Remember last year’s Pro Motocross opener? A year ago, Honda used that event to celebrate 50 years of motocross racing in America, complete with retro graphics and retro gear, plus a celebration the night before. The results were retro, too, as Honda absolutely dominated the day in the same manner it did in the Follow the Leader golden era of Team Honda, when it won…basically everything all the time. At the Pala opener last year? The squad went 1-2 in every moto, with Chase Sexton and Ken Roczen out front in the 450s, and Jett and Hunter Lawrence going 1-2 in the 250s.
That was great for Honda, but at this point all seasons are measured by just one unit: 450 championships. Sexton came close, but Eli Tomac edged him by the time the series returned to Pala for the finale. Thus, more talk about a certain Curse of the GOAT: Honda had not won a 450 Motocross Championship since it let Ricky Carmichael walk after the 2004 season. It had also not won an AMA Supercross Championship since Carmichael’s 2003 championship.
People have noticed, people talk, people know. Honda has generated a ton of wins over the last few years winning races with the Lawrences, Sexton and Roczen, but until it can break The Curse, it would always look like a failed effort. That’s probably why last year’s domination day at the opener has largely been forgotten.
Well, it’s finally over. Chase Sexton nailed down this year’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship under unexpected circumstances. Eli Tomac ruptured his Achillies while leading the race and series at the next-to-last round. Sexton inherited both leads, and with Tomac out, suddenly, the championship Honda had struggled so hard for so long to get was suddenly sitting right on the doorstep.
In a classy move, Team Manager Lars Lindstrom told the team not to celebrate when Tomac went out in Denver. Just too much respect for Eli and what he represents. A week later, though, it was time to do it. Honda, with Sexton, had finally won. It represented a massive sigh of relief after two decades of trying. Just to really pound the point home, Honda had also won....basically everything else. Sexton and Jett Lawrence swept the Salt Lake City main events, and Jett and Hunter swept the 250 East and West Championships. This is the first time ever that one team won all three titles in the same year. Kawasaki had done this before with a combination of the factory Kawasaki team and either Pro Circuit in the 250s or Team Green on 125s, and in 1991 Honda swept with the factory team in the 250 class and Pro Circuit in the 125s. But one team, all three titles? Yes, somehow this was a first. Oh, and for good measure Colt Nichols won 450 Rookie of the Year! Honda won the AMA Manufacturer's Cup! Just so much....winning!
Lindstrom, who had been there nearly the whole time, understood the gravity of the moment. It's this 450 title that finally puts an end to a narrative. By delaying the celebration from Denver to Salt Lake City, and waiting until the AMA actually handed Sexton the number-one plate, everything felt that much more real.
“I wanted it to feel special when it really happened, and now we are going to go celebrate it a little more,” says Lindstrom. “But man, 20 years obviously. And the thing that I keep thinking of is every year, you know I was there for pretty much all of it, and every year we were like “Okay we’ve got to this, and we’ve got to do that.” Every year we improved, and we tried to do better and better. And we still failed right? You get so used to being beat down in that way that it almost feels impossible. And then things like “The Curse.” They start to promote that, and it almost feels a little bit real. So, to finally get the premier class win finally is just a huge weight off of our shoulders. Not even pressure from Honda Corporate or anything, I just want to freaking win this championship, you know? So, to finally do it, man, it feels good.”
