Round 13 of the US Supercross Championships in the Atlanta Motor Speedway infield: HRC Factory Drivers Chase Sexton was the fastest in qualifying lap time before. He finished the second heat in 3rd place.
The Holeshot but won the decisive final Ken Roczen (Suzuki), who is the first left turn went all the way inside after the start and took the lead. But already in the first rhythm passage made behind him Sexton Pressure, sat down next to him before the bridge jump and took the lead past the inside.
At the beginning of the race had to Roczen still against Jason Anderson fight back, but fell back from the 4th round and finally dropped out. The two title contenders, Eli Tomac (Yamaha) and Cooper Webb (KTM), did not start well in the final and had to free themselves from the midfield traffic. From the 2nd round was Tomac behind his title rival and this duel lasted until the last lap. Tomac always came within striking distance, however Webb fended off all attempts to overtake Tomacs, allowing him to close the gap by one point at the end of the day.
Chase Sexton maintained control at the front, made no mistakes and led the race confidently and unchallenged. Roczens gap to P2 was 2 to 3 seconds in the first laps. From round 2 took Justin barcia (GASGAS) the pursuit of Roczen on. He needed 6 laps to close the gap to the German. Roczen fought back as best he could, but initially the Whoops he made a small mistake and momentarily lost traction. It seemed like it had shifted gears or just shifted into too high a gear. This chance passed barcia course did not miss and was closest Walljump already beside him and walked past.
Webb and Tomac were already 13 seconds behind at this point. In the end, they could no longer pose a threat to the Thuringian.
Sexton won the race after 15 laps by a margin of 7 seconds barcia and Roczen. And barcia just one point behind in the standings before the race in Atlanta Roczen had, could barcia Roczen in Atlanta from P4 push away.
The order of the top 3 in the table remained unchanged, but the gaps narrowed. Tomacs 7-point lead narrowed to 6 in Atlanta. Sextons residue on P3 to the top was reduced by his victory from 25 to 17 points. With that is Sexton back in contention for the title, even if his odds aren’t the best with 4 races left.
Although Cooper Webb was able to reduce his deficit in Atlanta, he was quite dissatisfied with himself and fourth place at the finish: “I didn’t drive well today,” he explained KTM-factory driver. “Today I didn’t feel very comfortable on the track. We have for the rest Events we still have a lot of work to do.”
It’s going in next week East Rutherford with the 14th Event the Supercross-Saison 2023 onwards and the series remains exciting. For Ken Roczen will it be about Justin barcia to leave behind and thus recapture place 4 in the table.
Result SX Atlanta, 450 ccm:
1. Chase Sexton (USA), Honda
2. Justin barcia (USA), GASGAS
3. Ken Roczen (D), Suzuki
4. Cooper Webb (USA), KTM
5. Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha
6. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
7. Adam Cianciarulo (USA), Kawasaki
8. Dean Wilson (UK), Honda
9. Colt Nichols (USA), Honda
10. Justin Hill (USA), KTM
…
21. (DNF) Jason Anderson (USA), Kawasaki
…
DNS: Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna
DNS: Joey Savatgy (USA), Kawasaki
DNS: Dylan ferrandis (F), Yamaha
DNS: Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna
DNS: Marvin Musquin (F), KTM
Championship standings after heat 13 of 17:
1. Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha292
2. Cooper Webb (USA), KTM286, (-6)
3. Chase Sexton (USA), Honda, 275, (-17)
4. Justin barcia (USA), GASGAS, 239, (-53)
5. Ken Roczen (D), Suzuki238, (-54)
6. Jason Anderson (USA), Kawasaki, 214, (-78)
7. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM213, (-79)
8. Adam Cianciarulo (USA), Kawasaki, 155, (-137)
9. Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna150, (-142)
10. Justin Hill (USA), KTM140, (-152)