'24 Budds Creek 450 Moto 2

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Transcript
00:00Yeah guys, and for the 96 of Hunter Lawrence, right now it's all about staying present.
00:06That first overall win is sitting right in front of his face, but you cannot get ahead
00:10of yourself.
00:11You have to keep your mind in the moment, stick to your process, and do what got you
00:15that first moto win.
00:17It's really easy to get ahead of yourself and already be thinking about that win, but
00:20you've got to stay present.
00:22And for Chase Exton, he finds himself exactly in the same spot he was a week ago going into
00:26the second moto.
00:27He got the first moto he wanted, but he has an opportunity here to really reinforce what
00:32we saw last week and continue to build that confidence.
00:34Now what you don't want to do is start to unwind all of the great work he's done.
00:39You don't want to give Hunter Lawrence confidence.
00:41You don't want to give anybody else confidence.
00:42The guys like Eli Tomac and Jet Lawrence on the horizon that are coming back, he really
00:46needs to show up in moto two and let everybody know why he has that red plate.
00:52And Eli Tomac, welcome back.
00:54We got a fourth place, that first moto.
00:56Can you imagine if you come out here and you win this moto, what that's going to say
00:59and everybody's going to be worried about you.
01:01So Eli, you've been at home on the couch.
01:03You well rested.
01:04You got a smile on your face.
01:05Let's see what we can do to second moto and maybe we get a victory.
01:09And what's key here is we have heard the AMA has delayed the decision on who gets to ride
01:13for Team USA at Motocross of Nations.
01:15They want to see what Tomac has.
01:17And the position that's probably up for grabs, I would think Sexton's a shoo-in.
01:22Maybe Aaron Pletziger would be the second 450 guy.
01:25I think he's got to beat Tomac in this moto to assure that position.
01:28It wouldn't guarantee it, but it would go a long way.
01:30And you know he wants to represent Team USA badly.
01:34And they were third and fourth, advantage Pletziger in the first moto earlier today.
01:40So now about 90 minutes later, they're back on the gate again.
01:43Can Hunter Lawrence get his first overall win of the year and the first ever on a 450?
01:48How will Eli Tomac do?
01:49Can he bounce back?
01:51He's got two motos in the tank.
01:53Coming back after a long injury break.
01:55It's going to be fun.
01:57Yeah, interesting point about that, Aaron.
01:58You mentioned earlier about the Captain America.
02:01I think he has to beat Eli pretty soundly.
02:05I think if Eli's close, then it's probably going to be delayed out.
02:08You've got to expect Eli's going to be better.
02:11Right.
02:12He's just getting back.
02:13Yeah, it can't be close.
02:15So we'll really find out here in a few minutes.
02:19All right.
02:20Christian Craig on the 28 had the good start in moto one.
02:22That's another one to watch.
02:24And we mentioned the SMX playoff bubble battle, Chisholm and Kulas, Nicoletti, Welton, a lot
02:29of guys fighting for that.
02:30Yeah.
02:31And I noticed Chase didn't go to that far inside gate even, so he's a few positions
02:34over.
02:35No.
02:36Yeah, that's probably four gates out.
02:39Yeah.
02:40So this is it.
02:45Can Hunter Lawrence or someone else end the win streak?
02:50He stands at four in a row overall for Chase Sexton.
02:55It's time to bring it to Buns Creek.
02:59Revs are up.
03:03Gates down.
03:05Hunter Lawrence, again.
03:07Lights out on the starts this year.
03:09Plesinger right behind him in the Malcolm Stewart.
03:12Best start for Chase Sexton.
03:15Eli got buried in the pack.
03:17He was in the mid pack.
03:18Tough start for him, but Hunter Lawrence, exactly where you wanted to be.
03:21Now that tire, that scoop tire paid off.
03:24Now you have to figure it out and deal with it around this racetrack, but great start
03:27for the 96.
03:28And the fever.
03:29First time he's been up here in top three, hang on to your training teammate, Aaron Plessinger.
03:35Good to see him out there.
03:37It looks like chase Sexton in fourth place.
03:38All right.
03:39Yeah, that's Malcolm Stewart, third.
03:40J.T., what are you seeing?
03:41Well, for Hunter, I think it's going to be important.
03:43You saw him spin that rear tire up, trying to stick that inside line.
03:47He's going to want to stay in the rut, right?
03:49He's going to be searching for berms, searching for ruts.
03:51The last place he wants to be is on the hard inside where there's no real dirt to lean
03:56into.
03:57So watch here.
03:58He'll probably make adjustments.
03:59He may have to go from lines that he wants to into lines where that tire will work, but
04:02he's going to be sourcing that or sussing that out here in the first lap.
04:05Yeah, that's a great point.
04:06I was going to mention that.
04:07The good part is if he's out front, he can dictate.
04:10So the way this track is, he has an opportunity to figure it out while he's out front.
04:15As you can see him, he's starting to lose the rear end once he tries to get out of some
04:19of these corners.
04:20So I'm sure he'll make the difference and make those adjustments as Aaron Plessinger
04:24tries to.
04:25Oh, it's going to be tough.
04:26Yeah.
04:27Plessinger's on the inside.
04:28Yeah, he might be.
04:29And I think he actually has this pass.
