CHASE SEXTON - GRIT 229 450MX

CHASE SEXTON | GRIT-229 | 450MX

Many could sense the determination in Chase Sexton's demeanor as he rolled to the starting line for practice on Saturday, where the Honda athlete possessed motivation to obtain victory once and for all in this challenging 2023 series. However, standing in his way, would be his teammate Jett Lawrence who was "on fire" throughout the outdoor tenure thus far...which would set a dramatic storyline, for what was to play out in the first moto that followed. Sexton was able to gather a position of third after the first full lap of action, and took only a fraction of time thereafter to work his way around Garrett Marchbanks. Once the ClubMX Yamaha rider was overtaken, it was then time of zeroing-in on Lawrence. The process of perseverance was in full effect as Sexton dove into corners with subtle milliseconds more of throttle, carrying velocities that were just a tad bit more than his Honda counterpart; which led to a "near pass" being made on the far-side of the track, where both racers approached the same inside roller in unison! Sexton would attempt to stick his front-wheel into a groove that was just inside of Lawrence, but the Australian and he would nearly collide which caused Sexton's momentum to stall! Luckily, every bit of momentum was rekindled in the seconds thereafter, and the Illinois native would only lose a small portion of time. It was a race against time, from that point onward, and the diminishing amount of second(s) on the clock would be portrayed via the riding style of Sexton. He would charge into turns with authority, but with three laps to go, an unfortunate wash-out (while being pursued by Dylan Ferrandis) would cause the number twenty-three to knife the front-end and violently go over the bars, in the corner before one of the largest tabletops on the circuit! Slowly, he would regenerate the flow that was, and would coast to the finish-line in the minutes thereafter with his bike slightly mangled - obtaining third at the checkered flag, while seeking to battle once more in the following race. Chase was able to keep Adam Cianciarulo at bay by the time the duo crossed the finish-line (for lap one) of the following bout, but as that was transpiring, Lawrence was beginning to break away. Circuit after circuit, Sexton remained engaged to every bump and rut that was quickly approaching - but it wasn't enough to nullify the lead that Jett had created. Therefore throughout the fifteen-lap contest, even as Dylan would make his way forward, Sexton was seemingly in a realm of his own...eventually hanging onto second while watching Lawrence win from afar, and generating an overall runner-up score prior to heading into the final round(s) of the series.

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