Red plate holders Chase Sexton (450 class) and Haiden Deegan (250 class) both claimed victories at the Washougal National over the weekend. They each spoke with the media after the race in this Debrief feature.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Chase, coming into Supercross, obviously a new team so the transition was a little tough. Has it been an easy transition going from Supercross and having the team adapt the bike for Motocross?

I would say it’s been a lot easier. There were some dark times in Supercross for me. I was struggling really bad; I was having weird crashes in the whoops during the week and getting myself hurt. Immediately when I got outdoors, I feel like I had a better feeling. The bike maybe doesn’t suit me better for outdoors, but it feels more comfortable. I knew I was going to be better this year than I was last year, I just didn’t really know how much better. It’s been really fun. I haven’t really touched my bike a lot, a few tweaks here and there. My riding I feel like has been a lot more calm, a lot more stable, more centered in the bike, for me at least, and I feel like that’s helped me a lot to kind of minimize those mistakes. Hopefully we keep that going. I still need to fix my starts. First moto, I don’t even know how I made it through the first two turns where I did because I was buried. I had a horrible start, and I can’t really afford to do that. There’s a lot of stuff that can go wrong back there. So, I need to fix the starts, but everything else, the bike has been really good outdoors.

It was a little hotter here today than it gets up here sometimes and I’m curious if that helped the track develop differently than normal?

I obviously train with Levi [Kitchen] pretty much day in and day out, and I think he told me that they dumped a lot of sand on the track. I noticed even after the first practice that it was getting bumpier faster than it has in years past. Usually here, it kind of gets that chattery and steep bumps. There was actually some decent sized braking bumps out there today. Obviously, the track was deeper. I’m not sure if that’s because of the heat or whatnot, but it was definitely the deepest Washougal I’ve seen.

You’re on a roll right now, but you were also on a roll in that year where you had knock down drag out races with Eli [Tomac]. How do you feel now compared to then? Are there any comparisons to be made?

I would say that I’m better now than I was. I think back then, it was only two years ago, I was really gelling with my bike in 2022 and I think that’s the biggest key for me and especially this year, I feel really comfortable. I feel really centered on the bike and I’m really able to play around with the track more than I have, probably ever. I think that’s just adapting. I’ve also changed some stuff in my riding. I’m trying not to hammer as much through the bumps. It’s kind of a newer riding style, but I think having the bike gelling is making that easier for me. So, I would definitely say I’m better than I was in 2022. That’s the evolution though, I would hope I’m better two years later than I was back then. I’m just trying to get better every year.

Is the break with the couple weeks off welcomed, do you want to go again next week, or are you saying, “We need a break?”

After these three, especially Southwick, Millville, and RedBud, those are three really hard races. I think after those, you’re kind of wanting a break after those three races. This one was tough just because it was hot, but yeah, it’s definitely nice. I don’t know if we need two weekends. For some reason, outdoors every year goes by really fast until we get to this break and then it feels like it never ends. I’ll enjoy it. I’ll try to soak it in and get some rest and come out swinging for the last three.

250MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Haiden, this is the second week in a row where you guys have been the second motos of the day with the 450s going first. Do you like it, is it rough, what’s it like doing the final motos of the day?

I don’t mind it at all. It’s pretty cool. When the track gets rougher, it makes for a little bit better racing. More mistakes happen, more lines to choose from, so it’s cool. It doesn’t really matter either way, it’s cool.

The result looks good but what are the things you’re going to look back on and critique or think you need to improve on? With the results, it’s hard for us to pick out what you need to work on. Is there anything?

I would say, where I’m at personally with such a big points lead, it’s just putting together smart and consistent weekends. Nothing crazy, nothing that was super standout, and just go out there and do the best I can each weekend where it’s not overthinking anything. Mistakes happen, so just make them little. If you have a tip over, just make it so it’s something small and minimize the big ones. Just keep on slowly adding to that points lead.

It hasn’t hurt you in the points, but you went for a six-moto winless streak, is it a relief to win a moto again?

Yeah, definitely. It definitely sucks not winning a moto for a little bit. But, where I’m at now, I knew that eventually if I just kept doing what I was going that it would come again. It was nice to get another moto win and it will be nice to take two weekends off. Especially this series with racing every weekend, it’s a lot on your body and mentally too. It’s draining, so when you get a little break, it’s awesome.

What’s something you want to learn from the riding styles or the personality of the 450 riders? When you’re watching 450 races, what do you like from what they do?

I enjoy watching Chase, he has great technique. I’ve studied the way he rides because it obviously works very well. Technique-wise, he has some pretty outstanding things, and he doesn’t give up. No matter what happens, if he tips over, he’s always fighting until the end and that’s something I learn from him. I’m going to have to race him eventually, so if you can take things like that from guys that are in the bigger class, it’s cool.