04:30There it is.
04:32Seven's got the lead.
04:33Plessinger, no.
04:34The 96 flights back over the triple.
04:36Yeah, Aaron really should have closed him off at that point.
04:38Maybe the angle's a little bit different from what we saw, but.
04:42Oh!
04:43Went leg off.
04:44We had a rider throwing it sideways.
04:45Now you're going to see Hunter slowly start moving back over if he feels like Aaron can
04:50get to that inside.
04:51He does, and he successfully seals it off.
04:55Meanwhile, Sexton has made the move on Stewart.
04:58So he's the third.
04:59Chase is a lot better now.
05:01I think he can go back into how he's been the past few weeks or past few motos where
05:06second moto just kind of wear him out.
05:08He's right here.
05:09So I don't think Hunter would get away too far.
05:11And while Hunter's sussing out that tire, maybe Chase can close in on these guys.
05:16And you mentioned Eli Tomek buried 18th place for the four-time champ in his return to racing.
05:22So job one done for the 96.
05:25Get the scoop tire, take advantage of the start.
05:28Seventh whole shot of the year for him.
05:31And here we go.
05:32Can he hang on and finally get this overall win?
05:36I'm curious to wonder, is Hunter the one and only ones on the top with that paddle tire
05:42or is Aaron on the same thing and Chase?
05:44Because if so, then they're all in the same boat.
05:46Well, he's put it together now here on lap two.
05:49A lot better than the first lap.
05:51Yeah, I mean, he'll figure it out.
05:52I mean, it's back up to speed.
05:54And this is the first time they've ridden this track being this dry.
05:56So it's different.
05:57So not only he's got to figure out the tire, he's got to learn the track and how different
06:01it is as well.
06:02So basically, whatever changes that you made, if you did, in between motos is the right
06:06way with the track being drier.
06:11And how critical is it?
06:12A lap ago, it looked like Plessiger had the pass made.
06:16Hunter was able to fight back, and this race looks a lot different than it did just two
06:20minutes ago, a lap earlier.
06:22Yeah, you notice Hunter took that outside line.
06:24He felt what happened the last lap with Aaron coming around.
06:28He almost loses rear end.
06:30That's a smart rider, being able to adapt, change, JT.
06:35Just spoke with team manager Ian Harrison on the Red Bull KTMs, and both of them went
06:39to the traditional tire, and I think that's who Hunter Lawrence was referencing, right?
06:43He's going to reference his biggest competition.
06:45So that's going to be a little bit different.
06:46They're going to be able to choose different lines.
06:48They're going to be a little bit more aggressive in the harder sections of the racetrack.
06:52But mission accomplished so far for Hunter.
06:54He got out front, and we know how important track position has been.
06:57It's been the most dominant factor of the day thus far.
07:00Yeah, but he's going to have company.
07:02It looks like the number 4, Chase Sexton, is starting to roll toward the front from
07:06third.
07:13Now another thing I want to ask you, James, we talk so much about the knobby tire and
07:16the scoop tire spinning up under acceleration.
07:19What about breaking some of these downhills?
07:22Is there a drawback there, too?
07:24Well, I think if it was more the front tire, then I think the breaking would come more
07:28into it.
07:29The only difference is with the tire that Hunter has, the more, not knobby, but the
07:34scoop tire, is that under braking, the bike would want to slide more, more of a chatter.
07:40So you can have it where the back end starts losing the, you know, it doesn't have a good
07:46side grip, and so it can start losing the rear end, which will push the front end.
07:50So sometimes, like, because the rear is not hooking up, it actually can affect your front
07:54and being around.
07:55So Hunter has to pay attention to that.
07:58But that being said, he's just going to have to be open to be able to change these lines
08:01and keep that bike off that side, try to be straight up and down AC.
08:06Yeah, guys, I think that the biggest thing with the paddle tire is anytime you're on
08:10lean angle, anytime you have the bike leaned over, the traction is compromised.
08:14So it's more of a point-and-shoot type of style around the track, and that's what you're
08:19going to see from Hunter Lawrence.
08:21And unfortunately, it is Colton Nichols just getting back to racing last weekend at Unadilla,
08:27who is down.
08:28It's Will Hahn there as actually his trainer, even though Hahn works for the Charlie Designs
08:32Red Bull Gas Cast team.
08:33Man, you hope Colton's okay.
08:34That guy has been through some big ones in his career.
08:37Yeah, it looks like he's starting to get up, but, you know, to your point about the braking,
08:43really the only part that he really would affect it just on the braking would be the
08:47drier parts of the racetrack.
08:50But I think with him, it's he can rot it.
08:52Obviously, it's fine.
08:53He's just got to know how to, and obviously, he's starting to figure that part out.
08:57But as this track goes on, he's just got to be careful on these looser parts.
09:01I mean, the harder parts of the racetrack, like coming up where they're about to come
09:05here, on that side angle, get through these rollers, that paddle tire probably is not
09:10going to be as good as chase X's or the KTM's because it's still at an angle.
09:16He's turning, going through this section.
09:18So as the race goes on, he's got to be careful not losing a rear end over that.
09:21And the whole reason we dance this dance of the tire versus the scoot is because the dirt
09:26off the start is so much deeper than it is around most of the rest of the track.
