For the final time of the summer, it was time to head back to the West Coast in Pro Motocross, specifically to the scenic Washougal circuit, about 20 miles outside of Vancouver (Washington, not British Columbia for those keeping track at home). One of the most aesthetically appealing tracks worldwide also sits in a vital spot on this schedule. A double-bye week awaits with Loretta Lynns fast approaching, and this is not the point in the year where you can afford a bad weekend to stew on it at home for 14-plus days.
A pair of men who haven't been having many bad weekends these days are Chase Sexton and Haiden Deegan. The two current Pro Motocross points leaders now both have 10-plus point advantages, and the former entered this weekend on the back of five consecutive Moto wins, which is already a career-high for the Illinois native. On the other end of things, Hunter Lawrence has been looking for better outings, and before the opening gate drop, pacing qualifying and, better yet, was over a second faster than Sexton in the second and final session. Would that finally translate to the 30 minutes plus two-lap action, and can Lawrence finally win a National?
Daytime Program/Injury Notes:
- 450s up first AGAIN. What happened to the game I love???
- Garrett Marchbanks and ClubMX Yamaha officially parted ways earlier this week. Based on this press release, I will go out on a limb and say things didn't go well last weekend in Millville.
- A contingent of riders (namely Haiden Deegan and Jalek Swoll) plus Ricky Carmichael essentially got the last private jet out of Florida on Friday because of the global internet outage affecting the airline industry and were at genuine risk of missing the weekend.
- I doubt it ever happens, but I'd be game for a Washougal Des Nations down the road.
- 250 Fastest Qualifier: No. 16 Tom Vialle (2:18.580) (He went from two seconds off the pace in Q1 to two seconds faster than anyone else in Q2)
- 450 Fastest Qualifier: No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (2:16.403) (Only seven riders broke under the 2:20 range. Everyone else ran a 2:21.119 or worse)
- Spoiler Warning: I've seen more exciting racing at Washougal before.
450 Class Recap
1st - No. 4 Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) (1-1)
There is no better word to describe Sexton for the bulk of this Summer than surgical. Now, at seven straight Moto wins and points lead, nearing 30, with six Motos to go, this is now his title race to lose. Obviously, there's not much more to say, given how much of a formality things were, but give Sexton a ton of props, and pencil him in as your Team USA Des Nations captain while you're at.
2nd - No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) (2-4)
As crazy as this may sound in hindsight, AP did lead the most laps on Saturday, with 13 in Moto 1, to Sexton's 10 across both races. I can't fault him for the stall in Moto 1, but I don't think he was holding off Sexton there; no one was, for that matter. Now, moving onto the bigger picture, AP is likely unable to gain any seeding as it relates to SMX (6th; 42 points back of Justin Cooper), but he's now only three points back of JCoop for third in the MX standings with six motos to go and has taken 11 points out of that gap over the last three. It's not exactly the title battle, but it would be an excellent way to end the summer. Plessinger is already on pace to score more points than last year.
3rd - No. 21 Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) (4-2)
With just four weeks to spare, El Hombre snaps a would-be year-long streak without an Outdoor National podium with his best outing of the year in the Pacific Northwest. I haven't talked about Anderson much this summer, but he's been putting in some great work and has been a top-five guy the entire time, just with a few aberrations sprinkled in. I will also mention that he's been excellent at Budds Creek since switching from Husky to Kawi, and if he can string a National win together, it'll most likely be there.
4th - No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC) (5-4)
Looking back, I think this was a bit of a rushed statement on my end, but when Hunter went down from second in Moto 1, I told myself, "That's game" regarding the Championship. In totality, that put him from +2 on Sexton to -9 before he lost another half dozen points later in the day, and he wasn't much of a factor in that second Moto.
You do feel for Lawrence from the standpoint that he's objectively been excellent all summer before this weekend, but he doubled his non-podium performance output for the season in one afternoon, and he hasn't been able to elevate his pace and racecraft to compete with Sexton; that's simply a fact. Still, there are three rounds to change that narrative, but cutting down a 28-point lead over the final six motos of the year will be a brutal task for the Australian.
450 Class Washougal Top 10
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (1-1)
2nd No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (2-3)
3rd No. 21 Jason Anderson (4-2)
4th No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (5-4)
5th No. 32 Justin Cooper (3-7)
6th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (6-5)
7th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (10-6)
8th No. 22 Freddie Noren (8-8)
9th No. 28 Christian Craig (7-12)
10th No. 75 Marshal Weltin (11-9)
450 Class Points After Washougal
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (360 Points)
2nd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (332 Points)
3rd No. 32 Justin Cooper (284 Points)
4th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (281 Points)
5th No. 21 Jason Anderson (261 Points)
6th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (237 Points)
7th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (213 Points)
8th No. 1 Jett Lawrence (210 Points)
9th No. 28 Christian Craig (161 Points)
10th No. 51 Justin Barcia (148 Points)
250 Class Recap
1st - No. 38 Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (2-1)
No snarky or smug comments or drama out of the No. 38 camp this week, just a pair of very good Motos and a great display of playing the numbers while still getting the overall. I don't doubt he could've reeled Vialle back in during Moto 1 if he wanted to, but at this point in the year, don't risk anything you don't have to, and even then, he still took home the overall.
One more minor note, given that it didn't ultimately affect the final result, but I was stunned that Deegan couldn't match Vialle going up Horsepower Hill off both starts with that Star engine. I would love to know if that's a sign that KTM has closed the power margin down on the 250 platform or if I'm overthinking it.
6th - No. 47 Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) (12-5)
Can't imagine a 12-5 for sixth was what the quite literal hometown kid was hoping for after sweeping last weekend in Millville, but it all tracks back to those two starts he had. It's hard to tell who, but Kitchen got unintentionally blocked off going into turn one and was buried, and then he blew the first corner hours after a significantly better start. Sixth overall isn't too bad, all things considered, but a hometown win would've been a cool story for Kitchen after last week and, for sure, after the rough start to this summer.
9th - No. 48 Chance Hymas (Honda HRC) (8-12)
I ended up passing by Matthes's tweet postrace, talking about how those inside that HRC team didn't think Hymas would be good to go earlier in the week, which makes his Moto 2 rally all the more impressive. He was visibly grimacing after going down in turn one and still passed 27 guys despite starting at a notable time deficit. It won't earn him any bonus points, but that's a gritty performance that shouldn't be forgotten.
250 Class Washougal Top 10
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (2-1)
2nd No. 16 Tom Vialle (1-2)
3rd No. 30 Jo Shimoda (3-3)
4th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (4-6)
5th No. 39 Pierce Brown (6-5)
6th No. 47 Levi Kitchen (12-4)
7th No. 17 Joey Savatgy (9-7)
8th No. 33 Jalek Swoll (7-9)
9th No. 48 Chance Hymas (8-12)
10th No. 99 Jett Reynolds (13-10)
250 Class Points After Washougal
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (361 Points)
2nd No. 16 Tom Vialle (307 Points)
3rd No. 47 Levi Kitchen (291 Points)
4th No. 48 Chance Hymas (275 Points)
5th No. 30 Jo Shimoda (271 Points)
6th No. 29 Ty Masterpool (233 Points)
7th No. 39 Pierce Brown (195 Points)
8th No. 33 Jalek Swoll (187 Points)
9th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (181 Points)
10th No. 31 Jordon Smith (165 Points)
On a final note: Although we've given up on the lit kits given the number of repeats being rolled out, top honors go to Justin Cooper for his all-new AStars getup and both of the Triumph boys for their Renen setup. Enjoy the double bye, and we'll catch you all at 'Dilla.
Main Image via KTM
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