Marchbanks on Seattle SX Crash: “I knocked the wind out of myself pretty bad and couldn't breathe for about two minutes”

It has been a tough start to 2026 for the two new Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Garrett Marchbanks and Chase Sexton. Marchbanks went down with a hard crash Saturday night in the Seattle SX 450SX main event, prompting red cross flags to be waved. He was able to get up under his own power and get back on his bike, before stopping in the mechanics’ area. Although he was a few laps down, Marchbanks finished the race. He said in Kawasaki’s post-race release he knocked the wind out of himself “pretty bad” and “couldn't breathe for about two minutes. “I got up and was just trying to catch my breath,” he said.
Marchbanks did not qualify for the Anaheim 1 450SX main event in his first race with Monster Energy Kawasaki, then he missed the San Diego SX after a mid-week crash at the practice track resulted in a failed concussion protocol test. He has finished 13-15-13-22 in his four main event starts. He said he following on Seattle in the Kawasaki release:
“I love Seattle. The track was fun, but gnarly all day long. I felt like I started to get my flow and the bike together after second qualifying. We made a slight adjustment going into the heat race and had a good heat race from it. I started to feel better around Lap 4, we were able to put some good laps together and felt good going into the main event, with a good gate pick. I got off to a decent start and made some good passes in the main event. I was finally able to run up there in that Top 10 area and was able to battle the guys I knew I could always be around. I felt like I finally had that flow I’d been searching for, but I hit a weird spot in the rhythm and had a big crash. I knocked the wind out of myself pretty bad and couldn't breathe for about two minutes. I got up and was just trying to catch my breath. I had to pull into the mechanics area to make some adjustments to my bike, and gave myself a minute to regroup because I was struggling to feel my hands. I wanted to go back out and finish this one out for the team, but I just had to roll this one out through the finish. Besides that, I thought it was really good improvement. I was having a lot of fun out here and looking forward to the rest of the season.”
| Position | Race | Class | Date | Bike |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Supercross Birmingham | 450SX | March 21, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 14 | Supercross Indianapolis | 450SX | March 7, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 7 | Supercross Daytona | 450SX | February 28, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 22 | Supercross Arlington | 450SX | February 21, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 22 | Supercross Seattle | 450SX | February 14, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 13 | Supercross Glendale | 450SX | February 7, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 15 | Supercross Houston | 450SX | January 31, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 14 | Supercross Anaheim 2 | 450SX | January 24, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
As for Sexton, he came through the Seattle checkered flag fifth. A lot of eyes have been on his move to Kawasaki. He has finished 8-4-1-5-7-5 with his only podium being the Anaheim 2 SX win. He sits fifth in points, 18 points behind championship leader Hunter Lawrence. Will Sexton be able to turn around his season? He said the following in the team release:
“Today was a bit frustrating for me. I expect to be at the front right now, but we’re not there yet. This week we worked on starts a lot and it paid off, as we saw today. Right now, I’m headed back to Florida and the team is going to come out and test more with me this week. We’re hopeful to make some positive changes and come into Arlington ready to fight.”
| Position | Race | Class | Date | Bike |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Supercross Arlington | 450SX | February 21, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 5 | Supercross Seattle | 450SX | February 14, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 7 | Supercross Glendale | 450SX | February 7, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 5 | Supercross Houston | 450SX | January 31, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 1 | Supercross Anaheim 2 | 450SX | January 24, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 4 | Supercross San Diego | 450SX | January 17, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 8 | Supercross Anaheim 1 | 450SX | January 10, 2026 | Kawasaki KX450SR |