09:30That's why one tire can be better for the start but worse around the track and vice
09:34versa.
09:35As we catch up with Eli Tomac now at the bottom of this group, made his way from 18th to now
09:4013th.
09:41Working on the French veteran, Roman Pope.
09:46And Eli can't quite make the move.
09:48This might actually help Eli.
09:49I don't know how he felt physically coming into this race.
09:52Does he feel like he has endurance?
09:55So is it better to kind of get a bad start and just get used to passing people, getting
10:00used to being around guys, maybe having some fun compared to being up front with Hunter
10:04Lawrence, chase X, and then starting to fade because you're not ready to be back just because
10:09you haven't raced.
10:10So who knows?
10:11I think Eli is smart.
10:12He did a good job of being here.
10:14He has the pace.
10:15He looks pretty good.
10:16So overall, no matter how this race finishes, I think Eli will be pretty satisfied that
10:21he has the tools still to compete against these guys.
10:24Yeah, and it's all a building process for the number three coming back from a thumb
10:28injury and really coming back from a massive injury from last year with the torn Achilles
10:32and just trying to log time, build the base and maybe be that much stronger in the future.
10:38I got to imagine 2025 is part of the goal here, although they haven't officially announced
10:43that he's back yet.
10:44I got a sneaking suspicion he will be as he works on Pope.
10:48Yeah.
10:49Eli's being super patient around there, and even though he's battling with this guy, he's
10:52saving energy.
10:53Sometimes when you get close to these these tighter parts, when you know you can't pass,
10:58you just take a breath, like whether you're behind the guy in front of him and then just
11:02keep saving it.
11:03And I think that's going to help Eli as this race goes on, is save that energy and have
11:06it for the end.
11:08Makes the move on Pope.
11:14Watching Eli Tomac here, the veteran out of Colorado, living legend of this championship,
11:20five-time champion of pro motocross in the 250 and 450 classes, making his return from
11:25injury, not the start he wanted in this one, and just working his way into the top 12 now.
11:34And next on his list will be Phil Micheletti.
11:36He is fourth all time Tomac in points, in career points, fourth all time.
11:45Only three riders ever have scored more points than Eli Tomac.
11:48Just to give you an idea, that living legend status.
11:52Now the battle up front, tightening with all three, not just Sexton.
11:56Plessinger is back as well.
11:58Yeah, and you got to wonder, is this part track or are these guys picking it up?
12:02Because we saw the same thing happen in the 250 class.
12:04Guys have been able to catch him, but once they get to him, they lose the time.
12:08So it's Hunter Lawrence, this is all he got.
12:10Is he struggling with the rear tire or is he just playing the game and just waiting
12:15for the battle?
12:16I love this outside here because nobody's going to be able to go around the inside of
12:19you that quickly.
12:20Oh, Plessinger's there.
12:22Yeah, Hunter's, he's got a good point now.
12:25As long as he doesn't mess the corner up, which he came close to, he would be fine.
12:32Now he's got to be very patient around here.
12:34This corner's really off-camber.
12:36See him?
12:39You can slide the back end.
12:41Oh, you can slide the back end.
12:43But what Hunter did, he actually went a little bit farther out, banked off that berm, put
12:47that bike straight up and down, so he didn't have to have that lean angle, JT.
12:51That's exactly right.
12:52Hunter used the berm to make the pivot, where AP, his trajectory was a little bit different,
12:57where he pivoted off the flat, hard ground.
12:59And that's really the difference.
13:00You see him trying to get up the inside to make a pass there, but it's the little nuances
13:04like that, where they want to or don't want to be on the lean of the side of that knob
13:08of that tire.
13:09And Plessinger is back, guys.
13:10He almost made that pass, as you saw there, JT.
13:13He is all over the 96.
13:15You knew Sexton would put in a push.
13:17The 7 is doing it as well.
13:19Yeah, and I think Aaron, he can sense Hunter's body position.
13:23We talked about it last weekend.
13:24Riders know when the other guy's not feeling it.
13:27So Aaron probably knows.
13:28I'm sure his team probably says, hey, Hunter, or he senses Hunter's not that comfortable
13:32on these harder packs.
13:34So once Aaron gets close to him, he's going to try to attack him, because you can tell
13:38by Hunter's body position, he's not attacking Ford.
13:41He's really just waiting for that battle to come, and he's just going faster once Aaron's
13:45there.
13:46So the opportunity is to pass, because you know that number 4 is going to try to come
13:49up and get around you if you don't.
13:51Oh, yeah.
13:52Sexton is all over him.
13:54Now Tomac in a battle with Nicoletti for 11.
13:58Oh, here's Sexton challenging Plessinger.
14:07What was that line?
14:08No, Chase was stuck.
14:10He wasn't really sure if Aaron was going to go outside or inside, and I think he just
14:14got fooled.
14:15And then Chase decided to just go down the middle of the new line.
14:20Let me give a shout out to my brother.
14:22He's only about three seconds behind Chase right here as he pops in his shot.
14:25Oh, yeah.
14:26So yeah, as I mentioned earlier, he'll continue to get better as the year goes on and on,
14:30and this is another step to that.
14:32Yeah, good job, Malcolm.
