Frustration for Sexton following failed wall-jump attempt
Practice mishap results in broken teeth and stitches following impact.
Image: Octopi Media.
A failed wall-jump attempt by Chase Sexton in qualifying led to a frustrating night in Daytona as he made his third premier class start in Monster Energy Supercross, that misjudgement damaging his teeth and requiring stitches from the impact.
Team Honda HRC rookie Sexton had been on the bench with a shoulder injury sustained at Houston 2, but managed to return in time for the iconic Daytona Supercross and lodged an eighth-place finish following an eventful main event.
Sexton had earlier launched the wall-jump over the single behind it, but landed in the face of the following tabletop and promptly rolled off the side of the track – the only rider to try that combination throughout the ninth round of the series.
“My first race back here in Daytona was a rough day overall,” Sexton reflected. “I fell in the first practice and in second practice I tried a wall-jump, but landed hard in the next jump face – I put a hole through my lip and chipped my [teeth] really bad, which was frustrating.
“The heat race was okay; I got a good start but got caught up in the second corner and then came back to fourth. I got a good start in the main event but then went backwards. I got freight-trained and just didn’t feel like I was racing out there. I’m pretty frustrated with the ride, but it’s a start and we’ll go only up from here. I’m looking forward to Dallas.”
Sexton had posted the sixth-fastest time in qualifying despite his incident during the afternoon, then rode to fourth in heat one. A strong start in the final saw him circulate in fourth early on before eventually fading down to order to P8. Team manager Eric Kehoe said it was a ‘solid’ effort on return.
“It was great to see Chase back in action,” Kehoe said. “He showed good speed in practice, but over-jumped a double and had to take a trip to the medical rig. Fourth-place in his heat and a solid eighth place in the main on the tough Daytona track conditions was a solid return.”
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