For the third round of the SMX World Championship, Chase Sexton was finally able to grab his first win since July last year, in the 450 main event. Sexton has expressed how challenging the past few months have been, physically and mentally, this past weekend in Anaheim, Calif.
Sexton had come up short in the Supercross championship to Cooper Webb, and then he had a rough summer. After a huge get-off at the first round of the Pro Motocross championship, Sexton was able to come back and race a few more, catching a win at Washougal. After that race, Sexton wrecked again at Ironman Raceway. He later pulled off the track and ended his summer of racing.
When Sexton came back from the playoffs, he was able to be competitive, but not to his full potential. At the World Championship Finale in Las Vegas, he had one of the worst wrecks of the 2025 season, knocking himself out on the face of a jump.
That was the end of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing era for Sexton. He went on to sign with Monster Energy Kawasaki in the off-season. Sexton needed a change of space after a rough few years, and this was the start of it.
The first two rounds saw multiple mistakes from Sexton, leaving him with eighth- and fourth-place finishes.
Throughout qualifying and the heat race, Sexton continued to make mistakes. However, when the main event came around, Sexton made it count, and he was able to bring in his first win with his new team, and a first win in a long time for the multi-time champion.
Hunter Lawrence was able to ride his way into a second-place finish for the second week in a row. Lawrence tried to put the pressure on Sexton, but he was untouchable.
Third place had Eli Tomac ride in for this third podium of the season, making him the only racer on the podium every weekend since the season started. Although it was not the night Tomac wanted, he is still in control of the points lead, and looks as strong as ever.
In the 250 class, Haiden Deegan rode another solid race, bringing him another win on the season. He spent most of the race riding behind his teammate, Michael Mosiman. Deegan did not look like he was being challenged, and with roughly five minutes left, Deegan passed Mosiman and was able to take home his second win of the season.
Mosiman kept his pace and was able to keep a second-place finish. Ryder DiFrancesco rode his way into a third-place finish and now has two podium finishes.
A2 also had the SMX Next class racers, a class filled with racers who are high-school aged and who are trying to prove their skills to the factory teams. Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha had a full podium sweep, with Australia native Kayden Minear winning. On the podium, he called out team owner Bobby Regan and said that he is ready to go pro and race the 250 East class in a few weeks.
Caden Dundey and Landen Gordon finished in second and third, helping to show how dominant the future is for the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha team.
This weekend, racing moves to Houston for the first triple crown race of the year. These races consist of three shorter main events, and scoring is based on Olympic scoring. Someone like Jorge Prado could possibly succeed because he is a good starter and can run up front for a shorter period of time.
Fans will also be able to see another SMX Next race in Houston. Fans can watch the action throughout the day live on Peacock. Qualifying starts at 1 p.m. Eastern and the racing starts at 7 p.m. Another awesome night of racing awaits for all fans around.
