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TOP-FIVE FINISHES FOR TOM VIALLE AND CHASE SEXTON IN TAMPA SUPERCROSS

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's reigning 250SX East Champion Tom Vialle has opened his defense with a measured P5 finish in Tampa's first round of the Eastern Regional series, as 450SX teammate Chase Sexton extended his advantage in the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship standings with a fifth-place result at Raymond James Stadium.

Tampa marked the opening round for the 250 SX East division, with two-time MX2 World Champion Vialle sporting the number 1 plate aboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and ready to mount another title challenge this season.

After qualifying 10th at the conclusion of this afternoon's sessions, Vialle rallied in the night’s opening Heat Race, racing up front with the leader before posting a strong ride that earned the Frenchman a third-place finish.

Vialle paced himself during the 250SX East Main Event, with the track proving to be a significant challenge to the riders with its slick, hard-packed base. With that in mind, a measured performance at the season-opening round saw him register an eventual P5 result.

Tom Vialle: "I had a big crash through the whoops in qualifying, so I was lucky to get away with that one. I didn't feel great in practice or qualifying, although felt a bit better for the night show and P5 for our first Main Event of the year. It's not bad, and although it's not where we want to be, we'll build from here and get better for next weekend."

Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Sexton powered his way to the top of the 450SX qualifying timesheets, achieving comfort early in the day on what proved to be a difficult circuit layout.

The momentum would continue for the number 4, who braved a chaotic first turn during his Heat Race to emerge in the mid-pack. From there, a patient ride eventuated in a late pass for the lead, with Sexton breezing to the race win from there.

The Main Event was going to plan for the championship red plate-holder, as he held the lead early, building upon his margin as the race continued. An untimely late-race fall saw Sexton surrender P1, and have to nurse his way home in order to consolidate and maximize points, which he would achieve with a gritty fifth place on the night.

Chase Sexton: "Not the way I wanted to end my night after a good day in Tampa. I was solid all day and qualified fastest, but on a bad lap in the Main Event I went down in the whoops while leading and damaged my front brake and throttle, so basically just had to salvage what I could, limping it home to finish out the race – not an ideal way to finish out the weekend. We’ll get to work again this week and come out swinging at Detroit."

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Aaron Plessinger raced to an impressive second-place finish during the night’s opening 450SX Heat Race, with recent progress paying dividends for 'The Cowboy' in Florida.

With starts now at a premium in the highly-competitive 450SX field, Plessinger suffered from track position in the Main Event, and was battling for position inside the top 10 throughout. Continuing to fight, he would finish the night with a P8 result, which marks his best finish of the year so far.

Aaron Plessinger: "The afternoon was tough, but we found a setting heading into the Heat Race and felt like I ripped in that one! I made a few good passes in the first couple of laps, then ended up second. Come the Main, my start was decent before I got shuffled back early, and just rode around in eighth from there. That was the best I had today, so we'll go back and do some homework before Detroit."

Next Race: February 15 – Detroit, Michigan

Results 450SX Class – Tampa
1. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna)
2. Cooper Webb (Yamaha)
3. Jason Anderson (Kawasaki)
5. Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
6. Justin Barcia (GASGAS)
8. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
9. Justin Hill (KTM)
14. Anthony Rodriguez (KTM)
19. Kevin Moranz (KTM)

Standings 450SX Class 2025 after 5 of 17 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 101 points
2. Cooper Webb, 96
3. Jason Anderson, 84
6. Malcolm Stewart, 77
9. Justin Barcia, 68
11. Justin Hill, 57
13. Aaron Plessinger, 40

Results 250SX East Class – Tampa
1. Max Anstie (Yamaha)
2. Daxton Bennick (Yamaha)
3. Cameron McAdoo (Kawasaki)
5. Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)

Standings 250SX East Class 2025 after 1 of 10 rounds
1. Max Anstie, 25 points
2. Cameron McAdoo, 20
3. Seth Hammaker, 18
5. Tom Vialle, 16

KTM NEWS

TOM VIALLE AND RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING CLINCH THIRD IN 250SMX FINALS

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Tonight's 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Final saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle clinch third overall for the weekend and 250SMX standings following a dramatic season-ending round at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two-time MX2 World Champion and reigning 250SX East title-holder Vialle qualified fifth fastest onboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, before racing to a strong fourth-place finish in the opening moto. In Moto 2, Vialle progressed at a rapid rate throughout the race after a troubled start, finding himself running as high as P2 with the clock counting down. Ultimately, third in the final SMX race of the year contributed to the Frenchman earning third on the podium in Las Vegas, and delivering P3 in the series classification. The 2025 SMX season marked another convincing year for the 24-year-old, who claimed his second-consecutive 250SX East Championship in Supercross, as well as fifth in the Pro Motocross 250MX point standings. Tom Vialle: “The track was really fast today and I had a tough start in Moto 2, but I pushed hard until the very end! I'm pretty satisfied with third in the SMX Championship – I feel like I maximized what was possible for today. Overall, I'm happy with the way that I have ended my 250 career, I pushed as hard as I could in that second race, and I was satisfied in the end with how it worked out tonight." Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in the 450SMX division, Chase Sexton qualified sixth as he adapted to the unique four-lane, dragway-based layout, which featured a range of hybrid-style conditions and obstacles to complete the SMX post-season. In Moto 1, Sexton completed the first lap in sixth before eventually crossing the finish-line in P7. While running inside the top-five in Moto 2, the 25-year-old would unfortunately crash heavily during the latter stages of the moto, later confirming a mild concussion and a weak shoulder that he will have further evaluated this upcoming week. Sexton's 2025 SMX season was highlighted by finishing second in the 450SX standings at the conclusion of Supercross, however, he would go on to miss a large portion of 450MX outdoors. Despite his incident in the Las Vegas SMX Final tonight, he was ranked eighth in the series. Results 450SMX Class – SMX Final 1. Jett Lawrence (Honda) 2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 3. Eli Tomac (Yamaha) 6. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) 9. Justin Barcia (GASGAS) 10. Justin Hill (KTM) 14. Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) Standings 450SMX Class 2025 after 3 of 3 rounds 1. Jett Lawrence, 166 points 2. Hunter Lawrence, 151 3. Eli Tomac, 135 7. RJ Hampshire, 109 8. Chase Sexton, 92 10. Justin Barcia, 86 12. Justin Hill, 62 19. Malcolm Stewart, 20 22. Aaron Plessinger, 14 Results 250SMX Class – SMX Final 1. Jo Shimoda (Honda) 2. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 3. Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 8. Lux Turner (KTM) 22. Ryder DiFrancesco (GASGAS) Standings 250SMX Class 2025 after 3 of 3 rounds 1. Jo Shimoda, 167 points 2. Seth Hammaker, 144 3. Tom Vialle, 127 12. Lux Turner, 56 16. Ryder DiFrancesco, 41 22. Julien Beaumer, 15