14:33And by the way, as startling as it seems for Hunter has not won an overall yet, Plessinger
14:38has still never won a 450 moto.
14:40It seems shocking.
14:41That is shocking to me to hear how good this guy's been.
14:44I think he's had some close ones, but he's also been in an era of some pretty good road
14:52across routers of his time.
14:54But Aaron Plessinger's getting better.
14:55He's riding the best he's had probably his whole career, and that moto win is coming
15:00soon enough, I believe.
15:01Yeah, it could even be right here, but he's got to deal with his teammate Sexton Hunter
15:06Lawrence building a small gap at the moment while these riders battle.
15:10Oh, what a crossover from Sexton.
15:12Oh, I saw it coming.
15:14You can see where Chase went on that outside.
15:16See if Aaron can get back up the inside.
15:18But that was a power move, and that was set up by Chase.
15:21Seeing what Aaron was doing.
15:23Nice move by him.
15:25You lit up when you saw that one.
15:27I get happy when I see beauty like that.
15:30That was just beautiful.
15:31Now, Sexton then almost crashed away right after that.
15:34Good job holding on.
15:35And now we're into the critical juncture.
15:37Sexton versus Lawrence again.
15:39Moto one.
15:41Sexton was not able to make it happen.
15:43He went down.
15:45Yeah, but I think Chase knows he's a lot closer.
15:48He's got more time.
15:50And there's a significant difference where Hunter might be struggling.
15:54But here's the fun.
15:55See, you see Chase going on outside right now.
15:57Now he pivots, jumps on the inside, hits his double.
16:01Man, that was a nice move.
16:03I lit up, then he almost crashed, and I sat down.
16:06And I believe we heard Chase went down right now.
16:09Wait, let's watch this.
16:11Watch the four.
16:13Did he lose the front end here?
16:15There it is.
16:17Now, so it looks like what happened.
16:20Here we go.
16:21Real speed.
16:23Oh, yeah.
16:25Looks like he wanted to get to that inside berm.
16:27Tire just goes over.
16:28That's a tough break for him.
16:30Malcolm Stewart up to third now.
16:32Sexton has a lot of work to do.
16:34It's the opening that Hunter Lawrence has been looking for
16:37to try to get that overall win.
16:44And, yeah, credit, like you said, Malcolm Stewart hanging in there,
16:50able to take advantage at least for the moment.
16:52Sexton, like a freight train, going back toward the front.
16:56You're talking about some braking power.
16:58Did you see Chase almost lose the front end because he was so hard on the brakes?
17:02He knew he wanted to get around my brother right before he got to that pivot.
17:05And as much time as Chase went down, just like he did in that first moto,
17:09but I believe Chase is going to come back up,
17:11and he still has a chance to win this race.
17:13Not too far back.
17:14No, 6.8 seconds.
17:16That is workable because we're still not even to the halfway mark.
17:19That was pretty.
17:21Look how much time he was able to gain.
17:23If he can pull that off, he's going to gain a second just in that section right there.
17:26And it's a lot easier because he's not going through all those rollers.
17:29He's missing them.
17:30So don't be surprised.
17:32This is number four back on that seven here in the next lap or so.
17:36And how about Hunter Lawrence?
17:38A couple of attacks from Plessinger.
17:40And now stretching it to 3.7 seconds.
17:43Scoop tire for the win at the moment.
17:46Let's see what the number four can put together.
17:49Hunter Lawrence hanging on.
17:52Now you wonder if Hunter's in this position.
17:54He's got two options.
17:55Either you know it's still 15 minutes left.
17:57Do you feel like you can hold this thing on, or do you feel like Chase is going to come?
18:01Because if you feel like you have some pace, then maybe you try to attack right now
18:05and make Chase have to push it like kind of what your brother does.
18:08Put him in a situation where he has to take the chances.
18:11Or you just keep riding your deal and let him come back up
18:15and then keep putting these flurries of attacks.
18:17Once he's closed, try to attack him then.
18:20Make him frustrated that way.
18:21So we'll be interested to see what happens here in the next couple of laps.
18:24We'll tell the story with Hunter.
18:25And you see Plessinger lurking in second.
18:27But right now the 96 trying to put it together.
18:36And credit to the perseverance of Hunter in this team.
18:39I mean, it looked like things were falling away by the time we got to Washougal.
18:43Missed the podium for the first time.
18:45And could have easily thrown in the towel and just said,
18:49all right, it's not going to happen this year.
18:50But he's come back much better after the time off.
18:58Hunter Lawrence trying to deliver.
19:0214 minutes left, says his mechanic.
19:05Camera, camera.
19:06And that's a critical point.
19:08That's halfway through the moto.
19:10Still plenty to play for.
19:11And Sexton is closing.
19:14Taking it from 6.8 to 5.9.
19:21Hunter's pulling away from Plessinger a bit.
19:23Send it down to Adam Cicirullo.
19:26And it's a critical part of the race, like you guys said, for Hunter Lawrence.
19:30Having the first win dangling in front of your face, as I said,
19:33before the start of the moto.
19:35It's really easy to let your mind wander to that.
19:38You know, to think about popping the champagne and thinking about
19:41how happy you'll be when you win this race.
