass him once and let it go.
05:42Will Deegan do that again?
05:43And now Hunter Lawrence starting to creep back into the picture.
05:48If you add the stats up, that was only for half a million.
05:51It's for a million.
05:52So there you go a little bit.
05:54But now you're starting to see, you know, like you said, Hunter Lawrence creep up.
05:57And if these two start getting into it,
05:59believe me, this 96 is going to be there to pick up the pieces.
06:02And behind him, you've got Cooper Webb lurking as well.
06:06Well, because of Roxen being pretty far back.
06:12Prado could still cling to third overall, even if Deegan and Lawrence pass him.
06:19He doesn't have to deal with Roxen right now.
06:21And that's going to make his path to get third overall much easier.
06:26And we're only six minutes into this 20-minute and one lap moto.
06:33If Roxen can pass Hampshire, though, then the math gets tricky.
06:37I think Prado is still going to have to hold off Lawrence if Roxen can make up another position.
06:43Well, they're going to have to reel Jorge in right now.
06:47And Jorge's doing a fantastic job of keeping that lead right at about a second and a half, pushing on
06:53two.
06:53So there's still a lot of work left for both Hayden and Hunter.
07:00Can't hit, but you can't catch.
07:01That's right.
07:02Yep.
07:02We have the anticipation of what Deegan would do if he can get there.
07:06It's if.
07:07Right now, 1.6 seconds.
07:09The gap.
07:10Yeah, I think if you're Jorge in this scenario, as hard as it might be, you guys race forward.
07:15You've got to race to win this race because I don't think it does you any good to allow this
07:1938.
07:19So unlike Levi and maybe some of the other scenarios where you're like, okay, I've got something to play with.
07:24I do not think you want to get close to this 38 because a clean pass probably won't happen.
07:30And you're going to bring all these other guys in here as well.
07:33There's Roxen.
07:34He is back at sixth right now, closing on Hampshire.
07:38Roxen can get to a 2-5.
07:40If he gets a 2-5 scores, which he would if he could pass Hampshire, then it gets a little
07:45dangerous for Prado to hang on for a podium if he starts getting passed.
07:50Yeah, there's so much, so much that can happen.
07:53But I go back to Prado last weekend and how well he was riding in similar, somewhat similar conditions where
08:01it got really slick on those 90-degree corners.
08:04If you guys remember, a lot of mistakes were being made.
08:08And, man, he was just chewing them up right there.
08:10Yeah, Ricky.
08:12No, you're 100% right.
08:14And I think on this type of track, because of that, it actually helps Jorge a lot because it makes
08:18Hayden have to tame it down so much.
08:21He can't just let it loose.
08:22As you're watching Kent Roxen close in on RJ, it's taming Hayden, so he can't get to you.
08:28So Jorge keeps this gap.
08:30Wayne's track is helping him out quite a bit.
08:33Yeah, that and I personally feel the steel chassis works a little bit better in those conditions as well because
08:38of the flex and the appliance.
08:40Oh!
08:41Oh!
08:42Hebshaw is off the track.
08:43He yields to Roxen.
08:45Roxen is up to fifth.
08:48Now that gives a little bit less breathing room for Prado.
08:52Now if he gets passed by Deegan and Lawrence, he goes off the podium.
08:56He loses the title.
09:00Yeah, that section gets really tricky right there because that hard base and because they're turning, that bike wants to
09:06unload on them.
09:07So their body's leaning one way.
09:08The wheels are trying to slide.
09:10The bike almost slams into a wall.
09:11If you don't get that body right, Ricky, that thing can kick you on the inside and you're making on.
09:15100% you have that hard base, like you said, and in that sand, the wheels spinning as well, which
09:22makes it even more difficult because the wheel is spinning.
09:26It's not loading the suspension down as well and it's like you're on ice.
09:32Yeah, I was actually talking to Charlie Tadden from WMX.
09:35She's like, I always wondered why the sand looks so difficult in Supercross.
09:39She's like, until I rode it yesterday, I could not believe how difficult that was compared to this riding sand
09:44on an outdoor track.
09:46James, we were talking about it yesterday.
09:48I mean, rarely do we see a track and we're like, man, I want to go ride that thing.
09:51Well, I was in that situation yesterday and today in the first motos, but these kind of conditions, no thanks.
10:00Yeah, because of that Supercross suspension and the sand, as you said, not pulling that bike down, the suspension is
10:06really stiff, so it makes it hard.
10:08So far, it's so good.
10:09He's got to deal with it, JT.
