Image: Octopi Media.

For the third round in a row, Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton swept the 450MX class as he went 1-1 to win the Washougal National. Both moto wins came from charges into the lead for Sexton as he fought around several of the top five 450MX riders to collect the wins.

Sexton started in around seventh in the first moto and even tipped over at one point but caught his teammate Aaron Plessinger for the win with about four laps to go. The second moto saw Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson lead the first half of the moto before Sexton caught him from a fourth-place start.

Plessinger still finishes second in that first moto and followed it up with a third in the second moto to make it a KTM 1-2 on the day. Anderson hung on for P2 in the second moto to earn third overall with 4-2 scores.

It was perhaps the toughest day of the 2024 season for Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence as he would go 5-4 for fourth overall and saw the championship deficit to Sexton balloon out. Lawrence crashed in the first moto while battling Sexton and would end up fifth whereas the second moto he slipped from P2 to P4 slowly.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper would round out the top five after and early fall in the second moto would drop him to P7. His 3-7 scores just fell short of Lawrence ahead of him.

Behind them, it was Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis in sixth, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart in seventh, MaddParts Kawasaki’s Freddie Noren in eighth, Rockstar Husqvarna’s Christian Craig in ninth, and Rock River Yamaha’s Marshal Weltin in 10^th.

Now the series heads into a lengthy three-week break in the schedule before returning in early August for the Unadilla National. Sexton now leads the championship by 28 points with just three rounds to go.

Detailed Results