Chase Sexton Ends Jett Lawrence’s Dominance in Pro Motocross Championship with Fourth Washougal Win in Five Years

Shimoda Edges Deegan via Tiebreaker for Second 250 Class Win in Three Races

The 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its final trip to the west coast as the Pacific Northwest’s scenic Washougal MX Park was the site for the eighth race of the summer campaign and Round 25 of the SMX World Championship regular season. Clear skies and balmy temperatures set the stage for the Military Appreciation Race at the FLY Racing Washougal National Presented by Peterson CAT where the 450 Class dominance by Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence came to an end at the hands of defending champion and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Chase Sexton, who impressed en route to his fourth win at the venue in five years. In the 250 Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda earned the edge over championship leader and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider Haiden Deegan via tiebreaker for the Japanese rider’s second win in three races.

450 Class

Moto 1

The first moto of the afternoon began with the Monster Energy Kawasaki of Jorge Prado edging out Jett Lawrence for the Pro Motocross Holeshot. As Prado pushed wide to close off Lawrence’s advance, it allowed Sexton, the defending class champion, to slip under both riders and grab the lead. As Sexton dropped the hammer and looked to pull away, Lawrence pressured Prado and was patient before he made the pass for second. Prado then lost his hold of third to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac.
 
The lead trio settled into their respective spots through the opening 10 minutes of the moto, with Sexton managing a lead between one to two seconds. As they approached the halfway point of the moto Lawrence was able to pressure Sexton and got alongside the KTM rider, but Sexton fended off the challenge and reestablished his advantage. The pair moved out nearly 10 seconds ahead of Tomac in third.
 
As he made another run on Sexton, Lawrence lost traction and went down. As he remounted, Tomac rode past for second as Lawrence was forced to regroup in third. Without the pursuit from Lawrence, Sexton built a lead of nearly 10 seconds while Tomac looked to keep a resurgent Lawrence at bay. The Honda rider moved to within striking distance, but lapped riders allowed Tomac to inch away in the closing stages of the moto.
 
Sexton backed it down on the final lap and cruised to his first moto win of the season, 3.4 seconds ahead of Tomac, while Lawrence settled for third. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire finished fourth, with Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence in fifth.

Moto 2

The second and deciding moto started with Hunter Lawrence leading the field to the Pro Motocross Holeshot with his brother Jett in tow. Prado slotted into third initially, but Sexton made the move and gave chase to the Honda duo. Tomac started just outside the top five in seventh but made quick passes to move up into fourth and make it a four-rider lead group.
 
The intensity up front ramped up five minutes into the moto as Jett Lawrence had to fend off a pass attempt from Sexton, which then pushed the championship leader onto the rear fender of his older brother. Jett amped up the aggression to get alongside Hunter and took the lead. Not long after, Sexton made the pass for second, but Hunter Lawrence fought back to reclaim the position. Sexton then went on the attack again and moved back into second. Moments later, the red flag was waved for a downed rider, which brought a halt to the race with 21:22 left in the moto.
 
The first-ever staggered restart in Pro Motocross saw the race resume with the field launching out the starting gate individually, in sequential running order from the previously completed lap. Jett Lawrence started first, followed by Hunter Lawrence, Sexton, and Tomac. Sexton was able to make the pass on Hunter Lawrence for second and brought Tomac along into third to drop Lawrence outside the top three.
 
The lead trio settled in through the halfway point of the moto, with just three seconds between them. As the moto wore on, Jett Lawrence managed a lead of just over two seconds on Sexton, as Tomac slowly lost touch in third. Lawrence’s margin continued to grow and eventually surpassed five seconds as the Honda rider completed his 12th moto win of the season by 8.7 seconds over Sexton, with Tomac in third.

Overall

In just his third race back after a crash took him out of action at the opening round, Sexton’s 1-2 finishes bettered Lawrence’s 3-1 effort to end an eight-race win streak for the Australian. It signified the 14th win of Sexton’s career and his fourth in five years at Washougal. He also remains the only rider to defeat Jett Lawrence in the Pro Motocross Championship, with two wins across the 24 races Lawrence has entered. The Honda rider’s second ever non-win still produced a runner-up effort, while Tomac finished overall podium (2-3) for the fifth time this season and the 77th time in his career.
 
Lawrence’s lead in the championship standings increased to 61 points over Hunter Lawrence, who finished fourth (3-5), with Tomac third, 94 points out of the lead.

