He’s been on the cusps of getting his first win of the 2021 Pro Motocross season for a while now, and Chase Sexton finally got it in Rnd 7 of the 2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Washington, with 1-3 moto finishes.
And, in the 250MX class, we saw the first repeat winner of the year.
450MX National
Sexton was stellar in the first 450MX moto. The Honda HRC rider nabbed the holeshot and led from start to finish, never putting a knobby wrong on the oftentimes sneaky-slick Washougal track. Sexton opened up a quick, comfortable lead and smoothly, and with seemingly little effort, ran off with the win, taking the checkered flag 3.461 seconds ahead of Eli Tomac but it was much more than that for much of the race.
Sexton got another good start in moto two. Sexton and Dylan Ferrandis (fifth in moto one) wasted little time getting around holeshotter Cooper Webb, but Sexton didn’t really have anything for the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team rider, Ferrandis, in this one and settled into a second-place pace, only to lose that position late in the moto when Tomac came calling. Still, Sexton’s 1-3 ended up being just enough to wrap up the overall victory for the day.
Tomac, however, had everyone’s attention in both motos. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider came from behind in the first moto and was closing in on Sexton when the checkered flag came out.
Moto two was a thriller—again, thanks to Tomac, who, once more, came through the pack and made another classic Tomac push for the win. With less than three laps to go, he fought his way around Sexton for second place, then set his sights on the leader, Ferrandis, who was just two seconds ahead of him. Tomac could smell blood, knowing if he could pass Ferrandis he’d be the overall winner for the day. Tomac was right on Ferrandis heading into the last lap, but Ferrandis never faltered and managed to keep Tomac at bay for the moto victory in what was a nail-biting conclusion to the day.
“I left everything on the track,” Tomac said.
Ferrandis said that he managed his energy wisely, saving just enough at the end to fend off Tomac. Ferrandis went 5-1 for third overall, while Tomac’s 2-2 netted the former champ second overall.
Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin stepped up his game big-time at Washougal. After qualifying second, the slumping Frenchman finished a strong third in moto one and followed that up with another solid fifth in moto two for fourth overall. (He and his teammate, Cooper Webb, who went 7-6 on the day, are now tied for eighth place in the standings.)
Last week’s Spring Creek (Millville, Minnesota) winner, Justin Barcia went 4-7 for fifth overall.
Tomac Takes Over Third
It was simply a bad day for championship contender Ken Roczen, but it began well. He settled in behind his teammate Sexton right after the start of the first moto, holding second place for the first nine (of 16) laps before going into a tailspin after Musquin got around him. He eventually slipped back to sixth, but, luckily for him, not much damage was done, since Ferrandis had finished just one spot ahead of him.
Unfortunately for Roczen, things only got worse in the second moto, where he started off in sixth and then faded back to 10th for ninth overall. Obviously, something was amiss. Roczen later revealed that he became ill last week and wasn’t fully recovered.
“The last couple weekends have been rough,” Roczen said. “I got sick last Saturday and was sick throughout the whole week. I had so much weakness in my body and was not feeling hot at all, which shows in my riding and my results. Unfortunately, I just had to make my way through the motos. I haven’t been ill in a long time like that, so it’s bound to happen at some point. Frustrating but it is what it is. Couldn’t have waited another week.”
Cooper Webb, Aaron Plessinger, Christian Craig, Roczen, and Joey Savatgy rounded out the top 10 overall.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo did not suit up. Before the race, he announced that he’s having surgery to hopefully fix nerve damage in his arm that he’s been dealing with for a couple of years. He will sit out the rest of the series.
In the race for the 450MX Championship, Ferrandis now leads Roczen by a sizeable 47 points, and Tomac is coming up fast in third. Just seven points now separate Tomac, who overtook Barcia for third in the championship, from Roczen. Barcia is 10 points back in fourth, and Washougal winner Sexton is just one point in back of the GasGas rider, Barcia.
250MX National
There was plenty of good, close racing in the 250MX class, especially between Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha teammates Jeremy Martin and Justin Cooper, and RJ Hampshire, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Pierce Brown, Carson Mumford, and Michael Mosiman were also all in the mix at one time or another throughout the day.
When all was said and done, Martin came away with the overall win becoming the first two-time overall winner in the 250MX class this season. His first win came just a week ago at Spring Creek (Millville, Minnesota), and this win proves, once again, that he can also win away from his home track.
Martin’s victory, however, came at the expense of his teammate and points leader Cooper, who was running a comfortable second in the second moto (after winning the first moto) and was heading for a certain overall victory. But on the second-to-last lap, Cooper went down hard, got up (slowly) and nursed his bent bike to the finish line in eighth place for a disappointing for him third overall. Cooper said the rear wheel hit a kicker while charging up Horsepower Hill that he didn’t see in the shadows of the giant fir trees that line much of the track.
