2023 AMA Supercross Championship: Salt Lake City Recap
In a critical round of the Monster Energy AMA 450 Supercross Championship, the race in Salt Lake City positioned Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb in a duel for the title. Webb needed a fifth-place finish or better to secure the championship should Sexton claim victory.
Despite the stakes, Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger, a teammate to Sexton and a friend to Webb, had different plans. After starting strong with a holeshot in the main event, Plessinger faltered, finishing sixth—47 seconds behind the winner. His performance left a significant gap in the title narrative.
In a post-race interview, Plessinger reflected on the challenges he faced: “Salt Lake City was a pretty good race. I struggled to find a setting that worked for me in qualifying, but by the time we got to the Heat Race, it was working awesome! I got a holeshot there and won the thing, which was good. Holeshotted again in the Main, but I saw that I was around both Coop and Chase, and panicked a bit—I doubled the whole way down a rhythm lane and lost a lot of positions, then struggled to recover from there.”
As the season transitions to outdoor events, the implications of this race loom large for the championship contenders. With one round remaining, the focus sharpens around Sexton and Webb as the 2023 title approaches its climax.
