00:00Bike's on track here.
00:01SMX qualifying on track.
00:04SMX next qualifying on track.
00:07And Jason Thomas joining us here on the desk.
00:09And to answer Chase Cook's question, I think I'm going to pull a Ricky Carmichael.
00:12And no predictions here.
00:14What do you think, AC?
00:14Yeah, I think I don't like making predictions at all.
00:17But what I will say is I think Hunter Lawrence has proven to us over and over again
00:23that after a bad race, he comes out with vengeance the next week.
00:28And so I like the 96, but it could go either way.
00:31We never know until the gate drops any predictions.
00:35It's not my cup of tea.
00:36Jason Thomas joining us here now, like I had mentioned, in JT, playoff race number two.
00:42Hunter Lawrence is undefeated, so he'd be a great pick here today in L.A.
00:46Yeah, he would be.
00:46And I don't know why you guys are so terrified of making predictions.
00:49All you can do is be wrong.
00:51Who cares, man?
00:52I'm wrong all the time.
00:53So, yeah, I think Hunter's back.
00:56I was worried about his wrist leaving last weekend.
00:58I think the pace he's shown this afternoon has already kind of quieted that talk some.
01:02But I'll tell you what.
01:03Hayden Deegan is here this weekend.
01:05You can see the confidence in him.
01:07You can see the aggression on the racetrack.
01:09We got him pointing back there in that first session.
01:11You know the gamesmanship is back.
01:13And all that tells me is he believes now that he can be in the fight to win.
01:17And he's here for it.
01:19And I promise you, I am so here for it.
01:21All right.
01:22To play fantasy, log in to rmfantasyessex.com to play.
01:28A lot of money on the line.
01:30And speaking a lot on the line, SMX Next.
01:33Cade Johnson on your screen right there.
01:35He's got that red plate.
01:36He won in the mud a week ago.
01:38He won in the mud a year ago as well.
01:41Cade Johnson, one of your favorites here today, JT.
01:43Yeah, and, you know, I think this is big for him because if you look at his biggest moments in
01:48SMX Next, they've come in the mud.
01:49And I kind of prodded him on that in the press conference yesterday.
01:53I was like, hey, you know, like, was the mud the biggest opportunity?
01:56And he's like, no, I need to prove it, that I can do it in dry conditions, simulate a real
02:00race where a pro contract would come into play.
02:03And you could tell every answer he alluded to yesterday on Friday was about going to the next level, getting
02:08an opportunity to showcase himself.
02:10So I personally believe this round might be the most important of his SMX Next career to show that he
02:17can be the same guy on the dry that he was in the mud.
02:19And that's what, to me, is so cool.
02:20I was talking about it earlier with this SMX Next is there's so much untapped potential on the track with
02:27each race, with each week.
02:28And you don't know who is going to be the guy that really comes out and shows it.
02:34And Cade Johnson, I think he's gotten better all year long during Supercross, during SMX Next.
02:39I did want to see a little bit more of that raw pace that a lot of the guys are
02:44looking for at the next level.
02:46That's what a lot of the teams are looking for.
02:47But maybe he can transfer the confidence that he had from winning the mud last weekend to doing something in
02:52the dry.
02:53Because I know a lot of the eyes from the teams will be on him this week and to see
02:57if he can back it up.
02:58Yeah, it's not always about what's the finished product right now, right?
03:01Like, they're looking for what can they do with your potential, mold that into a winner on the next level.
03:06So it doesn't have to be polished right now.
03:09It's what can they take and move.
03:12You know, it's that we can work with speed.
03:13Like, that is what it always goes back to.
03:15And that's why those guys continue to get opportunities because they know the ceiling is so much higher than maybe
03:21what they show at the moment.
03:22Well, there's opportunities at the next level, the pro level.
03:25But how about opportunities here at the amateur level?
03:27And Quad Lock Honda giving this man an opportunity.
03:29Maybe Dylan Rempel, the number four, Quad Lock Honda got an opportunity a week ago in Columbus.
03:35They're going to continue on.
03:36Rempel right now, third fastest.
03:38And JT, he's Canadian 250 motocross champ, now south of the border with a chance here in SMX Next.
03:45Yeah, and it's an interesting situation because he's a little bit older.
03:48He's in his 20s.
03:49So it's, you know, this SMX Next really in concept is about a younger rider taking the next step, finding,
03:56you know, that professional, all the etiquette and how do you polish your craft.
04:00Well, he's in a little bit different situation.
04:02But still, the opportunity remains where a lot of, you know, the pro teams are familiar with Dylan Rempel.
04:07But this is the showcase for him to immediately vault himself into conversations for a professional ride in America, which,
04:14make no mistake, he's been very vocal about that as the goal for him is to take the next step
04:17in America.
04:18To me, this guy on your screen right here, the 9 of Ryder Malinowski, he's one of the most interesting
04:24prospects that we have right now.
04:27Didn't start riding a motorcycle until 2020, which blows me away every time I hear it.
04:32He's always had so much speed and intensity.
04:35It's kind of about him eliminating some of those big mistakes.
04:38But, JT, what do you like from the 9?
04:40Well, I just think, you know, it's kind of a similar conversation to what we've been having.
04:44I think his ceiling is incredibly high, right?
04:46If you look at all of these riders and you try to game out, well, who can win at the
04:49next level, you wonder how much is still untapped with a rider who is going on year six of his
04:55motorcycle career.
