In the 2025 Washougal (Washington) National, Chase Sexton became the first rider to beat Jett Lawrence in a race during which Jett was fully healthy at the end of the round. Sexton and Jett are the only two riders to win an overall since Jett ascended to the 450 division.
Sexton’s overall win was set up by a Moto 1 victory coupled with a third-place finish for Jett. In the first moto, Jett crashed while pressuring Sexton for the lead and fell out of the second position. Eli Tomac also got around the championship leader while he was on the ground and held off a determined charge by Jett in the closing laps. Sexton finished second in Moto 2 to secure the overall victory by two points.
“Last weekend, I was pretty far off in the second moto, and I went back and fixed some stuff with the team and myself,” Sexton told Peacock’s Will Christien. “I knew I was good at this track and I had the ability to win. To be able to execute was really nice. Jett and I had a good battle in the second moto. He got me later in the moto, so congrats to him. It was a good ride.”
Jett finished more than eight seconds ahead of Sexton in Moto 2, but his crash in the first race relegated him to second overall.
“Washougal ain’t my track; I can tell you that,” Jett told Jason Thomas. “Chase rides really good here. That first moto, I was asking way too much. I was being too aggressive with the throttle, and (in Moto 2), I just had to calm down a bit. The restart was hard because my legs were filled with lactic acid and wouldn’t work the first few laps, so I had to take it easy.”
This will end Jett’s quest for a second perfect Motocross season. He was undefeated in his rookie campaign.
The only other round Jett lost in one he started came in the Hangtown Classic last year when he crashed heavily on a downhill section of the track. He finished 12th overall after failing to score points in Moto 1. Jett rode in obvious pain to finish sixth in Moto 2.
With a second in Moto 1 and third in Moto 2, Tomac stood on the podium after struggling in consecutive rounds at RedBud and Spring Creek.
“That was great,” Tomac said. “Huge gains from last week, and at least we were in the same zip code this week, that’s the truth. I could see the front of the race. Of course, I want to win, but I feel like I can work with what I’ve got now.”
Hunter Lawrence was part of a fierce four-rider battle at the front of the pack in the first half of the race, but he lost pace after a red flag restart launched him second.
Justin Cooper rounded out the top five in Moto 2.
- Sexton won Moto 1 ahead of Tomac.
- Hunter earned the holeshot over Jett.
- Sexton and Tomac are third and fourth on Lap 1.
- Sexton and Hunter swap second on Lap 3, which eventually resolves to Sexton.
- The red flag waved with 21:22 on the clock; a staggered start was coming.
- The running order will revert to the last completed lap.
- Hampshire took fifth from Cooper on Lap 4.
- At halfway, Jett led Sexton (second) and Tomac (third).
- With three minutes on the clock, Sexton had a seven-second gap on Tomac.
- Jett won the round; Sexton scored the overall victory.
In Race Notes
Sexton and Tomac entered Moto 2 with their fate in their hands. If either won Moto 2, they would have the overall victory, but Jett still challenged after finishing third.
Hunter grabbed the holeshot over his brother, Jett, but Sexton and Tomac remain in contention in third and fourth, respectively.
With a bruised shoulder, Cooper rounded out the top five at the conclusion of Lap 1.
Sexton gets aggressive with Jett on Lap 2 and nearly crashes in the battle for second. That woke Jett up.
The top four ended Lap 2 a mere 1.7 seconds apart.
On Lap 3, Jett took the lead from Hunter.
Hunter and Sexton swapped the lead multiple times on Lap 3. Hunter won that battle, but lost the position soon after.
The red flag waved for Anton Nordstrom as the leaders completed Lap 4 with Jett leading Sexton, Hunter, and Tomac. The remainder of the field did not take the flag.
Sexton will have to pass Hunter again as the field reverts to the previous lap.
The staggered start began at the gate, with riders being released in quick succession.
Sexton got back around Hunter immediately and brought Tomac with him.
Hampshire got around Cooper on Lap 4. Both riders have been incredibly consistent.
On Lap 8, Jett, Sexton, and Tomac were within four seconds.
Hampshire pressured Hunter for several laps, but spun out and crashed on Lap 9.
Cooper took fifth away from Hampshire.
With three minutes on the clock, Sexton had a seven-second gap over Tomac, which gave Sexton the overall points lead.
Jett beat Sexton to the line by eight seconds, but Sexton secured the overall victory.
Tomac was a distant third.
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