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Sexton would be competing in the 250 A class as well as the Open Pro Sport class throughout the grueling week of racing at Loretta’s. His first race would take place in the Open Pro Sport class on Tuesday after racing was delayed almost 4 hours because of heavy rain
showers in the morning. Due to the saturation from
the rain, the track had developed many rough sections as it dried throughout the day. Sexton got a mediocre jump off the gate and was immediately bumped around in the first corner, setting him up for a charge through the pack on the very first lap. He came into the second corner just inside the top 15 and managed to work his way up to 6th place by the end of the first lap. He worked his way past Egan Mastin, Dustin Winter, and Luke Purther in order to put himself into 3rd place right behind Cameron McAdoo as Bradley Taft attempted to pull away at the front of the field. Sexton put in the fastest lap (2:01.68) of the race as he reeled in the MotoConcepts rider of McAdoo. On
lap 6, Sexton put in a charge through the first sand section and was able to use an outside line to set up a pass over the wall jump, putting himself into 2nd position and placing Taft’s Horton Racing Yamaha in his sights. On the very next lap, Taft threw away the lead with a huge mistake in the ten commandments and allowed Sexton to put his Geico Honda into the lead uncontested. From that point forward, he was able to hit his marks and ride a mistake free race in order to bring home his first victory of the week. In the second Open Pro Sport race, Sexton didn’t give himself nearly as much work to do from the drop of the gate. He got off to a top 5 start and found himself trailing KTM Orange Brigade’s Sean Cantrell by just a couple seconds on the first full lap. He put in the fastest lap (1:54.96) of the entire week thus far about halfway through the race in order to bring the gap to Cantrell within 1 second. Sexton was able
to set the pace on lap 5 and immediately begin to pull away from the Californian, winning the race by almost 5 seconds. The last Open Pro Sport moto was almost a mirror image of
the first two races combined. Sexton put his Geico Honda in
the thick of the field out of the gate and was forced to fight through the pack on the opening lap, working his way up to 6th by the finish line jump. It took him until lap 6 to fight his way up to 2nd place, passing high caliber riders such as Bradley Taft, Michael Mosiman, and Cameron McAdoo with relative ease. He put in the fastest lap (1:52.71) of the entire week as he closed the gap at the front to Cantrell yet again. During laps 8 and 9, the KTM and Honda made a four-wheeled bike at the front of the field and the two battled for the win, although Chase didn’t need the moto win to clinch the championship. After a couple sketchy moments, he decided to back it down and bring home the title with three spectacular performances. The 250 A class didn’t go as smoothly for Sexton although he still came away with 2nd overall. His Geico Honda got him off to a good start in the first moto, but had a gnarly get off in the sand on the 2nd lap, forcing him back to the middle of the pack. He dug deep and clawed his way back through the field, salvaging a 5th place position and some valuable championship points in the process. In the next moto, the battle transpired that everyone had been talking about. Sexton and Taft started together out front and the two of them played cat and mouse for the first couple of laps until lap 4 when the rider out of Illinois was able to grab the lead. He put in the fastest lap (2:01.35) of the race shortly thereafter as he pulled away from Taft in demoralizing fashion, eventually winning by a margin of 17 seconds. In the final 250 A Moto, Sexton needed to win and he needed Taft to finish off the podium in order to take the title. Unfortunately, he found himself crossing the line in 24th place on the opening lap with Taft motoring away at the front of the field. He was still able to match the pace of the Yamaha rider as he fought through traffic, eventually fighting his way all the way up to 4th position in an impressive showing of grit and determination. Although he wasn’t able to grab the 250 A title, it’s that kind of spirited effort and mental fortitude that won him the 2016 AMA Horizon Award, an achievement that places him in one of the most decorated groups of riders in motocross history.
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