After a stunningly successful summer campaign, Chase Sexton wrapped up the 2024 450 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championship over the weekend at Ironman Raceway. He did it in dominating fashion too, going 1-1 and trouncing the field in with one of his strongest rides of his season. We checked in with the champ afterward in the post-race press conference.
Chase Sexton, you’re officially the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross 450 Champion. You did it at a home track, that’s got to be a bit special for you, and on top of that, a little redemption for you too.
Chase Sexton: Yeah, this outdoor series has been really good for me. I think my mechanic is blowing my bike up right now. [The sound of an engine bouncing off the rev limiter could be heard while Sexton was speaking.] After supercross, being really down and struggling, I needed this outdoor series. I knew when I got on the bike I knew I could win on it. Automatically I felt comfortable, and I think this year I had a new level. I definitely need it because the competition is really stiff and I want to win championships. I expect myself to be in this position and it’s not easy, it’s tough. These outdoor series are really hard to win because there are so many motos and so many opportunities to do good, and also bad. You have to be on your game. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous today, even though I had a 28-point lead. I was more nervous about things I couldn’t control. I’m glad to go 1-1 today, it was a good track.
You mentioned the 2022 season and battling with Eli [Tomac], and how big that was for your Pro Motocross career. I don’t think it’s been noted enough of how big of a step you’ve taken in Pro Motocross. In your 250 days you had like five overall podiums and one moto win, and you battled with heat exhaustion. How’d you get so good in Pro Motocross?
I really honestly don’t know [chuckles]. As you said, 250-wise, I won one moto and my best overall was a second, going 7-2 I think. I was never really that great. I think it was just a flow thing. I didn’t really gel with the bike, or I was trying too hard or something. Then in 2022 I really found something on the bike and battled Eli head-to-head all summer. That was the kickstart of my outdoor career, I think.
Last year I wasn’t 100 percent and I was struggling. This year was the icing on the cake for me. I felt really good and I think I took my riding to a whole new level. It was needed. I want to win championships.
We’ve watched you grow up both physically, you’re a pretty big guy now. Do you think you fit better on a 450, and that’s what’s helped you? Or was it just being thrown to the wolves with Eli? Either he was going to leave you in the dust or you were going to go with him.
I think it was a little bit of a mixture. Obviously I’m a bigger guy, and I fit the 450 better. I don’t rev the bike much or ride it super erratically. The 450 is better for me. I rode a 125 when I was like 15 and it wasn’t very good. I don’t know if you guys have seen it, I posted it on my Instagram, and it wasn’t the greatest. I’m just not good at hanging it out and riding on that ragged edge, which you need to on a slower bike. I think just the 450 suits me, and racing Eli taught me a lot, and racing Jett [Lawrence] last year two. Those two seasons put together is what got me this championship.
[At this point in the press conference Aaron Plessinger jumped on the mic.]
Plessinger: I think it’s a credit to his teammate, too. He’s got the best teammate in the world.
That’s really nice of you to say that about Tom [Vialle].
Plessinger: [Laughs] He’s got two of the best teammates in the world. I appreciate it you guys, thanks for acknowledging that.
Sexton: I got these two guys beating me during the week so I have to come out here on the weekends.
Plessinger: I let him know I ran faster lap times, so I take credit for both these wins right here. I told him I was faster. And not just faster, but a whole second faster this week.
Sexton: We’re not sure if this is actually true.
Plessinger: It’s true, trust me. It’s true. That’s why they went so dang fast today.
Did you guys have that lap time battle on each other’s bikes yet? Or is that coming this week?
Plessinger: That’ll come when he’s not scared to ride my bike, you know what I mean? [Laughs]
Chase, yesterday you mentioned some of the weaknesses on the bike during supercross, and some of your strengths for outdoors. Have you been riding or testing for SMX at all? And how do you expect the bike to adapt on the SMX tracks?
