A first win of the season for the KTM rider who profits from a mistake by Sexton to reach the podium at the Raymond James Stadium alongside team-mate Plessinger.
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14.02.2023 ( Aggiornata il 14.02.2023 16:11 )
Conditions were difficult as sporadic rain throughout the day made for a slippery and ever-changing track. Jason Anderson won Heat 1, ahead of team-mate Adam Cianciarulo and Christian Craig (Husqvarna), while Heat 2 went to Chase Sexton (Honda) who beat a strong Aaron Plessinger (KTM) and Eli Tomac (Yamaha) to the line. Cooper Webb (KTM) finished sixth, which meant an eleventh-place start.
Webb gets the holeshot but Sexton breaks away
In the 450SX main event, the holeshot went to Webb, followed by Sexton, who had set the fastest lap in practice, Plessinger, Ken Roczen (Suzuki) and Anderson, with Tomac just ninth at turn one. Sexton was up into the lead already out of turn one, with Webb doing his best not to lose ground. Behind them, Anderson collided with Justin Barcia (GasGas) which caused both to hit the deck. Sexton increased his lead to almost two seconds but the challenging track meant it was easy to make mistakes, particularly though the sandy section and on the whoops. The two leaders raced as if on an elastic, Webb coming close to his rival on two occasions before losing ground again.
He who errs less, wins
The leading duo set a blistering pace, with Plessinger and Roczen following a good distance behind, the German eight seconds ahead of Tomac, who in turn was eight seconds in front of Justin Cooper (Yamaha). Less than three minutes from the end of the race, Webb lost control on the whoops and risked crashing but was able to stay upright and move in on Sexton once more. On the following lap Sexton made the same mistake but was unable to save it, crashing and handing the win to the KTM rider. Chase was nevertheless able to finish second ahead of Plessinger, who scored his first podium of the season. In the championship standings, Tomac, fifth at Tampa, retains the red plate with a 2-point lead over Sexton, 4 over Webb. The sixth round of the 2023 AMA Supercross season, which ran in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium, also awarded SuperMotocross World Championship points.
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