CHASE SEXTON

Illinois’ Chase Sexton was phenomenal in practice, and the KTM athlete proceeded to carry that confidence into the opening moto, where his pole position accolade translated to the first gate choice...among dozens of other competitors that were trailing him. He used that aforementioned choice as a means to propel forward, where he occupied a position near third, behind both of the Lawrence brothers. Once there, the Australian duo (of Hunter and Jett) would steadily pull away from the Midwest native. It wasn’t as if Sexton was significantly off of the pace that was being presented by both of the aforementioned siblings, but little by little, the Honda teammates would distance their machines from his front wheel. He wasn’t going to stop, however, and even after a ten-second gap (roughly) was sustained between he and the first two competitors, Sexton made sure to keep the third-place position intact through the finish line...conserving a bit of energy as took the bronze medal, while aspiring for redemption in the following segment of events. After claiming the third-place position to begin the second moto, he immediately moved past Hunter Lawrence (for second) before the first lap would conclude. The stalking of the rear wheel (i.e. for Jett) would then begin...until Hunter passed Sexton once more, just after the mechanic’s area to begin lap two. He ran third for the majority of the moto, lurking in the background, until Hunter Lawrence began to fade with five minutes left on the clock...when a brilliant move was made on Sexton’s behalf, in the corner after the finish line! His speed along the outside of the circuit was astounding, and it was enough to propel him past the athlete aboard the number ninety-six machine! He now resided second, and immediately aimed for the Honda machine of Jett Lawrence. The two were bar-to-bar for multiple straightaways and corners, until a definitive pass was made in the mechanic’s area section, with two minutes left on the clock! Sexton’s energy level and aggression were next-level, and enabled him to take the lead with phenomenal speed to the top of the uphill, and corners thereafter. He now had clear vision, and would sustain this output of velocity through the checkered flag, to take the moto victory and second overall on the day...losing only two points to Jett in the championship standings!