It was KTM 1 – Kawasaki 0 after the opener at Anaheim! For KTM it could not have went better, for Kawasaki it could not have went worse. KTM’s two new signings, Jorge Prado (who wanted off the Kawasaki), and Eli Tomac, went 1-3, while Kawasaki watched Marchbanks not even qualify after a crash in the LCQ and Sexton (who wanted off the KTM) crashed in both his heat race and main event on his way to a frustrating eighth.
Sexton had to ride off the track while seeing his replacement at KTM win (Tomac) and the guy who was not happy with the Kawasaki (Prado) prove his point immediately by getting his first podium in Supercross in what was only his third Supercross race since he moved to the US full-time. The worst case scenario for Kawasaki actually happened.
But Sexton had the speed all day, he looked great on the bike, that unique hybrid Everts/Windham combo style he has was flowing in practice on the Kawasaki, he was looking great on the eye and on the stopwatch, so that’s the positive and a pretty big one at that. The problem was when it came to perform the mistakes showed up.
Consquently, the pressure is on even more, not just to show speed to but show he can win and not make the mistakes he has been prone too before or go searching for bike settings. Sexton is already behind in points to all his rivals, he and Kawasaki cannot afford to have another bad round, both their reputations are at stake.
Sexton said of his A1: “The day started off well with earning fastest qualifier. I felt really comfortable on the track and felt like I had the speed to contend up front. Unfortunately, I had a couple of mistakes during the heat race and main event that forced me to work my way through the field. It’s only the first round, and we have a good base to build off. We’ve got some work to do, but I know we’re capable of improving and putting up better results next week“
It is imperative Sexton rebound’s this weekend to get the season and confidence restarted to contend for this title, he is there to win the Supercross championship and nothing less should be acceptable, he is that good. If this continures to go badly in San Diego, there is a risk things could spiral and the honeymoon period could be over.
Having already been on Honda and KTM he is running out of options as is Kawasaki. Both rider and manufacturer have to make this work, and quickly, but both are already under pressure, especially with Tomac and Prado’s performance on the KTM.
All eyes are on everyone at A1 but all eyes will be on Kawasaki and Sexton at San Diego.
