Image: Octopi Media.

It was a case of what could have been for Chase Sexton in Seattle who has labelled the 11th round of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship ‘definitely a night I want to move on from’ after crashing while leading in the main event.

In what has become a familiar sight this season, the Team Honda HRC rider qualified fastest at Lumen Field and entered the round off the back of his main event victory in Detroit.

Sexton missed out on the heat two win by just 0.490s behind Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and was able to take the early lead in the main event.

The number 23 led for the first 10-laps before disaster struck and he fell in the turns after the finish line jump. Remounting from the fall, Sexton battled to ultimately take the chequered flag in fifth but lost crucial points to championship rivals Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) and Webb who finished the final first and second respectively.

“Not a great night,” Sexton recalled. “I almost holeshot and got into the lead super quick, but when I fell the bike was just mangled. I had a hard time moving up after that. It’s definitely a night I want to move on from. I just have to go to the next round and prove what I can do.”

Unfortunately for Sexton, it is not the first time this year he has crashed while leading a main event and with six rounds remaining in the 2023 450SX championship, he is third in the standings, 22-points behind Webb and Tomac as Monster Energy Supercross resumes in Glendale on 9 April.