Image: Octopi Media.

450SX rookie Chase Sexton escaped further injury in the crash that ended his race on Saturday night in Arlington, later addressing his heat race incident with Cooper Webb.

After recording back-to-back top-five finishes in the opening two rounds of the residency at AT&T Stadium, Sexton was on pace to make it three in a row on Saturday during round 12 of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross season.

The Team Honda HRC rider started the day by setting the fastest lap during the afternoon qualifying sessions, later taking second in his heat race behind teammate Ken Roczen.

Sexton worked his way into fifth in the early stages of the main event and set his sights on the lead group. Shortly after his solid day took a turn, suffering a race-ending crash on lap five, later confirming he’s fit aside from an additional facial impact and will be ready for Atlanta in two weeks’ time.

“I felt so good on the bike all day,” Sexton recalled. “It was nice to finally see me getting my speed back, qualifying first. I got a good start in the main event and was riding okay until a good crash in the sand ended my night. Overall I feel okay – just looks like I got in a UFC fight.”

During the heat race, Sexton made an aggressive move on Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) that took the points leader to the ground, he addressed it via a statement in the factory Honda team’s post-race press release.

“During the last lap [of the heat] I made an aggressive move on Cooper Webb, but by no means did I mean to take him out,” he added. “That’s not how I ride and I have a lot of respect for him.”

The series will have the next two weekends off before heading to Atlanta for a three-race residency at Atlanta Motor Speedway that kicks off on 10 April.