PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS & RICH SHEPHERD
It’s happened again. Adam and Austin coughed up both titles, and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis and GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton grabbed them. Neither rider had won a supercross race until this year.
Time to meet the new champs.
PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS & RICH SHEPHERD
It’s happened again. Adam and Austin coughed up both titles, and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis and GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton grabbed them. Neither rider had won a supercross race until this year.
Time to meet the new champs.
exton and Ferrandis have been around for a minute, but you probably haven’t heard much from them. Sexton is not a talker. The Illinois kid is a blue-collar type with humble Midwestern sensibilities. He just loves to work. Sexton’s weekly routine is stout enough for Ken Roczen and Cianciarulo, who have worked alongside him at the Moto Sandbox in Florida, to use as a standard. A year ago, Roczen told me of Sexton, “He’s really, really strong with everything he does—the ski erg, all of that,” before quickly adding, “but so am I.” Last year, Cianciarulo said, “It’s really hard for me to be faster than Chase.”
In contrast to a lot of young flyers, Sexton rides efficiently, never over-revving, over-scrubbing, or over-whipping. His body position rarely varies. He credits Roczen with teaching him a lot about testing—another skill that eludes many young 250 pilots. In many ways, the 19-year-old Sexton is an old soul. His Las Vegas title celebration maxed out at eating pizza and ice cream with his parents.
It’s a complete contrast with his rival, the flashy Forkner, who recently posted an Instagram photo of himself getting “absolutely disgusting” with a scrub during his rookie season. Forkner is dating a Monster Energy Girl. Forkner started selling T-shirts with the logo “Fast AF.”
Sexton and Forkner built a quiet rivalry through their amateur days, as Forkner hails from Missouri and Sexton from Illinois—close enough, by motocross standards. Forkner is 11 months older than Sexton, so Chase was always chasing. Forkner had the hype and speed, with Sexton nipping at his heels, and that’s exactly how it played out early this year, with Forkner ripping off wins and Sexton coming up frustratingly short each weekend. Some believe the long game will still belong to Sexton. Whereas Forkner and most amateurs rode and trained all year, he remained in Illinois almost until the end, parking the bike in the winter. He believes this will leave him fresher and more willing to work now.
Sexton has become one of the biggest, strongest, and fittest riders in the 250 class. He would rather not talk about his size and also would not like to use it. He appeared taller than he did last year once he reemerged on the 2019 racing scene at the Minneapolis 250SX East Region opener. He denied it, but once he walked away, GEICO Honda team manager Dan Betley explained that Chase is noticeably taller on the bike.
exton and Ferrandis have been around for a minute, but you probably haven’t heard much from them. Sexton is not a talker. The Illinois kid is a blue-collar type with humble Midwestern sensibilities. He just loves to work. Sexton’s weekly routine is stout enough for Ken Roczen and Cianciarulo, who have worked alongside him at the Moto Sandbox in Florida, to use as a standard. A year ago, Roczen told me of Sexton, “He’s really, really strong with everything he does—the ski erg, all of that,” before quickly adding, “but so am I.” Last year, Cianciarulo said, “It’s really hard for me to be faster than Chase.”
In contrast to a lot of young flyers, Sexton rides efficiently, never over-revving, over-scrubbing, or over-whipping. His body position rarely varies. He credits Roczen with teaching him a lot about testing—another skill that eludes many young 250 pilots. In many ways, the 19-year-old Sexton is an old soul. His Las Vegas title celebration maxed out at eating pizza and ice cream with his parents.
It’s a complete contrast with his rival, the flashy Forkner, who recently posted an Instagram photo of himself getting “absolutely disgusting” with a scrub during his rookie season. Forkner is dating a Monster Energy Girl. Forkner started selling T-shirts with the logo “Fast AF.”
Sexton and Forkner built a quiet rivalry through their amateur days, as Forkner hails from Missouri and Sexton from Illinois—close enough, by motocross standards. Forkner is 11 months older than Sexton, so Chase was always chasing. Forkner had the hype and speed, with Sexton nipping at his heels, and that’s exactly how it played out early this year, with Forkner ripping off wins and Sexton coming up frustratingly short each weekend. Some believe the long game will still belong to Sexton. Whereas Forkner and most amateurs rode and trained all year, he remained in Illinois almost until the end, parking the bike in the winter. He believes this will leave him fresher and more willing to work now.
Sexton has become one of the biggest, strongest, and fittest riders in the 250 class. He would rather not talk about his size and also would not like to use it. He appeared taller than he did last year once he reemerged on the 2019 racing scene at the Minneapolis 250SX East Region opener. He denied it, but once he walked away, GEICO Honda team manager Dan Betley explained that Chase is noticeably taller on the bike.
In a rare exposure of emotions, Sexton said during his NBCSN interview, “I understand we’re racing for a title, but sawing at someone’s front wheel isn’t cool.” By the press conference 20 minutes later, he was back to saying, “Maybe I came into Austin a little bit off the start, and he was really. . . . I can’t knock him.”
A few weeks earlier, another title rival, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper, took himself and Sexton out while battling for the lead in Nashville. It cost both of them a shot at what would have been a first career win. Sexton was mad when he came off the track but quickly collected himself and steered clear of controversy in his post-race comments.
No drama on the track or off. Sexton says the pizza-and-ice-cream title celebration in Vegas was required because, at 19, he can’t really do anything crazy in Vegas. (Many teenaged riders from this sport’s history might beg to differ.) It’s not his age, really, that keeps him out of trouble. Sexton would rather just get back to work and focus on another title as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross gets underway.
In a rare exposure of emotions, Sexton said during his NBCSN interview, “I understand we’re racing for a title, but sawing at someone’s front wheel isn’t cool.” By the press conference 20 minutes later, he was back to saying, “Maybe I came into Austin a little bit off the start, and he was really. . . . I can’t knock him.”
