The Motosport.com Washougal National presented a lot of hype. Chase Sexton was improving after a showing speed last week in Minnesota, and he had won at Washougal the last two years. So anticipation was high for a Chase Sexton versus Jett Lawrence duel and some drama over Lawrence’s still-perfect season. In moto one, there wasn’t much of a challenge as Lawrence passed early leader Dylan Ferrandis and pulled away for the win from there. Moto two was much closer. Lawrence got around Aaron Plessinger early, but this time Sexton quickly moved to second and kept the heat on his teammate the whole way, the gap staying around 1.5 seconds the whole way. Sexton appeared ready to put in a late charge and try to make a run for the win, but he stalled his bike and tipped over with three laps to go. Lawrence was able to cruise home after that.
The Honda HRC teammates talked about it in the post-race press conference.
Jett, phenomenal performance. Perfect season still going. Chase, you gave it your all. Let’s start with you, Jett. Another perfect day. You qualify quickest, get both motos and the streak is alive and going strong.
Jett Lawrence: Yeah, on the scorecard it might look easy, but that second one was difficult! My mouth got so dry so fast. I was just trying to get moisture back in my mouth with all the dust. Chase kept me honest for that whole time. And AP just at the start of that second one, I just didn’t know what got into that man! I was like, this guy’s hooking! He ended up dropping us the first few laps. AP out here going wild. Once we got around him, I’m like, come on just give me this little bit of a gap, just a safety bumper. I look back a few turns later and Chase is already there. I’m like, I think AP has stolen the hammer now. But it was a good one. That last one was such a different track from the start of the day. The start of the day was tacky. It had heaps of ruts. That one I just literally almost powder berms. So it was kind of a mixture of being just patient and trying to keep the roll speed up. We were kind of pushing that limit a little bit. Sadly Chase just got bit, which sucks for him. I was happy he gave me that bit of an extra safety bumper, [exhales] just so I can relax now. But another good day. This track, normally I’m not the best here. So, it was good to get this one out of the way, get a good break, go play some golf. So, I’m definitely excited for that.
Who’s going to win between you and Hunter? Do you have a little side bet on the floating green?
Lawrence: Well, Hunter has been sore lately so I think my chances are pretty high.
Chase, tell us about your day. You kept Jett honest the second moto there and just very late in the race had that little tip-over in that rut. So, tell us about your race but also tell us about what happened in that rut.
Chase Sexton: The first moto, I just didn’t get the greatest start and I kind of got pummeled back a little bit which took me a while to get to second. Once I got there, Jett was already gone. Second moto, thank God they got a restart because I smoked the gate. I think Jason hit it, and actually I ran right into it. Thank God we got a restart. Then I got a good start. AP was just a little bit on the inside of me and forced me wide, so he obviously got the holeshot. Then coming up that next hill, I was stuck in the middle. I was like, do I go outside, do I go inside? If I follow, I feel like Jett is going to pass me. If I go outside, I could find a good line hopefully and try and get around AP. That ended up not working out in my favor. Got bumped back to third. I rode around for a while just trying to find some good lines. Then right as I was starting to kind of close up a little bit, came down the hill, went into the corner and just stalled it and fell over, obviously. The riding was good again today. The track was able different today than it normally is. I feel like it was rougher this year than it has been, just with the mixed sand and stuff like that. I also don’t feel like the ruts got as deep today or as good. There was not much for ruts out there. It was just a little bit different track than we’re normally used to here. But overall, I was just still clicking away and trying to get better every weekend.
I remember when you went wide in that corner at the top of Horsepower Hill, the final left-hander there, and it looked like Jett, you were doing something. You were hitting a bump it looked like and kind of jumping to the inside and that’s where he passed you on the first lap. Did you adopt that line later on and switch over to what Jett was doing?
Sexton: No, I was actually hitting the same line. I just went wide, just because AP was on the inside. I didn’t want to follow him. But it ended up not working out in my favor.
Jett, coming into Unadilla, kind of an iconic track but how is that ranking in your eyes? Where dose it fit in your favorite tracks in the US?