10:11They are, and just kind of watching the status quo remain the same here.
10:15But I'm going to do a little foreshadowing here.
10:17What happened in race one that was a big story?
10:20The Lappers were a storyline, and who has had an issue with Lappers in their history?
10:25And that is none other than the 26th of Jorge Prado, which is something to think about when we get
10:30to the late stages of this race.
10:32Can Prado manage that in a situation where he's had trouble in the past?
10:36That is an excellent point, JT, and Deegan is getting closer.
10:39Hey, folks, stock up Monster Energy drinks at Price Cutter halfway through this moto.
10:44Whoa.
10:46Prado almost went over the falls.
10:48Nerves are coming up, and remember what Hayden said that first moto?
10:52He said, I don't want to get some people crumbling.
10:55Well, you know who he was talking about right here.
10:58So that mistake that Jorge just made, you've got to believe.
11:02Hayden senses that, and he's like, no, I got him.
11:05I have him.
11:06Jorge's doing a great job, but that 38 is smelling it right here.
11:10It's the rivalry you didn't think you needed.
11:14Two very proud athletes here, Prado and Deegan, two totally different backgrounds.
11:18And here they are meeting for the world title.
11:23Jorge's so strong in that sand section.
11:25Well, you don't know the strategy here, and I don't want to go too deep into it because it's just
11:31an idea.
11:35Is there ever a chance that you think that Hayden has what it takes and could close in the gap
11:41to Prado,
11:41but doesn't want to do anything yet because he doesn't want to give Prado a whole lot of time
11:46to make up any positions that he would possibly lose if Hayden tried something?
11:52Or is that too far out there?
11:54Well, I think Jorge's riding really good, to be honest with you.
11:57I feel like if Hayden's doing everything to get to him, just from some of the mistakes,
12:01I've seen both these guys make, but it looks like Hayden's more on the edge than Jorge,
12:06especially when you get to the sand section.
12:08When the track kind of slows down, it gets really technical.
12:10Jorge's really strong through this section.
12:12Let's see if he pulls the gap, where Hayden might be faster, but Jorge's more consistent,
12:17just like how he gets that bike straight up and down,
12:20makes this, tries to arc the corner a lot better than these sand rollers.
12:24Yeah, look how his rear wheel follows the ground a little better,
12:27especially coming out of this corner.
12:29Right there, Hayden is always on the edge.
12:31It has been the whole race right there.
12:33Yep.
12:33You're saying.
12:38Prado able to put the power to the ground right there,
12:40and then Hayden has to work so much harder.
12:42And all of that, you know, what I was saying was assuming that Hayden was faster in holding back.
12:50Yeah.
12:50I don't think that's the case.
12:51I was curious.
12:56And it might hinge on this.
12:59Lawrence, can he close?
13:00Right now, Prado could afford to go back to second and would still win the title.
13:06But if Lawrence gets him, it starts getting very dicey.
13:09It might come actually down to Roxen, potentially moving up and bumping Prado off the overall podium and costing him
13:15the title.
13:16Can Lawrence get back in this fight?
13:23Yeah, it's just so hard to make up any time on this track.
13:26And there are a lot of riders doing the same thing.
13:29And they have to have a little bit of help.
13:31Maybe they can do some of the lappers for some help as well.
13:34Oh, we're starting to run out of time in laps.
13:39You know, these laps, with them being a minute and 20 seconds, you don't have a whole lot of laps
13:44left to get the job done.
13:47So here's a scenario that Prado cannot be aware of at all.
13:52If Ken Roxen is able to make his way to fourth and get Cooper Webb, it's all order.
13:58Then Deegan passing Prado costs Prado the title.
14:01Because then both Lawrence, Roxen, and Deegan would finish ahead of him overall, push Prado to fourth.
14:08Prado has to hold on to win this moto.
14:10He has very little.
14:12Because if he goes to second and then Roxen passes Webb, he's done.
14:16Yeah, Roxen's got a lot of work to do.
14:18He's over six seconds behind Coop.
14:21Coop riding really well tonight.
14:23So he's going to need some help here.
14:26Hey, you got to give it up for Jorge.
14:28100%.
14:28Terrible first moto.
14:30And what a bounce back.
14:32And handling the pressure so far.
14:34Yeah, completely different guy on the motorcycle.
14:37And Prado, a guy beat up.
14:39We saw him limping last week.
14:41Chased a jump in that.
14:42Oh!
14:43Hunter Lawrence.
14:45Almost went down.
14:48That's a wake-up call.