A few weeks earlier, another title rival, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper, took himself and Sexton out while battling for the lead in Nashville. It cost both of them a shot at what would have been a first career win. Sexton was mad when he came off the track but quickly collected himself and steered clear of controversy in his post-race comments.
No drama on the track or off. Sexton says the pizza-and-ice-cream title celebration in Vegas was required because, at 19, he can’t really do anything crazy in Vegas. (Many teenaged riders from this sport’s history might beg to differ.) It’s not his age, really, that keeps him out of trouble. Sexton would rather just get back to work and focus on another title as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross gets underway.
When they first hooked up as training partners and buddies in 2014, it appeared nothing could stop them. Adam Cianciarulo led the 250SX East Region points in his first year as a pro, and Ken Roczen led the 450SX points in his first year in the big-bike class.
Since then, both careers were nearly derailed by injuries. That hurt considerably, but weakness of the body created strength of mind, in turn helping Cianciarulo get through his heartbreaking crash and loss of a supercross title this season.
“There was a time when I wasn’t even relevant anymore,” AC said from inside the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki hauler as he prepared for practice at Fox Raceway. “I was gone for so long with injuries, I really wondered if I was done.”
This time, he’s still healthy, and the upcoming Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 250 National Championship helped him look forward, not back. At the Hangtown motocross opener, Roczen and Cianciarulo won their classes on the same day.
“Obviously, I have a couple of guys in the 250 Class that we’re friends and whatever, but for Adam, I was super stoked,” said Roczen, who had not won in two years due to his own injuries but has already shown great determination in coming back. “I’m very happy for him that he could pull this off, absolutely.”
“It’s one of those things where when something bad happens—like for instance me, Vegas a couple weeks ago—what are you really going to text me and say?” Cianciarulo said. “It’s hard. I think because [Roczen] knows everything I’ve gone through, and he’s gone through some of those bad moments, it gives some credibility. I thought I was done. So I think there’s been a couple times where we’ve leaned on each other, but we both know how to get through it. So it’s cool to see him do good.” 
Sexton’s response? He never said a word.
Ferrandis, on the other hand, is relatively new to U.S. fans, and some might feel like he came from nowhere because he doesn’t pack the World Championship credentials of a Roczen or a Marvin Musquin. Injuries didn’t help his quest. A few years back, Ferrandis spent some time as arguably the second-best MX2 rider in Europe behind Jeffrey Herlings. In 2015, he led the standings briefly but then snapped ligaments in his knee, ending his season. Herlings later got hurt himself, and the title went to another Frenchman, Jordi Tixier.
“I watched him on TV,” Star Racing team owner Bobby Regan says. “I watch all the GPs, and he really stood out. One day his agent, Jimmy Button, got around to talking about him, and I told him I already knew about Dylan.”
Ferrandis’ creativity and style made him a hit within the pro pits. In ’17, I stayed inside the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna semi throughout the day at the Detroit Supercross, and Jason Anderson and Dean Wilson kept asking to review practice footage—not of other 450 riders, but of Ferrandis, a supercross rookie racing 250SX. Anderson and Wilson liked his style and line selection. (Well, they actually weren’t asking for footage of Ferrandis, because as a joke they kept calling him “Fernandez.”)
After an evening of celebrating in their respective ways in Las Vegas, it was right back to work for both Ferrandis (34) and Sexton (23), as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross was just two weeks away. Both plan on being
in the title mix.
“The biggest problem was he couldn’t really speak English,” Regan says. “To really set up these bikes, you have to be specific with what you want to do, and we really couldn’t communicate. Dylan could speak some English, but after two years he’s gotten a lot better. Now his girlfriend [Nastasia Da Silva]? Wow. She didn’t speak any English at all at that time. None at all! So it took a while for everyone to get to know each other.”
Ferrandis’ English has improved, but he has developed his riding by keeping it French. When he first moved to the U.S., he was indoctrinated with his teammates under Star Racing trainer Gareth Swanepoel. The whole crew spent the summer of ’17 at Cooper Webb’s track in North Carolina, but the living arrangements were hastily thrown together, and Ferrandis and Da Silva, still new to the States and barely able to speak to the team or anyone else around, were a bit isolated. Swanepoel now bases the entire year of training in California, but Ferrandis contacted his childhood hero, eight-time premier class AMA Supercross race-winner David Vuillemin, for some advice. It has since morphed into a full program, with Vuillemin handling all of Ferrandis’ riding and training.
“David Vuillemin knows what he’s doing, so we’re not worried about it,” Regan says.
“We spend 100 percent of the time together, at the track, in the gym, and when I run, he follows me on the bike,” Ferrandis says of Vuillemin. “That’s why I pay him—we saw this year with the West Coast championship, he helped me a lot. Every time he can, he pushes me—not to the limit, but right to the point where I’m not crashing or having too many risks.”
Vuillemin preaches smooth, clean, efficient racing, especially in supercross. He wants riding to look effortless. So far this year, Ferrandis has avoided the injuries that have plagued him for so many years: a wrist injury at the Budds Creek National ended his ’17 season early, and a huge crash at the 2018 Atlanta Supercross led to a broken arm, eliminating him from title contention in either campaign.
When he landed the supercross title this year, he and Da Silva celebrated in true French fashion, going to a Michelin three-star restaurant. “This was very cool for us because we like the good food,” he said. “On Saturday night we went to the Monster Party [at The Palms], but we all know the outdoors is coming fast so we could not go too crazy.”
With Ferrandis and Sexton each now in the hunt for a second title, real celebrations will have to wait. The only difference if one of them prevails again? It won’t be a surprise. 