Lawrence: Last year’s Unadilla didn’t fit up very high with the tracks [Lawrence suffered multiple crashes] , but previous years when it was really rutted and that stuff, I think that’s when it’s pretty high up. I feel like that’s true Unadilla with the ruts and that stuff. Personally, I feel like that creates better racing because you have more lines. When it’s more flat and that stuff, which is kind of almost like how it was here today. It was rough but a lot times it just was the one line and obviously it just got kind of dead and blown out. It just funnels to kind of slot car racing, which I feel like for fans is not as fun. We get close but I feel like it’s not as fun for watching, where at least I feel like hopefully Unadilla, it has some more lines where we can at least the better guy or whatever happens, we’re just all over the track. Whereas this guy is taking this line, and make it more exciting. It’s up there normally. It’s a fun place. The only downside of it is that it’s so far away from all the hotels, so we Sallies have to wake up earlier. That’s the only bummer thing. Looking forward to this break and looking forward to Unadilla.
Chase, yourself? Where does Unadilla rank in your eyes in favorite tracks?
Sexton: It’s definitely one of my favorites. Even this one, Unadilla, Budds Creek, Ironman are some of my favorite tracks. I feel like I ride better. I think Unadilla last year was one of my better races. I had a good one there last year. It’s a fun track. It’s fast, but also it has a lot of long ruts which I tend to like. I like to stand up, and that seems to suit my style there. So, I’m looking forward to it. Obviously we have this break. I look forward to taking a little time off but also trying to improve. I think we have a lot of room to grow and make up. That’s kind of my mindset. So, hopefully we can come into Unadilla a little better than we were today. That’s where we’re at.
Jett, are we manufacturing something in the competitive gap, or has the competitive gap narrowed just a little bit and have the last few victories been maybe a little less easy than some of the ones before them?
Lawrence: Yeah, obviously since Chase being back, it obviously makes it a lot harder than normal just because Chase has that never-give-up. He’s always going to give it 100%. So it makes it exciting. I like it because it makes me a better rider, makes sure I stay focused instead of just going out there and kind of shutting off before and doing whatever, where it could kind of create more of a bigger mistake. Where with Chase being there, it just makes sure I get my start good, make sure I hit my marks, make sure I hit my laps. So for me, it ends up making me a better rider mentally and physically. It’s definitely a lot tougher these last ones because Chase has been there the second motos, so I’m looking forward to these last ones.
I know every week is a little bit different, but there have been circumstances towards the end of each race where you haven’t had to just have someone chase you across the line. Are you managing that gap? How much do you have left in your tank at the end of a given week?
Lawrence: It kind of just all sets on the situation. If we’re going down to the line, if I feel comfortable on the track, I feel I can go fast, I’ll go faster and push. But if not and Chase is going faster, or whoever it is at that point, the perfect season would be lovely but at the end of the day, the perfect season you would still get the championship. I would rather focus on the championship than push over my head and end up injuring myself and then no championship. So, I’m just focused on my championship. If a win is there, a win is there. If not, and if Chase or whoever else is going just faster that weekend, I’m going to try my best to hold them off and try and last as long as I can. If not, if he’s better that day, then have it. I’m not going to be silly about it. Not going to risk my chance of crashing and making a silly mistake.
Chase, an almost perfect season from one standpoint. Everything has been a podium. I think everything but one has been a second-place finish. Does that put a little salve on the wound of running second to your teammate?
Sexton: I don't think it really matters that he’s my teammate. It sucks losing to the same guy every weekend. Like he said, it makes us both better. I want to beat him. He wants to beat me. Jason is obviously getting better, so it’s going to be a fun last three races. But I don't want to lose to anybody. It doesn’t really matter who it is. Last year I feel like I lost ten motos straight to Eli and started to get better towards the end. My mindset always stays the same. I want to win. I feel like this is just making me better. Obviously, it’s been frustrating and tough, but I feel like our riding is getting better and better, and even compared to last year. Everyone likes to compare last year and this year, but I do feel like the speed is even higher. Every year the speed continues to grow, and with Jett coming in, I feel like last year I had a little bit more speed than Eli, and now I have a new kind of guy I have to chase down. I think it’s just an evolution of the sport and something that I enjoy and can take that challenge on.
