Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle claimed second position in the 250SX East Main Event at Daytona International Speedway tonight, as teammate Aaron Plessinger made it a podium double in racing to his first 450SX top-three result of the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship.
Defending Eastern Division Champion Vialle returned to action in Daytona equipped with the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, powering to a top-three start in his Heat Race, before making his way into the lead and breezing to a six-second victory.
After charging to the Main Event holeshot, Vialle pieced together a measured ride throughout the race, managing conditions that grew increasingly rough to record a season-best second-place score. As a result, the two-time MX2 World Champion has climbed to P2 in the title-race.
Tom Vialle: “I was close with the leaders tonight, we were going back and forth, but the track was super-tricky – if you missed a rhythm, you’d lose a second or two pretty easily. I think second place is the best that we had tonight, although I am happy with that. I’m happy to stay close in the championship, because that is the goal.”
Aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Plessinger began his Daytona weekend with the seventh-fastest qualifying time in 450SX, before a convincing Heat Race saw ‘The Cowboy’ surge his way up into second position by race’s end.
Upon battling with the front-runners throughout the Main Event, Plessinger held the lead for a large portion of the race, before settling for a season-best third-place finish in what will also provide an important mid-season turnaround in his fortunes.
Aaron Plessinger: “I had a lot of fun out there tonight! It’s been a while since we’ve been out front like that, so just having that clean air and being in the battle was really good! The track was fun tonight, it was awesome to be up there battling these guys, to come out of here with a podium is really cool. I’m stoked to turn a bit of my luck around and excited to keep this momentum rolling.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Chase Sexton registered the fastest time in the afternoon’s 450SX qualifying session, achieving early comfort on his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION on the unique Daytona track layout.
After scoring the holeshot in his Heat Race, Sexton unfortunately went down on the opening lap while leading, eventually returning to the pits and preparing for the LCQ, which he went on to comfortably win.
Sexton displayed blistering pace once again throughout the Main Event, steadily climbing his way up toward the front and salvaging a P5 result, as well as invaluable championship points. He is still ranked second in the standings following Daytona.
Chase Sexton: “Daytona was up and down. I qualified fastest, but crashed in my Heat, forcing me to qualify through to the Main via the LCQ, so it definitely was not my best night. In the end, I did what I could tonight, but just didn’t have enough in the tank.”
Next Race: March 8 – Indianapolis, Indiana
Results 450SX Class – Daytona
- Ken Roczen (Suzuki)
- Cooper Webb (Yamaha)
- Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
- Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
- Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna)
- Justin Hill (KTM)
- Justin Barcia (GASGAS)
Standings 450SX Class 2025 after 8 of 17 rounds
- Cooper Webb, 168 points
- Chase Sexton, 158
- Ken Roczen, 152
- Malcolm Stewart, 124
- Justin Barcia, 111
- Justin Hill, 101
- Aaron Plessinger, 88
Results 250SX East Class – Daytona
- RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna)
- Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
- Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki)
Standings 250SX East Class 2025 after 3 of 10 rounds
- Max Anstie, 63 points
- Tom Vialle, 57
- Chance Hymas, 50