1st Place: Chase Sexton, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (1-2)
“It feels good [to get the win]. I was pretty far off last weekend and went to work this week to be better. I knew I was really good at this track and had the ability to win here. I got great starts, rode well, and made it happen. We’ll regroup over the next two off weeks and will come out swinging for the final three races.”
 
2nd Place: Jett Lawrence, Honda HRC Progressive (3-1)
“Washougal ain't my track. Chase is really good here. In that first moto I just asked way too much of the motorcycle [and went down]. I really had to work hard in the second moto and the restart made it even more difficult to have to stop and get going again. But hey, it was still a good day, so we’ll take it.”
 
3rd Place: Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (2-3)
“Huge gains today compared to last week. We were within the same zip code [of the leaders]. I wish we could have won, but I’m happy with what we’ve got to work with. I love it here at this track, so I’m just really pleased with how the day went.”

250 Class

Moto 1

The opening moto got underway with the Triumph Factory Racing machine of Jalek Swoll leading the way to the Pro Motocross Holeshot, followed by Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFranceso and Deegan, the defending class champion. Swoll then crashed out of the lead, which moved DiFrancesco into the lead Deegan into second, as Shimoda moved into third.
 
Deegan started to apply pressure on the lead and got alongside DiFrancesco, who nearly jumped into the Yamaha rider. The two made slight contact in the air, with DiFranseco going to the ground and Deegan able to keep it on two wheels to take over the lead. Shimoda moved into second followed by Toyota Redlands BarX Yamaha’s Dilan Schwartz.
 
As the moto surpassed its halfway point, Shimoda had closed the deficit to about a second on Deegan and started to apply pressure on the lead. Deegan responded and picked up his pace significantly to push the lead to more than three seconds after logging his fastest laps of the moto. The lead then stabilized at around four seconds. Behind them, the battle for third intensified between Schwartz and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks. The veteran Kawasaki rider went on the attack and successfully moved into the top three.
 
Deegan maintained his lead through to the finish and secured his 10th moto win of the season, six seconds ahead of Shimoda, with Marchbanks in a distant third. Schwartz earned a career-best moto result in fourth, with Triumph Factory Racing’s Austin Forkner in fifth.

Moto 2

The final moto of the afternoon kicked off with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki of Seth Hammaker out front of Shimoda and Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup. Deegan started deep inside the top 10 in eighth. Back up front, Shimoda went on the attack and made the pass on Hammaker to begin the second lap.
 
As Shimoda quickly distanced himself from the field Deegan methodically worked his way forward and broke into the top five 10 minutes into the moto. Meanwhile, Hammaker asserted his hold of second while a multi-rider battle for third took shape between Haarup, DiFrancesco, and Deegan, with Marchbanks closing in from sixth. Both Deegan and Marchbanks made their way around DiFrancesco to move into fourth and fifth, respectively, and gave chase to Haarup.
 
With Deegan closing in, Haarup tucked the front end and went down, which allowed Deegan and Marchbanks to get by as the Danish rider lost multiple positions. The focus then shifted on the battle for third between Deegan and Marchbanks, who were separated by just a couple seconds in the closest battle up front. With their higher pace, both riders closed in on Hammaker in the closing stages of the moto. With less than two minutes remaining, Deegan quickly caught and passed Hammaker for second and then faced a deficit of 20 seconds to Shimoda.
 
Shimoda was in a class of his own out front and easily captured his third moto win of the season by 18.2 seconds over Deegan. Hammaker kept his teammate Marchbanks at bay for third.

Overall

Another pair of strong starts allowed Shimoda to capture his second win in three races (2-1) via a second-moto tiebreaker over Deegan. It signified the fifth victory of the Japanese racer’s career. Deegan’s trademark resiliency resulted in a runner-up effort (1-2) for his seventh podium in nine races, while Marchbanks broke through for his first ever Pro Motocross podium in third (3-4).
 
Deegan’s lead in the championship standings remains at 45 points over Shimoda, while Marchbanks has taken sole control of third, 116 points out of the lead.

1st Place: Jo Shimoda, Honda HRC Progressive (2-1)
“It was a good day. This one means a lot to me. As a team, we worked really hard for this. I know we’re far out of the championship, but this is awesome, and I hope we can keep doing it.”
 
2nd Place: Haiden Deegan, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-2)
“I felt like I was riding a bull out there, it was wild. We finished second and didn’t lose any points, so in the big picture it was a good day.”
 
3rd Place: Garret Marchbanks, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (3-4)
“Every time I got close to Haiden I couldn’t finish it, so it was tough on the track today. I made some mistakes and lost some energy late, but it was a good day. I’m really excited to get my first podium outdoors.”