Troy Dog
Sexton and KTM Accomplish First Win
It only took two rounds. Chase Sexton and Red Bull KTM are now race winners together. Sexton had one of the greatest jumps on the start in possibly the history of the sport. He called it just luck in the press conference, but that one made Jeff Emig and Mike Alessi proud. Mud races are always the great equalizer and Sexton is now leaving San Francisco with the red plate after starting the season with 3-1 scores. It was a convincing win after the start that he had. He managed the race, was jumping things in the rhythms that a charging Eli Tomac wasn’t, and got the job done.
Mac Dog Improves Career Best
I’ve been following Shane McElrath pretty closely for the past year. He was even a part of my Squad at Ironman and through the SMX Playoffs. Before the season started he was talking to me about how he knows his best 450 days are ahead of him and how he hasn’t really found his spot in the class. Regardless of the mud, Mac pushed through to third place early before his teammate Ken Roczen passed him, then stayed in fourth until the checkers. It was a very impressive showing. McElrath improved his career best 450SX finish by one position after his fifth in Denver last season. Not only was it a great night for Shane, but it was a great night for Suzuki in general. HEP went 3-4 and I’ll write about BarX below.
Jordon Smith Grabs First Win Since 2018
This Jordon Smith story has been fun to watch unfold over the past year and a half. Smith took his first win since Daytona in 2018! That’s a LONG time. To put things in perspective our family has had two kids since then and I’ve gotten several million gray hairs. This was a big win for Jordon in the mud as round one winner RJ Hampshire had his struggles. He established himself as the championship favorite with this win (it’s still early) with his 2-1 scores and he’s riding at a level we haven’t seen him ride at in a half a decade.
ClubMX Goes 3 and 4
It was a week full of mud practice at ClubMX in the week leading up to San Francisco and Garrett Marchbanks took full advantage of that. The Muc-Off FXR Yamaha team just had one of their best rounds of 250SX. Phil Nicoletti found himself in second early on before Levi Kitchen came through to pass, then the real drama happened. Nicoletti was sitting third with just one lap left with his teammate Marchbanks closing on him. The Man Child Marchbanks made the move with half a lap to go. Phil missed out on the podium, but it was a nice bounce back after a Did Not Start at Anaheim 1.
BarX Is off to a Strong Start
The Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki team is off to an incredible start in 2024. Their 450 rookie Derek Drake has gone 15th and 13th to start the season, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Drake has had to overcome a lot since turning pro including heart surgeries, so to see him thrive right now is a very cool story. Also, the 250SX rookie Anthony Bourdon from France has had a strong start as well. Bourdon finished 11th at Anaheim 1 and 6th in San Francisco. Keep an eye on these two moving forward.