14:49That made me save it.
14:50The night right there.
14:51That was close.
14:52He's in a couple of those.
14:55Back to Prado.
14:56The gap remains 1.4 between he and Deegan.
15:00Oh, you're in love traffic.
15:02Uh-oh.
15:03That spot.
15:03Get caught in.
15:04Lafer does a good job to go in inside.
15:06But you can see how that threw off his whole rhythm.
15:08Misses that inside.
15:11Hayden sees that will.
15:13Guys, I'm just trying to reflect on the last two years here with Jorge Prado.
15:18Just thinking about everything that he's been through.
15:20And I got to talk to him about that exact subject yesterday.
15:23And he said, this time last year was basically the low point in his entire career.
15:28And we have to look back at what he came off to.
15:30Because he just won his second back-to-back MXGP Premier Class Championship.
15:35So he said, I went from the highest high, made the commitment to come over here to the U.S.,
15:41ended up basically at the lowest low point.
15:44And now I have the red plate and the potential to put this back right, to kind of right this
15:49shit.
15:50And I asked him, does this make you stronger, what you've been through?
15:53And here we go.
15:54Confident Prado, as we've talked about.
15:56He said, no, I'm already strong.
15:57That's why I'm here.
15:58That's why I got through it.
16:00He said, but it did make me appreciate it.
16:02And I asked him if he ever thought about returning to Spain.
16:05He said, absolutely not.
16:06I'm here for a reason.
16:08We are here to win titles, not just carry red plates.
16:11So just the mental fortitude that Jorge Prado has.
16:15Is this going to carry him to the end?
16:17It's tough to believe that he's going to have any give up in him at this point, guys.
16:23And that might make all the difference here, Will.
16:25Five to go.
16:26This mechanic, they call him Pedro.
16:28Richard Sterling saying he got one second over the 38.
16:32And that 38, that number looms large.
16:34You know Deegan will go for it.
16:35And he's there now.
16:37Yeah.
16:38He can't do it early.
16:40We talked about this last week.
16:41And if you're going to make an attempt, you have to make it happen, especially right now.
16:46Here it is.
16:47Deegan is right there.
16:49Yeah, Jorge is in a tough position because his lines around the racetrack go fast for him.
16:56Leaving the outsides open, the insides open.
16:58So Hayden getting close like this is going to change Jorge's line.
17:02He's going to start protecting the inside, which is going to allow Hayden to easily catch him.
17:06Then Hayden will start to be able to go on the offense.
17:08So good section by Jorge to pull out.
17:11He needs that gap, Ricky, by the second, second and a half to keep that 38 from running inside.
17:16And what you're going to see here, even if Hayden is faster, when he gets up to Jorge's rear wheel,
17:22it actually makes it a little bit harder.
17:24So that's going to be a really big challenge for Hayden to actually execute a pass.
17:30And when he gets closer, because you're just getting melted by Roos, it's a little more difficult.
17:38Time running out.
17:40Three minutes and a lap left.
17:42I'm telling you, man, like, I thought maybe it was kind of a conspiracy of what I asked you that
17:49question.
17:49Do you think he's holding back?
17:51It may be going to do something.
17:53So Prado doesn't have time to make a comeback.
17:59This would be prime position to make a move like that if you're made Hayden.
18:03Yeah, and speaking on that point, if that is, he has to do it.
18:06Because Hunter is not seconds behind.
18:09And if you don't do it right.
18:11Oh, you've got to get it to the point where Hunter can get him.
18:14He's going to have to tee him up.
18:15Got it.
18:16Simply passing him will not be enough to knock Prado off the overall podium.
18:20It will not cost him the title.
18:21But you've got to get there first.
18:24Best opportunity might be here.
18:26You've got to see some lap riders in front of him.
18:29Man, this track is going away.
18:30You see those bikes dancing.
18:32Now Jorge has to get around these guys before you get in that sand section, which he will not.
18:37Uh-oh.
18:38Bad position.
18:40This guy right here.
18:41Who is that?
18:41Vince Freese.
18:42Oh, he's held up big time.
18:44Never held up.
18:45Ken Rockson.
18:46Yep.
18:46Emoto won.
18:48Jorge's just going to be able to get through.
18:50Oh, and then he's going to get in front of Hayden as well.
18:56Deegan's getting close.
18:59And you know the crowd's going to respond here.
19:02Let's listen in.
19:14Here it comes.
19:18Digging up the inside.
19:19Prado spurs it back.
19:21Oh, he missed it.
