Welcome to Washougal for round eight of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship. This track is an absolute staple in the PNW racing scene and fans are here in droves to see the action. Both Chase Sexton and Levi Kitchen (the local boy) swept the motos last weekend and are looking to carry that momentum into today.
Sexton again took the day with a 1-1 sweep while Haiden Deegan controlled the 250 overall win.
450 Moto 1
Aaron Plessinger grabbed the holeshot and shot out to the early lead with the rest of the championship contenders giving chase. The KTM Cowboy held the top spot for the entire race until three laps to go when he stalled the bike and was overtaken by his teammate Chase Sexton. AP refired the bike and still finished second place.
Chase Sexton tipped over on the first lap and was buried at the start of the race. He then mounted a charge and climbed his way back from outside the top five. Sexton slowly clicked off the laps and passed his way through Anderson, Lawrence, and Cooper to find himself in second. Once his teammate Plessinger stalled in a turn, Sexton slid through for the top spot.
Justin Cooper held on for third. The Yamaha rider started second behind Plessinger and ran a number of consistent laps as he hovered in podium contention. He regained the spot after Hunter Lawrence fell and stayed in third for the remainder of the race.
450 Moto 2
Chase Sexton came away with yet another moto victory, his seventh in a row. The points leader got off to a slow start but continued to make moves and eventually found himself in second place. Just after the halfway point, Sexton has Jason Anderson in his sights and he ran down the early leader. With the win, Sexton takes the day’s overall with a 1-1 sweep.
Jason Anderson had arguably the best ride of his season. The Kawasaki rider made an aggressive move on Hunter Lawrence for the early lead and proceeded to check out with the top spot. About halfway through the race Anderson’s pace slowed and Sexton found a way past him. Still, a 4-2 puts Anderson third on the day.
Aaron Plessinger rounded out the podium with a third in moto two. Plessinger showed strong speed in the race and ran up front with the early leaders. He again landed on the box which earned him second overall.
450MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2-3 |
| 3. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 4-2 |
| 4. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 5-4 |
| 5. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 3-7 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 6-5 |
| 7. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 10-6 |
| 8. | Freddie Noren | (Kaw) | 8-8 |
| 9. | Christian Craig | (Hus) | 7-12 |
| 10. | Marshal Weltin | (Yam) | 11-9 |
250 Moto 1
Moto one belonged to Tom Vialle. The KTM rider took off with the holeshot and led every lap of the opening race. He set the fastest lap of the race and opened the lead to over 11 seconds over second place. After being the day’s fastest qualifier, Vialle is certainly off to a good start.
Haiden Deegan finished second. The Yamaha rider started second and looked to be a challenger early on. He tipped over early in the race and momentarily dropped to third before reclaiming the second spot. Deegan rode in no-man’s-land for the remainder of the moto and crossed the line second.
Jo Shimoda picked up steam as the race wore on and finished third. He started outside of the podium but made key passes during the moto to claim third at the line.
250 Moto 2
Up front again were the title favorites Tom Vialle and Haiden Deegan. This time though, Deegan saved his fight for the second moto and uncorked an edgy pass to take over the lead. From there it was smooth sailing for the points leader who swapped results with Vialle and took the overall home in the process. 2-1 scores see Deegan on top.
Vialle held on for second. After getting a good start and fighting with Deegan early on, the moto one winner slowly faded back and finished over 10 seconds behind the winner. Vialle’s 1-2 put him second on the day and second in points.
Another strong ride for Jo Shimoda who strung together a pair of thirds for third overall. He’s been on an upward swing and finished in the top five during the last six of seven motos. Another podium finish landed him on the box in third.
250MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2-1 |
| 2. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 1-2 |
| 3. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 3-3 |
| 4. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (GG) | 4-6 |
| 5. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 6-5 |
| 6. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 12-4 |
| 7. | Joey Savatgy | (Tri) | 9-7 |
| 8. | Jalek Swoll | (Tri) | 7-9 |
| 9. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 8-12 |
| 10. | Jett Reynolds | (Yam) | 13-10 |
QUALIFYING
Hunter Lawrence is back at the top of the time charts this week as he set the fastest lap of today’s qualifying session with a 2:16.403. He was just 0.14 seconds better than Jason Anderson in second and and seven-tenths up on Justin Cooper in third. Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger rounded out the top five times.
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:16.403 |
| 2. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 2:16.543 |
| 3. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 2:17.287 |
| 4. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 2:17.526 |
| 5. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2:18.184 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 2:19.046 |
| 7. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 2:19.905 |
| 8. | Christian Craig | (Hus) | 2:21.119 |
| 9. | Grant Harlan | (Yam) | 2:21.845 |
| 10. | Freddie Noren | (Kaw) | 2:22.564 |
250MX
Tom Vialle put himself at the top of the 250 time charts – say that three times fast. He beat out the local hometown hero Levi Kitchen by over a second, with Haiden Deegan in third nearly tying Kitchen’s time. Pierce Brown and Julien Beaumer finished out the top five, both on the 2:20 mark.
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 2:18.580 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2:20.243 |
| 3. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2:20.256 |
| 4. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 2:20.379 |
| 5. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 2:20.457 |
| 6. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 2:20.665 |
| 7. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 2:20.810 |
| 8. | Jordon Smith | (Yam) | 2:21.215 |
| 9. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 2:21.234 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (Tri) | 2:21.251 |
IN THE PITS
Press Day Video
