KTM swung open the doors to their Motorsports HQ this week and welcomed brand new AMA Supercross and Motocross racer – 2023 450SX Champion – Chase Sexton, for the 24-year-old’s first visit and look around the factory.
Words & Images: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s fresh recruit travelled to Munderfing to meet the technical team and all the staff behind the creation of the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION that he will race in the 2024 AMA 450SX series, the AMA Pro Motocross 450 Class championship and the three-round ‘play-off’ SuperMotocross contest that ties up both ‘indoor’ and ‘outdoor’ disciplines. Sexton is one of the brightest stars of the busy and immensely popular U.S. racing scene after fighting all summer for the 2022 motocross crown (that went down to the final moto) and then ran hot into 2023 supercross where he was able to lift the coveted title.
Before an intense schedule of testing and preparation takes place with a view to Anaheim 1 in January – the opening date of supercross usually falls close to the launch of the Dakar rally and kicks the new international racing season off at full gas – Sexton had the full orange immersion in Austria.
He toured the 9,500 square-metre Motorsport building where the machinery for Motocross, Enduro, Rally and MotoGP are readied for almost 70 factory racers, and all the support vehicles, material and structures are housed. Then after a blast around the block with Member of the Board Hubert Trunkenpolz in an X-BOW GT-XR he threaded through the factory assembly lines in Mattighofen where he was able to watch the 2024 KTM 450 SX-F being built, the base of the motorcycle he’ll steer in competition next year, as the bike rolled away from processing. Lastly Chase was able to get familiar with the full KTM story and a racing heritage that now counts on nearly 340 different FIM world titles thanks to the vivid display in the KTM Motohall.
Chase will front 2024 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in North America with Aaron Plessinger, Tom Vialle and Julien Beaumer as teammates.
Chase Sexton: “Very cool! It’s been special to come here and meet everybody, see how the heart of the KTM racing program and also where my race bike is born. Then in the Motohall learning all the history and the racing story of KTM is very motivating; it makes me want to get on the bike and ride right now. KTM are very successful, definitely a winning manufacturer, and my plan is to get them back on top and to keep that rolling. At the factory I’d never really seen anything like the assembly lines before and the variety of motorcycles being built and how fast they are done by hand. I won’t forget this day.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “When we brought Chase into our structure and family we knew we were welcoming a fantastic motorcycle racer, but also a very warm and positive character. Having him here and being able to show the spirit and the organization that will be right behind him next year was a crucial moment and the best way to officially begin our story. It means Chase can connect even more with us and the company when he is racing in our colors on the other side of the world and in a very important market and championship. It was good to see how impressed he was by everything, and I think it helps him know the full force that he can count on. We really believe in his talent and his mentality and I thank him for putting his trust in us. I’m looking forward to seeing what memories we can create together.”
See the video of Chase’s tour here:
