“I got through a huge mental barrier to get through that whole race on two wheels and ride solid. It was much needed.” Chase Sexton admitted that finally getting a 20 minute main event in was a big relief, mentally, in the press conference in Atlanta.
But previously, Chase, after his crashes earlier in the year, said that he didn’t feel it was mental, and then, a couple of weeks ago, Chase said he had done some testing with the front end and found a better setting. So, how much really was mental and how much was the new front end setting that led to Sexton getting through those final laps mistake free to take the win?
This is what he told us: “I think it’s a mixture of both. I think mentally, when you have that many crashes late in the race it definitely wears on you and I was definitely bummed out on that. But part me, part bike. It was just easier for me, especially the last couple of races, to be confident in the bike when the track gets rougher. My bike is pretty stretched out right now as far as stability, it’s been good.
“We did some testing in the off week on supercross and it was good last weekend, but last weekend was dry and didn’t really put a lot of load on the bike and this weekend with it being tackier, it was a good test for it, especially with the whoops so, happy with that and just how I rode the whole race. Stoked to keep this thing going.”
And does Eli Tomac getting a fifth and the points gap now down to 17 put him in realistic title contention? “I’m definitely still there, it’s never over till it’s over. i have to win a lot more races to really get into this thing but yeah, we are going to swing the bat every time the gate drops, so looking forward to these last four races to see what can happen.”
Sexton certainly has the pace to win the last four races of the year, yes, he might have to rely on Tomac not getting second for the last four rounds, however, as we saw in Atlanta, there are enough elite riders going fast enough to get in between Sexton, Webb and Tomac to give Chase more hope that he had before Atlanta. However, he has to be perfect to really make this a three way fight going into the final round, but finally, Sexton seems to have worked the bugs out, and now, with his raw speed and ability to get the job done at the end of a 20 minute main, Webb and Tomac can’t count him out.
Article: Jonathan McCready
Image: Honda