Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence continued his perfect season in his rookie 450 class campaign with another assertive performance at the Washougal National.
The young Australian earned his eighth straight overall win and 15th and 16th moto victories.
In the 250 class, rookie Haiden Deegan enjoyed the best outing of his young career with an impressive effort that saw the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider go 1-1 for the first time to tighten up the championship battle with his second win of the season.
450 Moto 1 Recap
The opening moto of the premier class began with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine of Dylan Ferrandis out front just ahead of Lawrence while his Team Honda HRC teammate Chase Sexton battled his way into third.
Ferrandis kept Lawrence at bay to lead the opening lap, which made him just the third different rider to do so this season and ended a 105 laps-led streak by Lawrence. The Frenchman maintained his hold of the lead for another lap but Lawrence was able to make the pass and grab control of the moto.
Ferrandis gave pursuit from second as Sexton looked to close in from third. As the moto continued the lead trio settled into their respective positions on the track while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson kept them honest in fourth.
At the 15-minute mark, Sexton mounted his attack on Ferrandis and seized the moment to grab second. At that point, Sexton sat 6.5 seconds behind his teammate and looked to log his fastest laps of the moto to try and close the gap.
However, Lawrence didn’t let up and extended the lead to 7.5 seconds.
Lawrence maintained his lead the rest of the way and extended his undefeated streak to 15 motos, crossing the finish line 7.9 seconds ahead of Sexton, who was never challenged in second. Ferrandis fended off a pair of challenges by Anderson to secure third, while Anderson settled for fourth and his Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Adam Cianciarulo in fifth.
450 Moto 2 Recap
The second and final moto of the afternoon got underway with a gate malfunction, which necessitated a red flag and restart for the 40-rider field. On the restart it was Plesssinger out front for the MotoSport.com Holeshot as Lawrence and Sexton duked it out for second, from which Lawrence grabbed control of the position.
Anderson slotted into fourth with Ferrandis in fifth.
The clear track paid dividends for Plessinger as he was able to maintain his hold of the lead through the opening five minutes as Lawrence appeared to settle in and bide his time, maintaining his advantage over Sexton in third. With about 10 minutes down in the moto Lawrence closed in, looked for a way by and made a quick and decisive pass on Plessinger to take control of the moto.
Plessinger then waged battle with Sexton for second, with the Honda rider able to make a quick pass to try and keep his teammate within reach. About 2.5 seconds separated the Honda riders as the moto approached the halfway point, with both riders trading momentum.
Sexton appeared to be the slightly faster rider and was able to cut the gap to under two seconds.
The distance between the duo continued to tighten as the moto surpassed the 15-minute mark.
The lead stabilized between 1.3 to 1.5 seconds through the heart of the moto as both riders continued to play the on-track chess match. As they approached lapped riders the battle shifted into Lawrence’s favor as the lead grew to two seconds. With three minutes to go the teammates were closer than they’d been all moto, separated by just over a second.
Both riders waited for the moment to pick up the pace for one final push, but the potential battle ended when Sexton briefly tipped over.
The lead grew to nearly 10 seconds by the time Sexton resumed, which allowed Lawrence to keep the unbeaten streak intact. Lawrence wrapped up moto win 16 by three seconds over Sexton, while Plessinger parlayed his holeshot into a third-place effort, just ahead of Anderson.
450 Overall Results
Lawrence’s latest 1-1 performance signified his first ever moto wins at Washougal as his quest for a perfect season has surpassed eight rounds, with three remaining. His eighth career win breaks the Aussie into the top 20 on the all-time wins list. Sexton settled for his fourth straight runner-up effort (2-2), while Anderson became the newest rider this season to finish on the overall podium in third (4-4).
Lawrence’s massive lead in the 450 Class standings has grown to 95 points over Ferrandis, who finished fourth overall (3-5), while Plessinger’s fifth-place finish (7-3) allowed him to maintain his hold of third, 120 points behind Lawrence.
250 Overall Results
The first ever 1-1 effort by Deegan was also the first in the division for the season.
The rookie’s second career victory came on a day in which Yamaha kicked off the global 50th anniversary celebration of its YZ motocross model, Deegan’s YZ250F adorned in white, purple and pink plastics that harkened back to the vibrant aesthetic of the 90’s era of the sport.
Justin Cooper earned his fifth runner-up finish of the season (3-2), while Hunter Lawrence held on for third (2-4).
Deegan’s dominant afternoon allowed him to gain 10 points on Lawrence in the 250 class standings, as now just three points sit between the two most successful riders in the division this summer with three rounds and six motos remaining.
Cooper’s second-place finish vaulted him up to third, 19 points out of the lead.