19:43And it's okay if your mind wanders, but you have to bring it back
19:47to the present moment as quick as possible.
19:49And yeah, rooting for Hunter here.
19:54Let's see if he can do it.
19:55The SMX track view giving an idea where the two KTMs are.
20:00Here's the gap.
20:01And Sexton is back to his teammate.
20:03Yeah, as I mentioned, I felt like Chase was going to be back on that 96.
20:07Now he has a little bit of open room.
20:10So Chase has been able to close in on these guys.
20:12But once you get close, it's been hard to pass.
20:15So if you have the pace, you can catch him, which that's what he's doing.
20:19The hard part is once you get there, getting around them.
20:21But before that, I saw Hunter Lawrence lose the front end in that sweeper section
20:25right after you go up the old finish line jump.
20:29I think a part of that is because of his rear tire.
20:31Being on the lean, he can start losing a rear, start pushing on the front.
20:35He did a good job at saving it.
20:36But number four, just like he has in the previous weekend, he is coming.
20:42Yes, but how quickly can he make this happen?
20:45Or can they at least match the pace of Lawrence while they battle?
20:51Going to try the inside.
20:54Oh, elbow to elbow.
20:56Plessinger's on the inside.
20:58Sexton not able to get out of that run.
21:02Coming up to the section where Chase passed him earlier in the moto.
21:06If Aaron doesn't watch out, Chase is going to do it again.
21:08Let's see if Aaron goes on the defense, which he should just slow down right here.
21:11No, he did it again.
21:12Ah, come on. Come on, Aaron.
21:15See if he can get on the outside.
21:17And oh, this outside actually has worked.
21:21Let's see if Plessinger can use it.
21:23He wasn't far enough ahead.
21:24And Sexton's got him again.
21:26Yeah, Chase was too, he was too even with him.
21:29But yeah, what Aaron should have done was slow down right there.
21:32Made Chase have to slow down to not hit that double JT.
21:35I've been talking all day about when riders get there, they have to have a plan.
21:39You can't just wing it on this racetrack.
21:41It's too difficult to pass for that.
21:43So I don't know if Hunter Lawrence has picked up on that line.
21:45His lap time can tell me he hasn't.
21:47So Chase Sexton, that's where he'll make his move.
21:50He knows that line's worked.
21:51He knows he's got it in his back pocket.
21:53All he's got to do is get to the rear tire of Hunter Lawrence,
21:56set him up right there, and he'll fly right by.
21:59And the lap time's JT.
22:00Yes, a 1.57.7 for Sexton, a 1.59.5.
22:07There you see it on screen.
22:09Nearly two seconds quicker with Sexton than Lawrence the last time around.
22:14Oh, a little mistake there.
22:15Yeah, that's why I was mentioning if Hunter has more pace,
22:18then just try to go fast because Chase has to catch you,
22:21and he's going to take some chances to do it.
22:23The hard part for Hunter is that he is on that paddle tire,
22:26so he's got to be careful not to over-rod this track
22:29where Chase does have the regular paddle tire, I mean, regular scoop tire.
22:33So as you can see, Hunter, if he tries to go fast,
22:36did you notice that rear end sliding all the way up that face?
22:39And it's only going to get worse as this moto goes on,
22:42and it seems like he's really starting to struggle with that.
22:45The drier the track gets, the tougher it will be.
22:48Sexton continuing to rally.
22:51♪♪♪
23:01And this is the section where he's made up a ton of time
23:03and made passes right there, putting the power down.
23:08♪♪♪
23:17And the SMX playoffs once again offering an opportunity
23:20for camping at all three rounds.
23:22Spots are going quick.
23:23Sign up today at supermotocross.com.
23:27Be just like the scene we have here at Bud's Creek.
23:29People have been here since Thursday.
23:31Trackside, racing, watching,
23:34and we'll have the campgrounds at the playoff races.
23:37And all those campers, well, they're not at the campgrounds now.
23:39They're up along the fence.
23:41It's going to be close.
23:43Yeah, I mean, Hunter's doing a great job,
23:46and when we're talking about that section
23:48where Chase passed Aaron,
23:50I don't even know if Hunter could do that
23:52because that takes a lot of lean angle,
23:54and you've got to have trust on your bike.
23:56So I don't know if Hunter would do that anyway
23:58because of the tire choice that he made.
24:01Well, that might make it easier for Sexton to make a pass
24:04if he can get there.
24:07We're down to eight minutes and two laps.
24:09We'll give you the motosport.com whole shot replay
24:12while this battle is settled for the moment.
24:17Hunter out of the gate.
24:19It's been the story all year.
24:21Yep.
24:23Same thing as the first moto.
24:25Had a clear jump.
24:27Was at the first corner first.
24:29Let's see Chase.
24:37Got pulled by his teammate Flesinger there.
24:40And had some work to do,
24:42but the big problem was the crash after it.
24:44And he has had to do everything to re-bridge the gap
24:48for the 96.
24:50Hunter Lawrence, can he deliver
24:52his first-ever overall win on a 450?
25:02And he's saying it was four-tenths the difference in lap time.
25:05Sexton dropped off, but Hunter dropped off even more.
25:08Now a two-minute versus a 1.59.