19:23Oh, my.
19:24That was close.
19:25He missed Joe last year, too, if you go back to it, that first attempt.
19:30It's now one minute and one lap left.
19:33He missed it.
19:34That was a good line up the inside right there.
19:37Really good line.
19:37Yeah, because he's going to try to get on the inside of him right here.
19:40Two more laps to go.
19:46See, now Prado knows.
19:48Hayden showed his hand.
19:50If I'm Prado, I'm letting him go.
19:52Yeah, I would try to hang on for this lap.
19:54But the hard part is, like I was saying earlier, some of these lines,
19:57Jorge has to leave that inside open.
20:00And you just saw, hey, take that shot.
20:04Try to put it in a hot lap, see if I can continue this little gap,
20:08get through the sand section.
20:11And the sand keeps bailing Prado out.
20:13That's a lot of laps in Europe, in the deepest sand tracks in the world.
20:18That experience paying off.
20:20But this is the area where Deegan is able to close.
20:22I can't believe he missed him right there.
20:24That was an absolutely golden opportunity, I felt like.
20:29And he might not get another one here.
20:31Look at Jorge absolutely crushing it, coming out of that corner, James.
20:35He has got his clutch.
20:41It's going to be white flag.
20:42Yeah.
20:42Watch Hayden work this inside here, super inside, before the finish line,
20:47to try to get squared up.
20:50Ah, he doesn't do it in his lap.
20:52Yeah, he missed it.
20:53Prado is one lap away.
20:55One lap away from the world title.
20:57And an incredible turnaround in his career in one year.
21:01He did not even participate in these races last year.
21:05He was only concerned with getting out of his Kawasaki contract.
21:09Oh!
21:09He almost went down.
21:13And he left a lot of money.
21:15A lot.
21:15Several million dollars on the table.
21:17He can win a lot back right now if he can hang on.
21:28He's got one.
21:28We're seeing mistakes out of both.
21:29He ain't close enough.
21:30I mean, he's got to be right on his rear wheel.
21:33And Prado is too quality of a rider and a champion.
21:39Yeah, he avoided the first one.
21:40He spurred it just right.
21:41Here it comes.
21:43He's got to get through this corner.
21:45He's got one.
21:46Probably take a look back.
21:48See if he's Hayden on the scrubbing.
21:55Two turns to go.
21:56And Deegan still has a few play plays to make up.
21:59Fifth in Moto 1.
22:02Can he win Moto 2 to win the title?
22:06What a difference a year makes.
22:09Jorge Prado is the SMX World Champion.
22:41He bet on himself.
22:43He left the money on the table.
22:44He got out of his Cali deal, which paid a lot.
22:46Didn't care how much money he was getting from KTM.
22:49He wanted back on the bike you grew up on.
22:53And he knew if he had what he wanted, he could do the rest.
22:57And he just did.
23:21And the celebration is on.
23:22A spectacular 2026 campaign from Anaheim in January through Ironman in August through the playoff rounds.
23:33Every title coming down to the final moments.
23:59Deegan had the one shot.
24:00Yeah, he got one shot.
24:01Straight up missed it.
24:02Yep.
24:04And he'd go back to again last year.
24:05That's why he said he missed Joe on the first shot, too.
24:09And especially at this level, James, he'd go better than anybody.
24:13He ain't getting the second shot.
24:15Yeah.
24:16No shot.
24:16No, you're with it.
24:17But I am impressed with this guy right now.
24:19Oh, yeah.
24:19To withstand that pressure, just like we talk about Hayden Deegan, building off of this.
24:26Incredible ride.
24:27And I just, how last year went just to throw it all off.
24:32Yeah, man.
24:33Like he's like, oh, let me show you.
24:35Yes.
24:36I mean, there were a lot of doubters.
24:37Pretty much everybody.
24:38I was one of them.
24:39I mean, I don't think anybody.
24:40I'm going to tell you, there ain't no chance he could do that.
24:43But I would have mad respect, not that I didn't have respect, but to do what he did, massive kudos.
24:50And he earned it.
24:52Credit where it's due.
25:07Leprado came to America, raced a couple of Monster Energy Supercross rounds at the beginning of 2024, but today is
25:17his arrival.
25:20Give you the UFO blast moments of the race.
25:23These are the championship moments from UFO blast.
25:28Jorge Prado withstood the pressure from Hayden Deegan for 20 minutes.
25:32You knew the shot was coming if you could get close.
25:34And he said, no, no, not today.
25:40Jorge Prado, the world champ.
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