04:56To me, that is a really interesting situation.
04:58And I kind of look across the field.
05:00You've got to remember, we took Cade Muneer out of this class.
05:02We took Wanda Gordon out of this class.
05:04We took Cade Dudney out of this class in 2026 alone.
05:08So now you start to see who's left, who can win.
05:10And personally, regardless of the results, I have to put Malinowski at the top of the list.
05:15Malinowski on a fast one right now.
05:17And every time we talk about him not riding until 2020, look, he played a lot of stick and ball
05:22sports.
05:23And then COVID hit, and they didn't have anything to do.
05:25School sports shut down.
05:26They said, all right, let's get a dirt bike.
05:27And he's only been riding for six years now.
05:30And what a level he has gotten to.
05:33Malinowski goes to second behind his teammate, Jessen Turner, with a 53.0.
05:38And he's fastest in this session so far here today.
05:40Turner, that was from Q1 earlier.
05:42And if you're someone like a Ryder Malinowski, it's got to be so validating to see someone like a Landon
05:48Gordon, right,
05:49that went pro, got a podium in Supercross, gets a podium in Outdoors.
05:53So these guys know if you're racing at the front in SMX Next, the speed is comparable.
05:58You're not a long ways off, which I think is really encouraging for a lot of these young guys.
06:03Well, it takes the guessing game away.
06:04But where do I stand?
06:06You know, am I truly fast?
06:08Is this amongst the pros or is this just a different level, you know?
06:11And that has been one of the greatest things about SMX Next is it's created that stepping stone.
06:16And you wonder, like, was it really going to work?
06:18Was it really going to prepare these guys?
06:20I think 2026 has been a banner year for it.
06:22And maybe even more than that.
06:24Look at Cole Davies, graduate.
06:26Hayden Deegan, 2023 graduate.
06:28The champions of today were the champions of SMX Next two and three years ago.
06:33So that's, I think, conceptually, it's already been proven out.
06:36And Mike Muey was on earlier, and he reminded us Jet Lawrence was a part of that program as well.
06:41And obviously going to go down in the history already as one of the best to ever do it.
06:45As Club MX Yamaha's Justin Turner on screen.
06:47He's fastest overall from Q1 earlier today.
06:51He's fourth in this session as he goes table over two.
06:54And we were talking about this at Commercial JT.
06:56Going table over two, very difficult to time.
06:59You're taking off from a tall one and landing.
07:01Really, you've got a bike length to land there.
07:03It's a very, very precise jump.
07:05Yeah, they're not very much fun, to be honest.
07:07It's blind, and you're going from a taller face to a shorter face.
07:11You really have to get the timing right.
07:12And it's not one of those jumps where you can just lean into it and the throttle is going to
07:16be your best friend.
07:17It's a timing section.
07:18And blind timing is, I mean, look at the guys we've seen make mistakes.
07:22Carson Wood had a huge crash.
07:23Vincent Way had a huge crash.
07:24Hunter Lawrence made a huge mistake there.
07:26So the best of the best guys are struggling to get it right every single time.
07:30It's tough, and it's arguably the toughest section on this racetrack,
07:33and the one these guys have to get right every lap.
07:37Turner finishing his lap.
07:39Let's see what he can lay down.
07:41He goes to third in this session with a 53.1.
07:44But how about Cade Johnson goes to the top in this session and overall.
07:49Can he ride in the dry AC?
07:51Yes, sir.
07:52And this is what I'm talking about.
07:54Cade Johnson, so far, he's been impressive to me at times over the course of this season.
07:59But I have not seen, I haven't watched Cade Johnson ride so far and thought, wow, that's a guy that's
08:05going to go to the next level and make an impact right away.
08:08There's still a little bit more he needs to get to before he gets to that level.
08:13But just getting a win in the mud.
08:16And look, you could say maybe he wouldn't have won if it was dry.
08:19But for a young rider to have that confidence, it could propel him to show something that he hasn't so
08:27far in his career,
08:28which to me, that's what makes this class so fun to watch.
08:31A hundred percent.
08:32And when I was listening to him yesterday, I could hear what his goals were.
08:35I could hear where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do with this opportunity.
08:39But at the same time, I was like, don't talk about it.
08:42Be about it.
08:42You know, you have to show up on race day and execute all these things.
08:46If you're enjoying the racing, make sure you hit that subscribe button.
08:49We've got plenty more action coming up so you don't want to miss the next heat.
08:53Stay tuned.
08:54Thanks.
08:55Cade Johnson, that's going to be a big confidence booster.
08:58He's a two-time SMX winner.
08:59SMX Next winner in the mud at Foxborough and in the mud at Columbus.
09:02But he's looking to get it done here in the dry as riders finishing up their laps.
09:07There's number four, Dylan Rempel.
09:08That quadlock Honda machine.
09:09That's a difficult section right there.
09:11But getting back to the inside, Adam, we saw Ken Roxton go from the right side of the track to
09:15the left with a ton of momentum.
09:17And it's really difficult because that sand is deep.
09:19And so when you're kind of decelerating in the sand, trying to set up to do the little jump to
09:25the inside,
09:25it's easy for the sand to kind of want to grab your front end.
09:28Rear gets light.
09:29But the number four, making it look easy.
09:32Checkered flag is out.
09:33Looks like Cade Johnson is going to qualify fastest.
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