25:12Did you notice when Hunter leaned that bike over, he lost it,
25:15and he actually ended up burying it in the corner.
25:17So as I mentioned, I don't think he feels comfortable enough
25:20because he was going to try to hit that double,
25:22but as soon as he leaned it on the side,
25:24he started losing the rear tire.
25:26And as we're talking about these tires,
25:28it's not like the Dunlop's a bad tire.
25:30It's just the difference between what tire Chase has on,
25:33the scoop tire, compared to the regular knobby tire.
25:36One works better on that lean,
25:38and he needs that lean angle to hit that double
25:40where Chase is getting past Aaron.
25:42Yeah, the tire that Hunter has is designed for mud or sand,
25:45but it's just good off the start,
25:47so they use it even when we don't have sand.
25:49Man, that was beautiful what Chase did.
25:51He doubled into that little corner,
25:53kept his foot on the pegs. That was nice.
25:55Oh, and it worked, because look how close he is.
25:58To the 96, Thor BattleBox showing the fight for fourth.
26:02Anderson has caught Stewart,
26:05so that'll be another one to watch.
26:07But the battle for lead is tightening.
26:10Sexton is right there now.
26:12Yeah, Chase is there.
26:16Ooh, this track's drying out even more.
26:19I like these lines here, because once you get in one rut,
26:22you kind of got to stay there,
26:24and that's where it allows somebody like Chase,
26:26if you catch him, to be able to pass him,
26:28because the guy has to stay in this line
26:30where in other parts of the racetrack
26:32you can cut back and forth.
26:34But Hunter's done a great job.
26:36As quickly as Chase caught Aaron,
26:38he didn't catch Hunter that quick,
26:40so Hunter probably tried picking up the pace.
26:42He realized Chase is coming,
26:44and I believe Chase has one opportunity
26:46if he's going to make the pass up here,
26:48because if he shows Hunter that line
26:50and he doesn't make it,
26:52then Hunter can actually start blocking it by slowing down.
26:55Oh, OK.
26:57So I think Hunter's very smart
26:59and well aware of being able to dictate where guys are
27:03and be able to change the lines up
27:05and adapt them to the track.
27:08And Sexton is not close enough
27:10to use that jump right there this time.
27:13Yeah, Chase goes a little bit farther inside,
27:15so maybe there's a rut that's getting kicked on there
27:17because he didn't even try to take that line.
27:20Maybe he just knows that it's going to happen.
27:23As we say, Malcolm down to battle for four.
27:26Yeah.
27:27He's actually pulled back away from Jason.
27:29That's right.
27:30Yeah, they're in those rollers now,
27:32and he has pulled away from the monster Kawasaki rider
27:34of Anderson there.
27:37So as a rider, if you're Sexton,
27:39do you try to hide that line
27:41until you're really, really close?
27:43Well, I think really Hunter won't be able to see it,
27:47so the only way Hunter would even notice that's there.
27:50Oh, he's going to try right now, Chase.
27:51You just do that.
27:52Oh!
27:53Do that moment right there.
27:54Hunter's like, wait, wait, wait, where did he come from?
27:56Look at this.
27:57Sexton to the lead.
27:59Wow.
28:00You ain't got to hide nothing.
28:01No.
28:02You probably got to pass,
28:03but the hard part for Hunter,
28:05if he's going to get around,
28:06he's got to try to get around Chase now
28:08because the way Chase is rolling,
28:09he might just roll away from him.
28:11But it's going to be hard for Hunter
28:13because he has to stick to his lines,
28:15which Chase knows all of them
28:17because of the tire situation.
28:19Yeah, do you have fewer options on the racetrack
28:21when you have that tire?
28:22100%, you got fewer options.
28:24And really, the options come from is when you need a pass.
28:27So being able to get on the inside of Chase
28:29or doing what Chase did to Aaron,
28:32it's going to be hard for Hunter
28:34because he doesn't have the lean angle.
28:36And as you can see,
28:37Hunter didn't even know that he was even there
28:39because he looks over and he's like,
28:41where did that come from?
28:42That's because Chase went 100 miles an hour
28:44around that corner.
28:46Yeah, that was like NASCAR turn here.
28:48Here we go.
28:50Hunter's like, whoa!
28:52Seriously?
28:53That was a great move.
28:54Caught about surprise as J.T. was mentioning.
28:56Once he got there, you got to make it happen.
28:58Adam, what did you see?
29:00Guys, I see the growth with Chase Sexton.
29:03You see a couple years ago, he had this pace,
29:05but he would turn that mistake,
29:07that little tip over he had earlier,
29:09he would turn that into more mistakes
29:11and end up going the other way.
29:13And now it almost looks like it's just made him mad
29:15and he's going faster than he has all day.
29:18So just the evolution of Chase Sexton.
29:21Yeah, and I agree.
29:22And we talked about last week,
29:23Chase is a different rider out front than in the back.
29:26Sometimes when he's behind like he was early in his race,
29:29it looked like he was just getting stuck in their pace.
29:32But when he went down, he lost that time
29:35and I think it was somewhat put him back out front again
29:38where he had to go fast, he could see the whole racetrack
29:41and it's not surprising that he got that confidence
29:43and he was able to close on these guys, J.T.
