2021 Washougal Motocross Recap
Motocross returned to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday after a last minute bump off the schedule in 2020 as race representatives preferred a second round at Loretta Lynn’s during the coronavirus pandemic.
And the fans showed up.
One of the largest crowds ever to attend an Outdoor National at Washougal MX Park witnessed stellar racing for Round 7 of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series under ideal weather conditions (unlike the mudder at Round 2 last year) as an old favorite won in the 250 class and the 450 class welcomed a new face to center podium.
Chase Sexton dropped the hammer at the gatedrop for Moto 1 in the 450 class, grabbing the MotoSport.com Holeshot and checking out. Sexton led all 16 laps with little trouble from the field as the rest of the riders jockeyed for position behind him. Ken Roczen started strong in second-place but was unable to fend off multiple riders who eventually got around him. Marvin Musquin had his best ride of the season finishing third, Eli Tomac took second and Justin Barcia finished fourth.
Sexton didn’t have the same luck in Moto 2 as Championship points leader Dylan Ferrandis got out front early and fought off Tomac for the win. Sexton, however, took third and the overall, his first victory of the season. Tomac finished second overall on a (2-2) day after starting eighth- and seventh, respectively, while Ferrandis settled for third on a (5-1) day. Musquin (3-5) finished fourth, the veteran’s best outing of the year and Barcia (4-7) rounded out the Top 5. Roczen (6-10), ended ninth overall and his contention for the 450 class Championship continues to wane as he now only leads Tomac by seven points for second-place and drops 47 points back of Ferrandis.
In the 250 class, Jeremy Martin became the first two-time winner this season grabbing the overall on a (3-1) day thanks to Justin Cooper (1-8) crashing late in Moto 2 which dropped him from second-place to eighth upending any chance for the overall. Cooper leads the field in points and even extended his lead by two points over Jett Lawrence, but was unable to contain obvious disappointment on the podium holding a third-place trophy.
Lawrence (7-2) bounced back in Moto 2 for second after finishing seventh in Moto 1 and took fourth overall. The native Australian lost the Red Plate after the last round and sits eight points back from the lead.
Martin, meanwhile, slowly rebuilds his season after an injury at Thunder Valley knocked him out of Moto 2 for that round and all of Round 4 resulting in 75 points lost. However, the two-time Champion has won three of the last four Motos, jumping from eighth-place in the standings to fourth and now 61 points back of first-place with 10 races remaining. He’ll need help, but with continued success he has a shot of finishing the season on top.
Riders enjoy two weeks off before resuming the season at Unadilla on August 14 which starts five weeks of racing to close out the 2021 Motocross season. Until then, live Round 7 all again: