Ryan Villopoto and Ricky Carmichael had some strong words after Chase Sexton’s comments on his Vital MX interview at Red Bud with an honest Sexton saying, “I needed that time off,” referring to missing races after that Hangtown crash and how tough the schedule is, Sexton saying it make it hard to be good at both supercross and motocross in the same year with only two weeks inbetween both series.
Both champions didn’t hold back as RV all but confirmed Sexton is going to Kawasaki next year.
RV said: “If I’m reading between the lines. I’m saying….this is why I go back all the way into Supercross, why he started wearing his hat backwards, right? So wearing his hat backwards in Supercross and we all know that he’s leaving Red Bull KTM. He’s going to depart there, head over to the factory Kawi team after SMX. So to me, that was an answer that was, you know, he basically he’s kind of checked out. He’s out, moved on, ready for the new challenge, the new team, but your mid season.
“So if you want to be a contender in both championships in the same year, you have to prepare yourself. For Supercross, knowing that Supercross is going to go into the 11th hour.Typically, if you’re racing Jett, if you’re a front runner, it typically goes down into the 11th hour and the championships wraps up. But three weeks later, you start your Pro Motocross championship. I know you did it RC.I did it many, many years, was able to do back to back.
“It’s it there, you know, it’s 31 races, 32 races, that’s, that is what makes the special, special, special athletes become great, because they’re able to handle the pressure and all of the outside noise and racing basically year round. That’s why it’s so special.”
Carmichael said: “They (teams) expect you to be ready for 31 races. No, ifs, or buts about it, that’s why you get paid millions and millions of dollars to be ready. You know, focus your training, focus your testing on said championships, and you make the adjustments necessary so that you are the best guy for the 31 races. That is as simple as it gets. I know I would have been that way.”
“You have to be the best you can all season long. And if that means that you have to adjust your training off the bike, you have to adjust your training on the bike, you have to do testing at certain times, it’s different for everybody, I would have handled it differently than you would have or then Chase has or then Stew did or and then Chad did in my day, like, but you know, everyone has a program. It’s your job and your team’s job to figure out that balance to get it right ao you’re the best guy.
“And that’s what that’s what makes those guys special. It takes a special person to be able to manage all that, especially multiple years like yourself (RV).”
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