29:46Yeah, and sometimes you get in this thought process
29:49and that's exactly it, you're thinking too much.
29:51You're thinking about the title,
29:52you're thinking about where am I going to catch up to Hunter,
29:54you're thinking about why can't I find a way to get the whole shot.
29:56Your brain is doing too much.
29:58And then you have a crash like that
30:00and your brain shuts off.
30:01And I don't mean literally,
30:03but you don't worry about any of that anymore
30:05and you just ride purely on instinct.
30:07A lot of that's anger and it's just reacting to the moment.
30:11And you can see it changed for Chase.
30:13His intensity picked up.
30:14He didn't seem to really care about what was going on
30:17and that pushed him forward.
30:18We've seen it at times from him.
30:19You go back to Hangtown,
30:20you go back to these great rides he's had.
30:23It was almost always caused by something tipping his hand.
30:27He was able to just take those thoughts out of his head
30:30and ride the way he knows how.
30:32Yeah, absolutely.
30:33And just like Hangtown and maybe this race,
30:35the sense of, okay, you show up for this moto,
30:38like you're expected to win.
30:39Once you go down or you have a first corner crash,
30:42now there's nothing to lose.
30:43So you're riding out there just free
30:45because everything's locked for you.
30:46And when Chase is in that spot,
30:48he can come from last and win the race.
30:51So he's just got to figure out how to do that more often
30:54when it's out front,
30:55when he's close to these guys,
30:56which is a lot easier said than done.
30:58But clearly when the dude decides he wants to go beast mode,
31:01there ain't nobody out here in this field
31:03that can even run that pace.
31:11And just a thing of beauty to watch now
31:14as the four tries to extend the overall win streak
31:18to five races.
31:21Yeah.
31:26Yep.
31:27And he has put Hunter in the rear view mirror.
31:29Let's take her a distant third.
31:32Malcolm Stewart hanging in there.
31:34Yeah.
31:35Malcolm's hanging in.
31:36He's had pressure from Jason and Justin Cooper.
31:39So I think Jason somewhat was probably going to like,
31:43let Malcolm have it until Justin came in.
31:45So man, Chase is in zone right now.
31:51I'm going to ask your brother about this track.
31:54Has one promoter across top five.
31:56That was at this track.
31:582013.
32:00And looking to do it again.
32:02This is probably the best track for him.
32:06Yeah, I remember that 2013.
32:10I was stuck behind him for like seven laps.
32:12Oh, you remember that race?
32:13I remember the race because he took me out.
32:16Oh, wow.
32:17We had a little family meeting afterwards.
32:23Fourth overall that day.
32:25Third in the moto.
32:26Well, he's motivated.
32:27Got to keep you behind him one way or another.
32:29Yeah, I know.
32:30He did.
32:31It was in this corner.
32:32I was yelling at him for eight laps.
32:33And he was like, I didn't even know you.
32:34I'm like, bro, come on.
32:35I'm like the only Suzuki out there.
32:37I'm yelling at you every race.
32:38And pops is coming out for both of us, though.
32:40It was good.
32:41You were yelling in the corner.
32:43I was yelling at him.
32:44And eventually I was so tired, I couldn't yell.
32:46I didn't have enough breath.
32:49Oh, that's one way to get him so tired,
32:52he can't yell at me anymore.
32:54I'll warm myself out.
32:56Yeah, cardio and heart rate was through the roof
32:59from all the yelling.
33:00So Malcolm looking to hold on.
33:02Anderson had caught him.
33:04It's like something happened to Jason.
33:06He dropped back.
33:07But oh, yeah, Justin Cooper up to fifth now.
33:09Yeah, this is good.
33:10I mean, Malcolm's been, you talked about earlier,
33:12slowly getting better and better.
33:14And this is what a start does.
33:15So this is where he feels like he's alone.
33:18And he wants to be.
33:19And it's good to see him back up here.
33:21Best finish out for a while.
33:23Here comes Jacob.
33:24But number 32, he's trying to get on the Captain America team
33:28as well.
33:29And he's battling with Aaron in the third and points.
33:31So Justin has a lot to fight for to try
33:33to get these extra points.
33:35Let's see if Malcolm can hold him off with two laps left.
33:38Yeah, Justin Cooper could be in play for Team USA
33:41across the nation as well.
33:43As for Tomac, it never really materialized.
33:47He did eventually pass Nicoletti.
33:49It's up to 11.
33:50But that's going to be it for the number three.
33:52And that might end up being seventh overall for him.
33:57And the good thing is we'll see the three back at Ironman.
34:00Yeah, I'm looking at the lap times.
34:02Eli, I believe Nicoletti might have fell.
34:05And Eli would have got around him because Nicoletti did a 2.11.
34:09Eli did a 2.06.
34:12And there's only a three-second gap between there.
34:15Uh-oh.
34:16Cooper is right there on Malcolm right now.
34:18They've got a lap rider in between them.
34:20The 93, Bryce Shelley.
34:24They get around Shelley.
34:25Here we go.
34:26Looks like Malcolm's been out front with that number plate.
34:28Yeah.
34:29It's nice and clean.
34:30They spray on that thing.
34:31Setting gear out there.
34:36Either way, fourth or fifth, it's going to be the best.
34:39Not him.