The bike is really stable. Compared to what I got off of and got on (Honda to KTM), it was like two polar opposites. It took me a while to adjust. And the bike outdoors feels completely different than the bike in supercross. I think now, having this full outdoor series, I can take that and turn it into a supercross bike. That’s what I’m hoping for. But with it being SMX, and the tracks being more outdoorsy, I think we’re going to be pretty good. I haven’t ridden SMX at all, but I messed around with my outdoor suspension last week and I was actually able to do some of the rhythm sections, which I wouldn’t have been able to do last year. I’m looking forward to it. These guys [Plessinger and Vialle] were both really good in SMX last year, so I think the bike is pretty good. AP hunted me down in Chicago in both motos. I think we’re going to be pretty good. The bike suits SMX and I’m looking forward to it.
Your two championships now look very similar—very strong endings to the season both in supercross in 2023, and now motocross this year. Is that a trait you knew you had?
I normally end seasons well. Even in the 250 class, I wasn’t winning, but I was getting on the podium. I like it when it gets harder, and when people start to get weaker. I think that’s when I thrive. Supercross, I think I won like four of the last six races, and this series I think it was six in a row, maybe. Toward the end when people start to get a little more tired I think I excel. But also this year I put an emphasis on trying to fix the middle part. That’s where I struggle. I usually start good, middle isn’t the greatest, and I end good. I need that middle part of the season to be better, and I was able to do that this year. I was a lot better in the middle than I have been in recent years.
That trait, is that why you’re even stronger in the second motos than the first?
Today I was pretty good in the first moto, thank God. I needed it. I was pretty nervous before the first start. Yeah, I had a 28-point lead, but there are so many things that can happen and I wanted that thing done. I didn’t want to chance anything. Nobody even told me what I could get [and still clinch]. The team didn’t tell me. I had it in my head that I could get second and still win, because that would make us tied if he went 1-1 [And if Sexton had DNF’d the second moto]. I just wanted to go for the win, and I felt good enough. The second motos for me...it’s hard. It’s not easy racing outdoors and the second motos are when people get tired. My fitness and how I ride, for me it’s a best case scenario because I ride pretty eco-friendly, you could say, and I have good fitness. I like second motos.
The first motos are where you’ve struggled in the past. Did you have a different approach this weekend?
Well I heard Aaron saying he ran a 1:50 last week at Baker’s Factory! I think today I was just running off adrenaline and I wanted to win. I wanted to clinch in the first moto because I didn’t want to take that risk in the second race. I think this track really suits me, it’s got those long ruts. It’s technical, but you can also be really creative with line choice. I’ve always liked this race, and I just wanted to go out there and put a stamp on this year. The first moto was really good and we had a good pace going. I think we had more in the tank because in the second moto we were like two seconds lap faster. It was two hard motos racing AP today. I knew when I got up this morning and he started talking crap. I knew he was feeling himself and I was going to have to put up with that. The team is doing awesome. But the first moto, it was just adrenaline.
To be able to stamp it with a 1-1, in the midwest, near your home, did you have a lot of family and friends here? What was it like being able to do it somewhere familiar?
A lot of friends, a lot of family. That adds to the pressure, and if you come here and you suck, it’s not good. You feel guilt for having all these people come here and you don’t perform. A lot of added pressure. But I love having people here. It’s nice to see familiar faces. I don’t get to see a lot of people from where I grew up a lot because I’m training in Florida, so it’s pretty special. I love coming back here. RedBud is my home race, I grew up riding there. I rode two GNCCs here [at Ironman], so maybe Aaron and I will have to come back settle it. It’s cool to come race here, this track is one of a kind and awesome.
What’d you think of the track changes and new layout this year?
The woods section is cool. It’s hard to see. There’s a track I used to race at in Southern Illinois called Lincoln Trail. That’s literally what it felt like, I felt at home. I thought Aaron might put the Bark Busters on for the races today. He was really good back there, he was no joke, he was really fast in that section. It was a cool track. The changes were cool. The start is a typical MXGP start I feel like. The track was good.