Chase, tough way to lose with crashing like that, but other than that, that was probably the hardest challenge you posed to Jett. So, do you leave here frustrated about that or do you leave here feeling good about how you rode today?
Sexton: Yeah, a little bit of both. It’s obviously a bummer to go down and plus when you stall it, I just feel like an idiot, to be honest. I was kind of just trying to close the gap. I feel like I was kind of riding there, and I wasn’t charging super hard but I was starting to pick up the pace a little bit and trying to get closer to him. It was going to be hard to pass no matter what. I was just kind of trying to put some pressure on and see if I could pick my way around the track. I had some different lines where I possibly could have made the pass, but it would have been a full send kind of move. So, I was just trying to get close. It was better riding. This was one of the closest races I’ve had, speed-wise. I feel like my speed has always been good. We’ll just keep plugging away. Like I said, I enjoy new challenges. It’s never-ending, so we’ll try and overcome this one and move on to SMX.
I was going to ask you guys about that second moto battle. Jett, you saw him back there. I don't think there was a safety gap, right? Was that pretty close? Were you on the edge or pushing really hard at that point? Were you guys really pushing each other at that point most of that second moto?
Lawrence: Yes and no. It kind of was just whatever the track would give you. I didn’t have as good a flow that second one as I did in the first one. The first one I had a lot of good lines and I felt my balance was on. Then I slipped out. I was kind of struggling a little bit trying to keep that rear wheel under me. A few times I spun out a little bit. It was kind of just focusing on this rolling, but it was close. I could definitely tell you that. Just that gap gets close where if you make a mistake it can lead to him getting close enough for a pass. So, it definitely puts a little more pressure on you just to make sure you hit your marks and that stuff, but I like that. It’s fun for me. I’d rather know about him being there than him just coming out of nowhere and surprising and make a pass. I feel like that’s always the worst when you’re like, “What? Where did he come from?” That one I’d rather him be right there, knowing he’s there, so then it just makes you focus up a lot more. I like that. It was kind of similar last weekend. Last weekend he was running that bit faster pace and I didn’t want him to kind of have a surprise attack on me, so I just used those few laps where he could just catch up a bit and I could recover. Then when I know he’s there, then we can go to war. But this one was like going to war. It was a tough one. The track was at the end of the day, it’s the roughest. It doesn’t have much traction at all. So it was challenging but fun.
Chase, did you have any idea if you could have gotten there? This track is so hard to pass on. Were you starting to develop a plan if you could get right to him?Sexton: Yeah, I had some different lines. I had the freedom of being in second just to move around a little bit. I wasn’t worried. If I kind of lost time, I felt like I could kind of get back to him. I didn’t have a specific spot. It was more of like, if he was to make a mistake or if I could get close enough it would have kind of been a full send moment. First moto I passed Ferrandis on that downhill. That was like a hail Mary at that point, because there was really no other place to pass. I was trying to get close. I feel like I was really starting to inch up. I feel like it’s just him and I feeling each other out for most of the moto. We know it’s going to come down to the wire. There was no point in me just going out there and trying to blow up the first few laps. We know we’re going to be there towards the end. It’s just kind of a game of chess and today unfortunately I lost again, but we’ll try to get better towards these last few races.
Chase, you missed some time already, so is there still more to gain during this break? Are you going to take a break or are you like, no, I got to make up for some lost ground from a month ago?
Sexton: I’m going to take a break. This next week I’ll be pretty chill. But there are some things that I want to fix with the bike. I still don’t feel like I’m jiving with it super good. So, there’s something I want to get better on that side, and also with my side with just technique and stuff like that. Like Jason said, he was off longer than I was and didn’t do anything, and I was off for probably three weeks and I was laying on the couch. So it was fun to come back. Now I feel like I’m in that flow where he’s obviously starting to get into it now. I don't want to lose that. I want to keep improving.