34:40This is good.
34:41The best part is beginning part of the season.
34:44And Malcolm, this is when you know as a rider you've gotten better
34:47because it's Sekimoto at the end of this championship,
34:50and you're still fighting against a guy who's close to third in points.
34:55Hey, Justin, you know that ain't going to happen.
34:58He took the line away.
35:01He'll let you go by, but not around the outside.
35:03Come on.
35:04Yeah, this part.
35:06Oh, he's not letting him do it.
35:08Justin, I just told you that he wasn't going to do it.
35:11Come on.
35:13Not going around the outside.
35:15Oh, it's a good battle.
35:16Justin Cooper, Malcolm Stewart.
35:17There is Hunter Lawrence, second, way out in front of Plessiger now.
35:23Yeah, good route for Hunter.
35:25But you wonder, does the tire, did that play into this?
35:29You know, because he actually looks like he's still pretty good,
35:32but you can tell there was a little bit of traction issues,
35:34some things that he wanted to do that he couldn't.
35:36So maybe in the past that next time they're in this situation,
35:40the bike has gotten better, Hunter has gotten better,
35:42so maybe he will rely and have that confidence like Chase Sexton
35:45and believe, look, I need the bike that works on the track
35:48because whether start or not, I feel like I can come up here
35:51and maybe race against this guy where I think he feels like he needs to be
35:54in front of Chase, and I think that might have hurt him in the second moto.
35:58No doubt Sexton was able to put it together down the stretch,
36:02and it's going to be the second week in a row where it's 2-1, 1-2
36:06between Lawrence and Sexton.
36:09And this is Chase Sexton taking control.
36:12It was a three-rider fight, both Jett and Hunter Lawrence in it early.
36:16Jett went out with a thumb injury.
36:17We hope to get him back for the playoffs in September,
36:21starting September 7th, and what a battle that is going to be
36:24as Eli Tomac gets stronger.
36:26Cooper Webb will be back.
36:28But they all got to go through the number four
36:30who will be the number one seed when the playoffs begin.
36:34Looks good.
36:35Again, a shout-out to KTM.
36:37They got two riders up in the top three looking good.
36:40Tom Bial's riding really good.
36:42So their whole program future looks good with Julian Brumair
36:46and the rookies, RJ winning a championship.
36:49So a lot of stuff is going good for these guys.
36:52But, man, to take Chase Sexton, some of the issues that he's had in the past,
36:56come over here to KTM, the way the season started,
36:59not like it was a struggle because he was on the podium in the first race at Anaheim,
37:03but to get at this position, the way he has and be dominating this championship,
37:08got to give him props and the whole team, KTM, and Austria for it.
37:11Yes, this is a long game.
37:13There were many frustrating nights in Monster Energy Supercross,
37:16and to now be where they are in Pro Motocross,
37:19just never giving up on it, that has always been his motto,
37:22and it has paid off.
37:24Five straight overall wins.
37:26Chase Sexton conquers Butts Creek.
37:31Even with the crash.
37:34And I think this is why he's even more pumped on this one.
37:39Yeah, you start to think sometimes the crash is what made you come back and win the race.
37:43The crash spun off you being free, but Hunter Lawrence did a good job.
37:48I still see a lot more fight in him.
37:50He's a lot closer than this, but, man, when Chase gets rolling, as I said,
37:54he is hard to beat.
37:57Well, just imagine the lessons Hunter Lawrence as a rookie is learning right now.
38:00I mean, he is being pushed to his limit and giving it his all every week.
38:04He's going to be formidable in the years to come.
38:06Yeah, and say that again, he's a rookie.
38:08Yes, exactly.
38:10He's a rookie, but he's with his brother and how good he's been all year long.
38:13It's a surprise as we're watching Grant Harlan.
38:17We're all about the points here at SMX.
38:1915th, and he has been around the top 10 in most of the motos as of late.
38:2315th is actually below par for what he's been doing recently, but he is rallying.
38:29Last year, he was great in Supercross, kind of ran out of energy.
38:32He was pretty fried by the time the playoffs began.
38:34This year, it's the opposite.
38:36He's getting stronger late.
38:38Yeah, I think they know right now.
38:40Yeah, and he's still trying to fight for positions.
38:42I mean, these guys, they're prepared now.
38:44They went through this.
38:45Last year was the first time in these playoffs, so they kind of know how to work.
38:48And especially guys like this, they know what they need to do, and you can see it.
38:53That's Pope the Frenchman riding the wide motorcycle.
38:56He was like, look, the race is over.
38:58We shouldn't be battling, but as we say, these single points, they matter as Grant buries it in his corner.
39:04I thought he was going to try to do a chase X to move in these rollers, but kind of messed that corner up.
39:108th, 17th at SMX points.
39:12I'm glad we got to show this.
39:13This is one of the things that you usually only see as a fan at the races.
39:16In pro motocross, you will see a battle for 14th.
39:20And you would swear it's the SMX World Championship or Daytona Supercross or Anaheim one on the line.
39:26Yeah, I mean, he's just finished that race.
39:28He's just as tired as the guy.
39:29Absolutely.
39:30He put as much energy.
39:31Yeah.
39:32Good to see this guy out.
39:33Your overall winner, Chase Exton.