Chase Sexton wins Motocross Round 7 at Washougal

Chase Sexton entered Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Round 7 at Washougal MX Park still looking for his first overall podium of the year and left with the victory after finishing 1-3 in the two motos that make up the round. In 250s, Jeremy Martin finished 3-1 to become the first repeat winner in that class.

The key to success for Sexton was a strong start in both motos. He has struggled out of the gate early in the first six rounds, so he knew precisely where to concentrate his effort.

“I did a lot of start practice this week,” Sexton told NBC Sports’ Ashley Reynard after the conclusion of Moto 1. “Found something with the motor that I felt like got me out of the launch better. … That was my first holeshot in Pro Motocross, so it was just an awesome ride. So much fun to be out there by myself.”

It was the first moto and overall win for Sexton this year. He previously had two moto podiums at Pala in the opening round and Spring Creek last week.

“I got two pretty good starts and that was pretty much the difference,” Sexton said after his overall win. “My riding was pretty much the same. It feels so good after a rough start to the season to get this win.”

Sexton takes it home 🔥 🏆

4️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ Overall
🥇 Chase Sexton
🥈 Eli Tomac
🥉 Dylan Ferrandis #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/ilR1iHFnUK

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) July 25, 2021

Eli Tomac continued to show that he is one of the best in the field at riding through the pack. He got off to solid starts at the beginning of each moto, but still found himself in heavy traffic for most of the race. He finished a distant second in Moto 1 to Sexton, but he made the second race a much more interesting affair by catching the points’ leader Dylan Ferrandis with time off the clock and two laps remaining.

“The overall was right there,” Tomac said. “It was right in front of me. I just didn’t quite get it done. I found a line late in the moto in the back over here. It ended up being outside-outside. That’s how I got Chase. I tried it on Dylan and got so close, but not quite enough.”

As soon as Tomac caught Ferrandis, the championship leader hit the afterburners and protected his advantage. Tomac finished second overall with a 2-2.

Ferrandis finished third overall with a 5-1.

But Ferrandis’ run was marked not so much by what did happen as what might have. He got a bad start to Moto 1 and languished around 10th for most of the first half. Meanwhile, second in the standings, Ken Roczen challenged for the Moto 1 win briefly before he started to fade in the closing laps.

With four minutes remaining on the clock, Ferrandis caught and passed him for fifth. Roczen finished 10th in Moto 2 and was ninth overall. He now trails in the title hunt by 47 points.

Like Sexton, Marvin Musquin also had a turnaround performance. He entered Washougal without a moto podium and a best of seventh on several occasions. He left with a weekend sweep of the top five in the individual races and a fourth-place in the overall.

“It’s been a while,” Musquin said of his podium finish in Moto 1. “Yesterday I heard there was going to be a massive crowd today, so I got excited last night and really wanted to do good.”

With a 4-7, last week’s winner Justin Barcia rounded out the top five.

450 results (moto finish)

Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (1-3)
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-2)
Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (5-1)
Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-5)
Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas (4-7)
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (7-6)
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (12-4)
Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (8-8)
Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (6-10)
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM (10-9)

450 points standings

Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 303
Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 256
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 249
Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas – 239
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 238
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 218
Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Yamaha – 182
Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 177
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 177
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 147

In the 250 class, after having a new winner in each of the first six rounds, Jeremy Martin (3-1) backed up last week’s victory at Spring Creek with another overall win at Washougal.

And all it took was the desire to prove his owner wrong about his ability at Washougal and a fierce determination to not allow injury to slow him.

*Jeremy Martin continues to battle hand and wrist injuries while he racks up victories. (Align Media)*

“This one’s for you (Star Racing owner) Bobby Ragan,” Martin told NBC Sports’ Ashley Reynard. “He was pretty nervous. He was like ‘J-Mart, I don’t know if you’ve got what it takes to win at Washougal’, and that’s all I needed. I know I got a little bit of a gift – it was a bummer to see J-Coop (Justin Cooper) go down. You don’t want to see anybody go down like that.”

Last week, battling finger and wrist injuries, Martin swept the weekend with a 1-1 in the Motos and the overall win.

RJ Hampshire rebounded from a bad week at Spring Creek. He went down and failed to finish Moto 2 in Minnesota, so he was doubly determined to ride well in Washington. Pressuring Cooper for most of the first race, Hampshire finished second in Moto 1. He finished third in Moto 2 and claimed the second-place position in the overall.

It was disappointment tempered with reality for third-place Cooper.

He made no secret of being disappointed earlier this year in Round 2 at Thunder Valley after winning the overall, but finishing second in both Motos. In the next two races, he won the second motos, but failed to take the overall. This week at Washougal, he had the opportunity to do both after winning the first moto.

Cooper was chasing his teammate Martin in the closing laps when he caught an edge and went down with time off the clock and two laps remaining. Had he finished second, where he ran at the time, he would have added 13 points on his principal rival in the championship standings. He fell to eighth, however, and left with a slim two-point margin over Jett Lawrence.

“Two laps to go. I was trying to make a push for Jeremy,” Cooper said after finishing 1-8. “I didn’t have his same management and keeping it on the same pace. I got a weird kick. I’d have to watch it back on film. I didn’t see it in the shadows, but there was an edge and I caught it wrong.”

Lawrence once more got a bad start to Moto 1 and had to ride forward from a sub-10th-place position. He made his way to seventh in Moto 1, then got a strong start in Race 2 and finished second to finish fourth overall.

“It’s been a rough few races,” Lawrence said. “It’s good to finally get a start for once … that’s just so much better. I actually got to see the front, which was nice.”

Pierce Brown with a 6-4 finished fifth overall.

Jalek Swoll provided some early drama. He was heavily involved in a Lap 1 accident in Moto 1 and was helped to the pits by the medical cart. There were no serious injuries for Swoll, but he missed Moto 2 after getting banged up

Colt Nichols also crashed hard as time ran off the clock in Moto 2. After finishing eighth in Moto 1, Nichols remained seventh in the points.

250 results (moto finish)

Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (3-1)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (2-3)
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (1-8)
Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (7-2)
Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GasGas (6-4)
Michael Mosiman, Sebastapol, Calif., GasGas (4-7)
Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (5-10)
Dilan Schwartz, Alpine, Calif., Suzuki (13-6)
Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (12-9)
Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (9-12)

250 points standings

Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 281
Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 273
Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 237
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 220
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 205
Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki – 178
Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 172
Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GasGas – 154
Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna – 148
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha – 141

2021 SEASON SO FAR

Round 1: Dylan Ferrandis, Jett Lawrence victorious at Fox Raceway

Round 2: Ken Roczen’s perfect day as Justin Cooper takes 250s at Thunder Valley

Round 3: Dylan Ferrandis wins Motocross Round 3 at High Point, takes points lead

Round 4: Dylan Ferrandis wins again, stretches points’ lead over Ken Roczen

Round 5: Dylan Ferrandis remains hot in 450s; another new 250 winner with Hunter Lawrence

Round 7: Justin Barcia snaps Ferrandis streak at Spring Creek, gives GasGas first victory

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Chase Sexton wins Motocross Round 7 at Washougal, Jeremy Martin doubles in 250s

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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