• MANI LETTENBICHLER

    THE PERFECT SEASON

  • SPIRITED RIDE EARNS RED BULL KTM'S CHASE SEXTON DETROIT PODIUM FINISH

    プロフィールを表示する
    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton put in a spirited performance during Round 6 of the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship, charging from last place on the opening lap of the Main Event to finish in third position on the podium. Sexton powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to the top of the 450SX Class qualifying timesheets for the second successive round, notching pole position with a 47.353 laptime around the indoor Ford Field layout. Continuing the momentum in his Heat Race, Sexton rocketed out of the gates and crossed the stripe behind teammate Aaron Plessinger, making it a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1-2 during the opening laps. Sexton would eventually make a pass on his teammate, and breeze to the Heat Race victory. The Main Event didn’t get off to the best of starts for Sexton, who mistimed the gate and was held up whilst the field took off. However, in true championship form, the former red plate-holder clawed his way through the field, never giving up as he surged to third place to maintain the joint series lead. Chase Sexton: "It wasn’t a win, although sometimes these are the ones that stick with you more because you put so much heart and fight into it. These types of rides mean a lot, even though it wasn’t a win, it was the best that I could do tonight.” It was another holeshot for ‘The Cowboy’ in the Main Event, who held tough at the front of the 450SX Class during the early stages. Feeling the effects of being under the weather at around the halfway mark, Plessinger would finish his night in Detroit with P9. Aaron Plessinger: "I felt pretty good all day on the bike in Detroit, although off the bike wasn’t ideal. My chest was burning a bit, and it was a struggle. Holeshot the Heat Race, led the race and then got fourth. Same deal with the Main Event, I holeshot, led early on, and ended up finishing in ninth. We’ll go back, recover, and come out swinging in Arlington.” Defending 250SX East Class Champion Tom Vialle opened his Detroit weekend by recording the fourth-fastest qualifying time onboard the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, before racing to fifth place in his Heat Race after a minor mishap. A mid-field start for Vialle in the Main Event had the Frenchman's work cut out for him, as he steadily made his way forward throughout the duration of the race. In a solid performance, Vialle finished with a fourth-place finish in Round 2 of the Eastern Division. Tom Vialle: "I finished fourth in Detroit, very close to the podium. We had a great Main Event, started around position six or seven, came back to third, and then they red-flagged the race toward the end. I ended up with fourth, although we’re going in the right direction – the speed is good, and we’ll get ready for Daytona in two weeks.” Next Race: February 22 – Arlington, Texas Results 450SX Class – Detroit 1. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 2. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) 3. Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 4. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) 7. Justin Barcia (GASGAS) 9. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 10. Justin Hill (KTM) 18. Kevin Moranz (KTM) 20. Anthony Rodriguez (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2025 after 6 of 17 rounds 1. Chase Sexton, 121 points 2. Cooper Webb, 121 3. Ken Roczen, 105 5. Malcolm Stewart, 95 7. Justin Barcia, 83 10. Justin Hill, 69 13. Aaron Plessinger, 53 Results 250SX East Class – Detroit 1. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki) 2. Max Anstie (Yamaha) 3. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) 4. Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 14. Gage Linville (KTM) 20. Ayden Shive (KTM) Standings 250SX East Class 2025 after 2 of 10 rounds 1. Max Anstie, 47 points 2. Levi Kitchen, 38 3. Tom Vialle, 35 14. Gage Linville, 18 25. Ayden Shive, 2

    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 can now look to the first of 22 Grands Prix this season after completing two hot and hectic days of testing activity at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand. As in Malaysia last week, Pedro Acosta was the pacesetter from the quartet on KTM RC16s and ended the second day 4th fastest. The rush to the opening round of the campaign continued in earnest and in the roasting dry heat at Buriram, the circuit where the Thai Grand Prix will take place the first weekend of March. The two Red Bull KTM teams had travelled from Sepang, Malaysia to Bangkok for the official season launch last weekend and then headed northeast from the capital for the last phases of testing and homologation decisions for this term and for 2026. The factory had to gather and filter all the information from the hundreds of laps at Sepang. The outings at Buriram meant more evaluation and then confirmation of settings and hardware choices with the Thai GP very much on the horizon. Acosta’s best lap was less than 0.3 of a second from P1 as Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini were all within one second of the top of the time sheets. Viñales placed 9th on combined times for the two days and 0.7 away. Binder was a fraction adrift in P12 and 0.8. Bastianini ranked P15 in just his third outing with the KTM RC16. The top 15 MotoGP riders were separated by one second at Buriram. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 will now have a brief respite to apply their final touches to the race machinery and confirm engine and aerodynamic mods for 2025. MotoGP will assemble in Buriram during the final week of February to get an exciting and anticipated year speeding into action. Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4th: “We need to be happy. Again, we tried many things and we are getting the pace quite fast. It’s been a good pre-season for me and also for KTM because all four riders are thinking the same way, and the bike has already improved from last year. We are faster and it is easier for me to go faster. We need to be calm and then see how we can start the season here.” Maverick Viñales, Red Bull KTM Tech3, 9th: “I am still trying to understand entry and braking – which is one of the strong parts of the bike – because I’m not yet at the maximum. The exit of the corner is so nice and I have grip. Anyway, it’s coming! I feel comfortable but to get to the next point I just need a little bit more understanding and I’m missing little bits on a flying lap. I need to put the tricks of the bike into my style and it takes time. I’m much closer than I was in Sepang, so that is good.” Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 12th: “Two days here has gone quickly. We did some time attacks in the morning today and then a longer run in the afternoon and it was not too bad. Some small steps for sure, and better than when we were here last time. I feel that we are doing quite well and we need to put some more small pieces together for when we come back here in two weeks. It will be nice to have a full race weekend: I feel like we have done a lot of testing already!” Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech3, 15th: “My approach has to be different. The bike is different and I have to adapt to another style and also understand the difference between new and used tires. We didn’t get a Sprint simulation done today but we can just look ahead to the race now.” Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Very busy weeks in Malaysia and Thailand but finally we have to be happy about all the development that has happened over the winter; for that a big thanks to all the engineers and the crew at the factory who have been working hard in this short time. The team at the tracks have been very focused and we have followed the program quite well. Here at Buriram we turned to testing a bit more for the season ahead and it has been promising. Testing is always testing but the measuring point then comes at the races. As I say constantly: let’s try to be better each day and that’s the way ahead.” Sebastian Risse, KTM Technical Director MotoGP: “We are now ready for the first race. What we did here was a continuation of what we were working on in Sepang, not only for the homologation but for other parts we’ve been working on in a short logistical time frame, far from our base. We had to work very hard to get everything here and ready but we did it. These days we managed to bring all of our test items together as well as the directions people were going with their choices into a common path. We were fast and the bike feels good for the guys who have experience with it, while we went through a learning curve with the others but they showed some good highlights and I think there is more to come. We need to analyze and think about our tire wear for the full race distance and this is something we’ll be doing over the coming week.” Photos from the Buriram International Circuit can be found HERE Buriram official test final times (combined) 1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:28.855 2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.179 3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +0.205 4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.278 9. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.751 12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.877 15. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.982

    プロフィールを表示する
    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 can now look to the first of 22 Grands Prix this season after completing two hot and hectic days of testing activity at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand. As in Malaysia last week, Pedro Acosta was the pacesetter from the quartet on KTM RC16s and ended the second day 4th fastest.

    Get all the information from our world of racing

    View all news

    Racing

    This is what we live for

    This is what we live for

    Racing

    Visit the KTM YouTube channel for the latest Factory Racing videos

    KTM YouTube