It seemed like it couldn’t have got any worse for Chase Sexton after Hangtown with a subdued 11-4 score that also featured a ghostride in his own pits after Webb took him out on the last lap of race one. But somehow is has.
Sexton admitted to Lewis Phillips in their Vital MX interview that the frustration of the last six months had got on top of him – and that was just before his bike appeared to lock up in the air on press day in Colorado firing Sexton over the bars. The bike ironically sent Sexton for a ghost ride!
Sexton limped away and was out of Colorado and maybe longer with the talented American going home to get his knee checked out. But even if he isn’t badly injured, how does Sexton trust a bike now he barely trusted before, Sexton even admitted he was riding around beforehand because he didn’t trust the bike to push to his usual pace.
It is deja-vu for Kawasaki with Jorge Prado just 12 months ago saying the exact same things about the bike and getting heavily criticised for it, but with hindsight it looks like Prado was 100% correct.
Despite Garrett Marchbanks getting good results recently, it seems the steer with the rear Kawasaki doesn’t correlate with with riders like Sexton and Prado who ride very technical and precise and steer with the front end. The history of Kawasaki from Ryan Villopoto to Eli Tomac and even Roman Febvre all use the throttle to steer and have unique styles totally different from Prado and Sexton.
According to Steve Matthes and Jason Weigandt, it seems very difficult for Sexton to get out of his Kawasaki deal like Prado did, and it would look terrible for Kawasaki, who look to be doing everything they can for Sexton to feel comfortable but never getting the set-up he really wants.
For Sexton however, his career is on the line. He is a hyper competitive, world-class, elite level talent who should be battling the Lawrence brothers, Deegan, Prado and Coenen for podiums and wins outdoors this season. Despite having issues with the KTM and complaints at Honda, Sexton was still very fast on both and won championships. He came so close to winning not only the outdoor but also the Supercross championship at KTM and thing did not end at all well there – but he always had the pace to win once he got comfortable.
Now, the pace isn’t there and he feels like he can’t push 100%. With another two years to go on his Kawasaki deal after this, Sexton will be nearly 30 years old if he stays at Kawasaki. Like Prado, it looks like he needs out to save his career, how does he mentally cope with similar results over the next two seasons with Deegan, Coenen and Davies coming into the class? The next generation are here.
The sport is moving on and Sexton can’t get left behind.
Sexton needs out, Kawasaki can’t afford to let him out. What other elite rider would want to go there if Prado and Sexton leave in consecutive years? So, what happens next? Star Yamaha have been loosely linked, but would Chase want to share a truck with a ruthless Deegan and an incoming Davies? It still might be his best option, if it even is an option.
Honda and KTM are already a no-no, leaving a still developing Ducati and Triumph, unless the rumoured Michael Jordan/Chad Reed combination could provide a safe-haven? HEP Suzuki if Roczen retires? Maybe even MXGP could be an unlikely option, get out of America and find a team, maybe even an HRC Honda, if budget could be found, alongside his good friend Vialle and Herlings? An American fighting for a world title could be very valuable to the series. But it is probably too expensive to do and a huge change to adapt too. It would be a dream for MXGP but that’s probably where it will remain.
Realistically, surely Sexton would want another Supercross title in America if he can find a bike that suits him and a team that wants him – who can also afford him. No-one is winning Kawasaki, nor Sexon and it isn’t nice to see a rider of Sexton’s class not at his true level. But it’s a circle that cannot be squared right now.
Both Chase and Kawasaki are between a rock and a hard place, can anyone climb over the rock and provide a solution?
