KTM on Sexton and Bike
After winning the opening moto at Ironman, Chase Sexton crashed while charging in the second moto and it was unclear if it was a bike manfunction, or just Sexton crashing and damaging his bike.
Ian Harrison, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager couldn't work out what came first, the crash and the damaged bike, or maybe the bike did something to cause the crash. Sexton failed to give a comment on the accident, but below is what Harrison said.
"Our day started well with Tom finishing third after taking Washougal off, and in Moto 2, he rode really well to stay in contact with the leaders for the first eight laps, and third overall was a nice comeback for him. Julien didn't have a great day, but he did get through the day, and he was definitely stronger than when he left off, so hopefully he can build on this. Chase rode an incredible first moto that was nice to watch as a fan – just amazing – and he managed to ride a very calculated race to take the win. Second race, he lost control over the jump – I did not see it exactly – but afterwards I could see that he couldn't get going as the front brake was jammed on. It was unclear at that time when it'd happened, but judging from when we got to the bike, it looks to be that the brake packed full of mud, and that was the after-effect of the crash. Leading up to the crash, we're still unclear of exactly what happened, but it does look like we could be dealing with debris in the brakes from the track, and if thats the case, we need to come up with a solution on how to prevent this in the future."
Sexton posted the third-fastest time during 450MX qualifying, enjoying the fast, flowing Indiana race track on what was a clear day. For Moto 1, Sexton launched to a strong start, only to experience a fall during the opening stages of the race. In what was an inspired performance, the 25-year-old put in a convincing charge through the pack, ultimately delivering a remarkable victory to open his account for the weekend.
Another solid start to Moto 2 saw Sexton chasing down the overall win, briefly entering third position before a fall directly after the finish-line unfortunately drew a premature end to his day. He was credited 10th overall due to his points scored in the opening race.