At the first five rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, it seems as though we are seeing a different Chase Sexton than we have seen in years past. During the 2023 season Sexton was most often the fastest during qualifying, but he threw away some wins during the main events. So far this year though, Chase has been consistent, in fact it is his consistency that has regained him the red plate in Detroit over his teammate Aaron Plessinger. He is the only rider to land on the podium at three of the five rounds so far.
“Yeah, it's nice to have the red plate, but what really only matters is the person who ends with it," Sexton said after a runner-up ride in Detroit. "So, it's nice to have it back. We're all pretty close in points but tonight was one of my best rides on the new bike. We've had so many mud races, last weekend with a triple crown and this weekend was our first real main event and I felt pretty solid in the conditions. I didn't have a great heat race. And after seeing the 250 start, I was pretty far outside and I was a little bit nervous if I didn't get a good jump, I was gonna get pushed off the track. So, I got a good start, and I had some good speed, some mistakes, obviously, but it was a good main event and looking forward to building off that.”
So, is this more consistent Chase a byproduct of the new KTM or just him maturing? Or maybe a little of both?
“Yeah, I mean, starting off the season, I definitely lacked speed but the last however many weeks I've been getting faster and faster, and we'll definitely get back to the speed I had last year," he says. "Just takes a little bit of time getting to know a new bike and what works and what doesn't. But overall, I feel very stable on the bike. I feel happy. It's a lot different and like I've said before, it's just takes a lot to get used to. So, we'll keep getting better and get some of that speed back that we had last year."
Chase has not been shy about the fact that adapting to the new bike has been a process. It takes time to learn a new machine, especially going from a Japanese brand with an aluminum frame to an Austrian brand with a steel frame. There’s no doubt that Chase and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team will be working diligently to get him as comfortable as possible. If he is able to find the speed he had last year, and if he is able to stay as consistent as he has been this year, knowing when to take a podium instead of pushing for a win and throwing it all away, maybe he will be the guy who has the red plate at the last round.
At the post race press conference he definitely sounded like a seasoned veteran who knew when to push the envelope and when to take the result the night presented.
“Yeah, it's a little bit of a chess game. I was good in the beginning and then Jett [Lawrence] kind of got away and I started picking up on some of his lines and I started making a little bit of a run and got really cross rutted in the whoops. And that was kind of all I had. Or not all I had, it was kind of over at that point. So, it was a good race and I know he was trying to manage the race and I wanted to make a little bit of a charge and make him uncomfortable, and I made a mistake in the meantime."
A mistake cost him a couple of seconds but did not result in a crash, unlike what happened time and time again in 2023. It certainly sounds like Sexton has found maturity and consistency. Can he couple that with the speed to win more races? That might be what ultimately decides if he's holding the red plate again at round 17.
