Ryan Villopoto, in the Title 24 podcast chatting with Davey Coombs, compared Chase Sexton’s ride from last to first at Hangtown to the way RV himself and RC used to ride – flat out and on the edge!
The legend feels that Chase has unlocked something extra from himself and the bike in that performance, saying: “I don’t know that I’ve seen Chase ride that well and that fast. I think Chase was riding on edge, but I think that is what Chase needed to do. Sometimes you need to ride that ragged edge to know the limit of the motorcycle and to know the limit of yourself on a very tough track like that.
“I think we saw him, I don’t want to say mistakes, but the bike was all over the place and if you go back and watch myself and watch Ricky back in the day, that’s a lot how we rode, right on that ragged edge fast, fast. Being able to control it but know his limit also and he had a lot of ground to make up, so he had to (ride like that), he only passed AP with two turns to go so he needed to push, he needed to ride that edge and I think he found something in himself and know he knows how hard he can ride and push that motorcycle.”
The big question now is, can Jett Lawrence respond? He opened the door for Chase Sexton to ride maybe his best race ever and find new confidence, a wounded Jett can’t let Sexton build on this – but can he stop that speed and momentum coming into round three still nursing that leg injury?
This might be the biggest challenge of Jett’s career and you just know Chase is ready to take full advantage of the momentum swing. The pace could be even higher than normal this weekend and take the level to the 98 Everts/Tortelli, 06 Stewart/RC and 18 Herlings/ Cairoli of all time speed – fasten your seatbelts!
