Analyzing Acquisitions | Vital MX Editorial 4

It was on October 07, 2011, that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing announced the acquisition of Ryan Dungey and embarked on a mountainous challenge in the United States, as they attempted to move from obscurity to prominence and exposed themselves. The signature amended the trajectory of the manufacturer to the point where no such questions exist.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is arguably the preeminent race team in North America. Is it asinine to think that reaching the pinnacle of the sport with Dungey was, in fact, not their biggest test and that is yet to come? The concept behind this line of thinking is simple: Dungey was not expected to win a championship outright nor would he have been criticized for going winless. It is critical to remember that Dungey claimed one supercross win in his final foray aboard the RM-Z450 and so the bar was not extremely high in 2012. Expectations had already crashed since his maiden title in his rookie season.

It is often stated that Dungey had inked that deal with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing before 2011 Monster Energy Supercross had even begun, or his intent was clear at the very least. The way that the season that preceded the partnership transpired would have taken some of the edge off of those in 'orange' – it would be easier to appease the naysayers. That was done effectively, of course, as Dungey clinched twenty-eight indoor victories on the KTM 450 SX-F and won three titles once Ryan Villopoto vacated the championship. The partnership made the manufacturer desirable to free agents at the very highest level.

Cooper Webb made sure that KTM could count on more Monster Energy Supercross success, as he claimed two 450SX titles and twenty-one wins across his tenure. It is quite easy to forget that the acquisition was not earth shattering at the time: Webb was floundering in the premier division and not considered a threat for a championship at that point in time. The two years that he spent with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing caused his value to plummet from where it was when he moved up from the regional series as a two-time champion.

It was on October 07, 2023, that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing announced the acquisition of Chase Sexton. The multi-year contract ensures that he will be poised to deliver more championships to the Pierer Mobility Group and add to KTM's five 450SX crowns. That will be the immediate expectation of their new hire and that, dear friends, is not something that the squad has incurred in the United States. To put it simply, this is the first time that they will waltz into a new Monster Energy Supercross season with a new athlete and be expected to deliver in their first attempt.

Is it feasible that this will therefore be a more substantial test than what the manufacturer has encountered in previous seasons? Sexton was simply phenomenal indoors this year. There are so many adjectives that could be used to describe his seventeen rounds: exceptional, extraordinary, magnificent and the list goes on. The fact that he finished as the champion was simply the cherry atop the cake. It was his raw pace in practice that caused jaws to drop, as well as his ability to sprint away from previous champions that were hot on his heels.

Maintaining that level is all that will be considered adequate. Sexton has proven how high his glass ceiling is and if, for whatever reason, he fails to reach that next year then blame will fall on Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, rightly or wrongly. Matching the way that he has performed will be deemed 'passable' – even the smallest of dips will be judged harshly. There is simply no doubt that passersby will be analyzing the way that he dances around the track inside of Angel Stadium as soon as practice starts. The argument will be that such an occurrence is not uncommon at the opener. This, however, will be different.

Dungey had won a single 450SX race in the year prior to his freshman term aboard that KTM 450 SX-F and Webb had never won at the highest level, as mentioned above. Sexton enters his 'orange' debut with six wins last year alone and, of course, that boisterous number one plate speaks for itself.