Most Impressive: Detroit
February 18, 2025
Image from Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Round 6 in snowy Detroit! Who were the Most Impressive riders from each class? (Spoiler: for the first time this year, it’s the two red-plate holders!)
450 Class: Chase Sexton
Sexton has been good all year, but he’s been shadowed by impressive rides from the likes of Tomac, Stewart, Roczen, etc. Now, for the first time this year, Sexton is Most Impressive! For 99% of that race he was unreal… charging through the pack with the fastest lap time, passing riders like they were standing still, etc. For the other 1%… he ran into the gate, started dead last, and then ran into another rider to crash whilst moving through the field. Regardless, that charge from last to 3rd was super impressive; he said it reminded him of his ride at Hangtown last year.
Sexton seemed to be fast everywhere on the track… best whoop segment time, and he was also one of the only riders to do a 3-2 in the small rhythm before the whoops. We asked him about it during the post-race press conference, and he mentioned how he saw Levi doing it in qualifying and saved it up for the race (Roczen also jumped it earlier in the day, but didn’t try it in the main event).
Afterwards in the press conference, Sexton had this to say about the race:
”I was dead last, and I was like, ‘Well, time to send it!’ I felt like I rode really well; probably the best ride of the season, but it’s obviously not the result we wanted. But I made the most of a bad situation… I was smashing the whoops and that’s more like it for me. I’m looking forward to keeping this season going; that ride was fun.”
250 Class: Max Anstie
Let’s be real, that was Anstie’s race win and he got robbed by a bad rule. But we will save that convo for another day… for now, let’s focus on how impressive that race was for Anstie pre-red flag. Anstie quickly got out to the lead, put down the fastest lap, and pretty easily gapped everyone behind him (including one of his main competitors Levi Kitchen); he was cruising his way to a second consecutive win when the race was red-flagged.
I’ve been super impressed with Anstie so far this season. He looks levels above where he was at last year… he’s smooth, not riding over his head, but somehow the fastest guy on the track. You can tell he’s super confident with his fitness, speed, bike, and program… the whole package is coming together, and he’s quickly solidifying himself as the number one guy in the 250 East Division. He also isn’t afraid to talk some smack… at least to his team owner Bobby Regan: on the podium, he mentioned a phone call with Bobby that he didn’t like and called Bobby out. We asked about it in the post-race press conference, where he mentioned he’s still learning how to communicate with Bobby; the convo fired him up, and Bobby loves it. As long as Max keeps performing, it’ll all be good over in the Star Yamaha camp.
Here’s what he had to say about the night:
“That red flag threw a bit of a spanner into the plan there. I was in a tough spot, because I knew Levi was fast, and the track was quite open. There were a lot of places to send it down the inside, and I would have done the same thing… I had it in the bag. I was literally cruising around the last two laps, and then the red flag [came out]. It is what it is. Big picture: I’m solid, I feel really good, I’m fast, I’m comfy where I’m at so, yeah, what a bummer.”
250 Class Honorable Mention: Hardy Munoz
Munoz is a true privateer: he’s not on any team, and is backed by his family to help him get to the races. Despite the privateer program, he has been super fast and solid in the main events this year to get 13th and 12th so far. Yes, he has been crashing and making some mistakes in qualifying, but he has managed to clean it up and get impressive results in the mains. Go Hardy!