One That Got Away
The crash proved costly for Cooper. It robbed him of the overall win and a chance of pulling big points on his nearest rival in the championship, Jett Lawrence (who wasn’t having one of his best days), heading into the long three-week break in the season. Instead of padding his points advantage over Lawrence by 13 points, Cooper had to be satisfied with three points. He still leads Lawrence by eight points in the 250MX Championship, but he’ll have to chew on what could’ve been for the next three weeks with five rounds left on the schedule.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire battled among the leaders all day. He finished a scrappy second to Cooper in the first moto and was dicing with Lawrence late in the second moto when he stalled his bike in a corner, letting Lawrence get away. However, Hampshire’s 2-3 motos gave him second overall.
TLD/Red Bull/GasGas’s Pierce Brown had one of the best rides of his career, despite coming off his big crash the previous week at Spring Creek. Brown fought hard among the lead group in the motos and eventually finished out the day going 6-4 for fifth overall.
Michael Mosiman (GG), Hunter Lawrence (Honda), Dilan Schwartz (Suzuki), Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), and Max Vohland (KTM) rounded out the top 10 overall.
Hunter Lawrence finished fifth in the first moto for the third time in a row then took 10th in the second moto after sliding out on the slick Washougal loam. He’s still third in the championship but losing ground on the two riders—his brother Jett and Cooper—in front of him. He’s 36 points behind Jett.
Martin is fourth in the championship, 17 points behind Hunter Lawrence.
Jalek Swoll, who won a National earlier in the season, was helped off the track and back to the pits after going down in the first turn in the first moto. Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) did not return for moto two, but he later said that he’s okay.
“It honestly felt like today was going to be one of those days where I thought it was going to be a good finish,” Swoll said. “Unfortunately, in the first moto I got in a little first-turn pileup and got ran over. I think I came away with a little ding to the head but it’s all good, we’ll take the break to recover and get back to it at Unadilla.” CN
2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Round 7
Motosport.com Washougal National
Washougal MX Park
Washougal, Washington
RESULTS (July 24, 2021)
450MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | 1-3 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (Kaw) | 2-2 |
| 3 | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | 5-1 |
| 4. | Marvin Musquin | (KTM) | 3-5 |
| 5. | Justin Barcia | (Gas) | 4-7 |
| 6. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | 7-6 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | (Yam) | 12-4 |
| 8. | Christian Craig | (Yam) | 8-8 |
| 9. | Ken Roczen | (Hon) | 6-10 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (KTM) | 10-9 |
250MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. | Jeremy Martin | (Yam) | 3-1 |
| 2. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 2-3 |
| 3. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1-8 |
| 4. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 7-2 |
| 5. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 6-4 |
| 6. | Michael Mosiman | (GG) | 4-7 |
| 7. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 5-10 |
| 8. | Dilan Schwartz | (Suz) | 13-6 |
| 9. | Austin Forkner | (Kaw) | 12-9 |
| 10. | Max Vohland | (KTM) | 9-12 |
450MX POINT STANDINGS (After 7 of 12 rounds)
| 1. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | 303/4 wins |
| 2. | Ken Roczen | (Hon) | 256/1 win |
| 3 | Eli Tomac | (Kaw) | 249/1 win |
| 4. | Justin Barcia | (Gas) | 239 |
| 5. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | 238/1 win |
| 6. | Aaron Plessinger | (Yam) | 217 |
| 7. | Christian Craig | (Yam) | 182 |
| 8. | Marvin Musquin | (KTM) | 177 |
| 9. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | 177 |
| 10. | Adam Cianciarulo | (Kaw) | 147 |
250MX POINT STANDINGs (After 7 of 12 rounds)
| 1. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 281/1 win |
| 2. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 273/1 win |
| 3. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 237/1 win |
| 4. | Jeremy Martin | (Yam) | 220/2 wins |
| 5. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 205/1win |
| 6. | Jo Shimoda | (Kaw) | 178 |
| 7. | Colt Nichols | (Yam) | 159 |
| 8. | Michael Mosiman | (GG) | 154 |
| 9. | Jalek Swoll | (Hus) | 148/1 win |
| 10. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Yam) | 141 |
2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Schedule
| Rnd 1 | May 29, 2021 | Fox Raceway National | Pala, CA |
| Rnd 2 | June 5, 2021 | Thunder Valley National | Lakewood, CO |
| Rnd 3 | June 19, 2021 | High Point National | Mt. Morris, PA |
| Rnd 4 | July 3, 2021 | RedBud National | Buchanan, MI |
| Rnd 5 | July 10, 2021 | Southwick National | Southwick, MA |
| Rnd 6 | July 17, 2021 | Spring Creek National | Millville, MN |
| Rnd 7 | July 24, 2021 | Washougal National | Washougal, WA |
| Rnd 8 | Aug 14, 2021 | Unadilla National | New Berlin, NY |
| Rnd 9 | Aug 21, 2021 | Budds Creek National | Mechanicsville, MD |
| Rnd 10 | August 28, 2021 | Ironman National | Crawfordsville, IN |
| Rnd 11 | Sept 4, 2021 | Pala National | Pala, CA |
| Rnd 12 | Sept 11, 2021 | Hangtown National | Sacramento, CA |
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