Chase Sexton delivered his first win for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing at the second round of the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship in San Francisco, taking a dominant wire-to-wire victory in the muddy conditions and reclaiming the 450SX points lead.
Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen rounded out the podium while in the 250SX West Class Jordon Smith took the win over Levi Kitchen and Garrett Marchbanks.
Sexton came to grips with San Francisco conditions early qualifying second fastest then the defending champion charged to a top-three start in his Heat Race, continuing his level of comfort as he chased down the race leader Jorge Prado, coming within bike lengths of getting the victory. Dylan Ferrandis led home Cooper Webb in heat two.
After firing out of the gates for the holeshot, Sexton took control of the 450SX Main Event to lead from the outset and delivered the performance of a champion, showcasing skill, and consistency as he captured his eighth-career 450SX Main Event race win, and his first since joining Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2024. Eli Tomac kept Sexton within sight but in the end, Sexton’s consistency was too much for the former champion to track him down. Ken Roczen claimed third ahead of Shane McElrath fourth and Aaron Plessinger fifth. Round one winner and championship leader going into the round Jett Lawrence, like many had a night to forget crossing the line ninth. Sexton’s win elevated him into the championship lead, seven points ahead of Lawrence, with Eli Tomac holding down third.
“I have to give a huge shoutout to the team, they’ve put in so much effort and hard work to get me to where I need to be,” Sexton said. “I was a bit disappointed that this round was a mudder as the progress we made from this week to last is pretty crazy, but I’m stoked to get a win for the team and it feels great to deliver this result!”
Like Sexton, Jordon Smith was a gate-to-flag winner in the 250SX West Class. Conditions could not have been any worse as the 250 class battled just to make their way around the sodden San Francisco track. Championship leader going into the round RJ Hampshire had a shocker of a start and was in an uphill battle to repeat his round one win, two more falls in the race didn’t help. Heat winner Jo Shimoda was another to fall victim to the mud with a crash and then a mechanical DNF. Max Volland was another to have a DNF while in a good position.
In the end, it was Jordon Smith who crossed the line first with Levi Kitchen not too far behind. Garrett Marchbanks had his best finish of the season to round out the podium. Like Sexton, the win gives Smith the Championship lead heading into the third round in San Diego next weekend.
