Good, Bad and Ugly | 2023 Atlanta

'Good, Bad and Ugly' recaps some miscellaneous points from the thirteenth stop of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross series, Atlanta. What would you put beneath each subheading? Travel to the forum to join the discussion or share your ideas onto social media (@VitalMX on Twitter and Instagram). For now, however, read on for some thoughts on Chase Sexton, Tom Vialle and Nate Thrasher.

GOOD

There are many candidates for this column, to be honest, as so many riders could walk away from the Atlanta Motor Speedway and feel satisfied with what they achieved. Chase Sexton has to fill the space though, because the thirteenth round marked such a swing in momentum. Sexton led every lap, pulled a comfortable lead and executed perfectly. It was a performance that he desperately needed and the fact that his championship rivals missed the podium only made it sweeter. It was ideal.

The query that is now prevalent is whether '23' has catapulted himself back into title contention and, in the opinion of his humble scribe, he has to be considered. Seventeen points is quite a gulf, yet he gained nine on Saturday. There are even more opportunities for a similar situation to play out. Seeing as Justin Barcia and Ken Roczen are performing so well, it is not out of the realm of possibility. Is he the favorite? Absolutely not. Come on! However, he is in the picture.

Arguably the greatest breakthrough to come from Atlanta was the fact that he read his pit board. The premise is simple, of course, but it is something that so many riders forget to do. Digesting the details that were laid out by his mechanic, Brandon Zimmerman, seemed to play a part in him managing the main event so well. Perhaps that makes a significant difference moving forward and he can reel off a handful of wins here? Time will tell.

BAD

This column needs to be renamed to "sad" as that is a rather consistent theme. Tom Vialle started his rookie season with so much promise, as he showed podium potential at the first round and progressed through the field in an impressive fashion at round two. Everything was trending in the right direction. It feels like it has been one hit after another since then and the speedway tracks, for whatever reason, have not been kind to him.

Vialle crashed out on lap one of Daytona and then the same happened in Atlanta. What happened in Atlanta was particularly crushing, as he showed so much promise and seemed like he was set to return to podium contention. Those hopes were short-lived, because of the crash, but the good news is that he is just fine. It has been a rather solid year for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star and one would presume that the bosses are pleased with the decision to transfer him to the United States.

UGLY

Well, this was ugly in every way imaginable. Nate Thrasher was having a fine season, despite his ACL issue, but that momentum crashed down at the Atlanta Motor Speedway that has served him so well. Thrasher will likely miss the remainder of the term with a dislocated hip and broken collarbone, so he will have multiple surgeries to overcome before he can even think about jumping back onto a Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing steed.

Thrasher did not quite steal headlines in 2023 Monster Energy Supercross, but it was a breakthrough of sorts. '29' proved that he can be consistent, which was a massive question mark, and insert himself into a battle for the title. The speed that he beholds was never doubted, it was the rest of that puzzle that proved to be a problem for him. The injuries are a shame, of course, but one could argue that he already extracted what he needed from the season.