Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton swept to his third-straight national motocross championship round victory at Washougal in the United States, to extend his advantage in the 450cc standings.
His KTM team-mate Aaron Plessinger joined him on the podium in second overall and third was Jason Anderson of the Kawasaki factory team.
“It feels nice, because I wanted to get this win before the break, and to go into that with some momentum,” said Sexton.
“We’ve got two weekends off, so I plan to go back and rest, because I haven’t been feeling the greatest these last few days.
“I felt really good on the bike, was able to push through and find a flow, which got me to the end. This crowd’s awesome and I love coming to this track every year. We’ll keep the hammer down from here and go for it.”
Sexton has been the class of the field during the middle stages of the 2024 season on his KTM, winning the past seven motos in succession. He put forward a measured performance amidst the tree-lined shadows of Washougal to go 1-1 once again on Saturday, building a 28-point lead in the championship with three rounds remaining.
While Sexton had to make his way through the field in both motos, team-mate Plessinger started up front and managed to lead the majority of race one, until a late stall allowed a charging Sexton – who had gone down earlier in the race – to power by.
Plessinger was just as strong in the final encounter, slicing his way to a P3 finish to secure second overall. He’s currently ranked fourth in the title race.
Meanwhile, in the 250 class, Star Racing Yamaha rider Haiden Deegan, who went through a six-moto streak of not winning, broke that run by winning the second moto, after finishing second in moto one.
Deegan won the overall, to extend his points lead to 54 points over French former world champion Tom Vialle. Vialle finished second overall with 1-2 scores.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Malcolm Stewart finished seventh and Christian Craig ninth overall in Washougal.
Stewart placed his Husqvarna into seventh position at the conclusion of qualifying and then he charged through the pack to 10th in the opening moto.
The afternoon’s second outing went far more smoothly, impressing on his way to a sixth-place finish and taking home P7 overall. Stewart is also seventh in the championship standings.
“Washougal was good and practice was actually really strong for me,” Stewart said. “I actually got off to an okay start in race one, but came together with another rider and both went down, so I had to get up and charge from the back of the pack.
“In the next moto, my start was way better and I rode really hard all the way towards the end.
“I’m happy with everything, we rode good all day, and we’ll enjoy this two-week break – maybe do some fishing and hang out with the family before we get into the last three.”
Directly behind his team-mate in qualifying, Craig had the eighth gate pick for the premier class races, in which he managed a 7-12 scorecard.
Sitting ninth in points, it was another important step in his return to competition during the outdoors and he will take advantage of the next two weekends off to make further gains.
“Qualifying was good, I was comfortable straight away, and always enjoy coming here,” Craig reflected. “Race one, I made my way up to seventh and was able to stay there, so was pretty stoked with that.
“In the second moto I damaged my shifter on a rut or something about midway through and was stuck in second gear following that. I salvaged what I could, so look forward to getting my arm a little stronger in the break, and we’ll come out swinging for the last three.”
Photo courtesy KTM and Align Media
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2024 RESULTS AND STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 8:
Results 450MX Class – Washougal National
1. Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
2. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
3. Jason Anderson (USA), Kawasaki
Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 8 of 11 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 360 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 332
3. Justin Cooper, 284
Results 250MX Class – Washougal National
1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
3. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 8 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 361 points
2. Tom Vialle, 307
3. Levi Kitchen, 291