Image: Octopi Media.

Despite a mishap in the closing stages of moto two that ultimately cost him the race victory, Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton remains upbeat and determined to ‘build off’ that mistake at the third round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Thunder Valley.

Sexton charged through the field in both 450MX bouts in Colorado, working his way to fourth in race one before slicing his way to lead in moto two prior to crashing on the last lap. The red plate-holder remounted and finished second to land P3 overall.

“My starts were very sub-par, I was probably 10 to 12th in both motos, which is not great, so I had my work cut out for me,” Sexton recalled. “First moto, it was really muddy and I ran out of tear-offs before halfway, I was wiping my goggles and it was a bit of a struggle.

“Second moto, minus that last lap mistake, was probably one of my best motos of the season. Besides from that, we are in a good spot, and it’s been fun racing these guys. Overall, I feel like mentally, I’m in a different spot than I’ve been on the 450. It’s been really good, going to take that last moto and try and build off of it and look forward to High Point.”

Overcoming the starts and that second moto fall, Sexton has displayed consistency in the opening six motos of the season, only finishing outside of the top two in moto one at Thunder Valley.

With 18 races still remaining in 2022 450MX, the number 23 has a five-point advantage over teammate and round three winner Ken Roczen as the championship moves to High Point this Saturday for round four.