Chase Sexton is the defending AMA 450cc Supercross champion. But when the starting gate drops on a new season Saturday night at Angel Stadium, he appears to be a bit of a longshot to hang onto the No. 1 plate.
A lot has changed since he last flew over a triple jump.
For starters, he left the Honda factory dirt bike team, moving to the Murrieta-based KTM program, replacing Cooper Webb, who is now with Yamaha.
The Austrian brand has enjoyed plenty of success in the series, winning championships with Ryan Dungey and Webb. And last season, Webb rode his KTM onto the podium in eight of his first 11 starts.
As impressive as that latter statistic might sound, it was still hard to keep pace with Honda’s dominance in 2023. A CRF450 finished in the top three in 13 of the 17 Supercross races on the schedule, winning six with Sexton.
Figure in the Outdoor Nationals, and the numbers seem to come straight from a video game set on easy mode. Honda won all 22 motos to claim the overall in all 11 races on the 450cc schedule.
“It has been a lot different being on a new team. But we have been working and working. I am looking forward to Saturday and getting our first race under our belt,” Sexton said. “We won’t know where we are at until we go racing, so that is the exciting part about this race. Like always, though, I expect the championship to be decided by three or four guys in the end.”
Eli Tomac, he said, is one of them even though he is returning from what at first appeared to be a career-ending injury. With two races to go in 2023, he was in complete command of the championship on his factory Yamaha, entering into what he called “management” mode.
But in the series’ penultimate event, he came up short on a tabletop jump in the rhythm section in Denver, causing his left boot to extend awkwardly on the peg.
Tomac’s Achilles snapped, ending his season. Sexton inherited the points lead and claimed the championship.
As expected, the “championship with an asterisk” comments soon took over social media. But Sexton said he’s not one to dwell on Instagram likes, electing to stay “even keel and calm.”
“That is my mindset for sure. I want to be calculated in how I approach each race (this season),” Sexton said. “I have some flaws that showed last year, and I am going to work on cleaning those up.”
For a couple of months after the crash, it wasn’t a sure thing that Tomac would be back for Saturday’s race in Anaheim. Retirement was definitely a consideration for the 31-year-old.
The time away from the sport, however, might have actually extended his career.
“I thought I was probably done, knowing how hard this injury can be to recover from,” Tomac said. “But once I decided to go racing again, my neck stopped hurting. My back stopped hurting. I felt fresh. I think it (the Achilles injury) might have given me an extra season or two.”
Tomac has become one of the most successful riders in Supercross history. He won seven main events before his injury, moving him past Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart into second place on the all-time victory list.
If past success can serve as a prediction of future results, there’s a rider entering the 450cc class who has the talent to one day rank among the all-time greats much like Tomac has.
Meet Jett Lawrence.
He’s the one responsible for Honda’s unblemished run through the Outdoor Nationals
Lawrence is the first rookie, and third rider overall, to reach perfection, setting him up to claim the $1 million prize as the winner of the inaugural SuperMotocross Championship last fall.
“I am grateful to be where I am now. I didn’t think success would come this fast,” Lawrence said. “I have worked my butt off to be here. I am looking forward to this season. It should be a good one for me. I just want to learn more and put it out there.”
