10. The finger gun is back:
Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton stole some championship momentum in Birmingham, chopping Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb’s points lead in half. Three quarters into the Seattle main event it looked like Sexton was going to back that performance up and take his first back-to-back wins of the season. Chase came from sixth on lap one to go through the likes of Webb, Justin Cooper, and Ken Roczen to take the lead on lap fifteen.
Once Webb got back around Roczen and into second, we saw a meeting of the minds between the two championship rivals. Webb hounded Sexton, sticking a wheel in where he could, trying to pressure Chase into a mistake. It was the first time this season where it felt like there were serious championship implications at stake. With three laps to go, the two of them made simultaneous mistakes in the same turn, but Webb was able to get through the rhythm lane better and take the lead.
ebb held on for the win, giving Sexton the dreaded finger gun over the finish. He famously pulled out the finger at A2 in 2019 on Ken Roczen and then proceeded to take control of the championship. Did he just shoot down Sexton’s title hopes?
9. The JuJu-Deegs Rivalry is legit:
The rivalry between Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan has been building since the first qualifying session in Anaheim. There has been some aggressive racing, as well as constant head-games played in qualifying, in interviews, as well as on social media. Despite all the antics, it was not clear how serious of a rivalry this was until things came to a boiling point in Seattle. Deegan put an aggressive move on Beaumer for third in the latter stages of the 250 main. After the race, words were exchanged, followed by helmet grabbing by Juju and helmet slapping by Deegan. According to Beaumer, his was instigated by DMs from Deegan during the off weeks, while Deegan points to Julien’s Instagram story of his mugshot. Both riders were brought to the AMA truck afterwards, fined and essentially told to knock it off. With a title on the line, it is likely we haven’t seen the end of this rivalry.
8. Bravo to SMX Track Crew:
It only took until the second week of this eight-week run of outdoor stadiums for mother nature to put the SMX track crew to the test. In typical Seattle fashion it rained throughout the week, but they were able to get the track built, rolled, and covered without any damage being done. Thankfully, race day was rain free, and when the tarps came off before track walk, the track was in great shape. The afternoon program was shortened to just two eight-minute qualifying sessions to preserve the track as much as possible. The track became brutally rutted but provided incredible racing all night. It’s early but the SMX track crew may need to work their magic again this weekend in Foxborough.
7. First of Many:
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies snagged his first career win in Emerald City. Davies got the holeshot but was briefly passed by Julien Beaumer on lap one. Davies stole the lead back on lap two, pulled a small gap and controlled the race like a vet in just his seventh professional start. To say he has been impressive this season is beyond an understatement. Like Indy, he was elite in the whoops, skimming every lap with ease. His skillset has everybody wondering where Davies’ ceiling is. It is almost certain this win will be the first of many.
6. First West Coast PC Podium:
After injuries to Cameron McAdoo, Levi Kitchen, Ty Masterpool, and Drew Adams, Garrett Marchbanks has the weight of Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team entirely on his shoulders. Injuries have taken its toll on the team and even Marchbanks has ridden through a shoulder injury of his own that left him out of A2. After a couple of weeks recovering since Indianapolis, Garrett came into Seattle nearly 100 percent and finally put his KX250 on the podium. Marchbanks came out on top of an epic battle with Beaumer, where the two were bar to bar for several laps, ending up second on the night. Garrett showed a lot of gratitude on the podium for Payton giving him another shot on the team and it had to be a massive relief to prove what he is capable of. Consider him a top candidate to be race winner number eleven of the season.
5. 250 Parity:
Look up the definition of parity and you will see the 2025 250 SX class. We have seen ten winners through eleven rounds, with Deegan being the only repeat winner. Deegan, Shimoda, Beaumer, Smith, Davies, Anstie, Kitchen, Hampshire, Hammaker, and Thrasher have all stood atop the podium this season. It has been incredibly entertaining and what is crazy is that 250 East points leader Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle has not even won yet! Vialle could make eleven winners in twelve attempts this weekend in Foxborough.
4. Ferrandis Top Five:
Dylan Ferrandis put his Phoenix Honda inside the top five for the first time this season, and first time since A1 of 2024. Dylan has shown some flashes since returning from a shoulder injury suffered before Tampa but has not been able put a complete twenty minutes together. He started fourth in Seattle and was the only guy consistently skimming the whoops early in the main. He eventually lost a spot to Plessinger and Sexton, dropping him back to sixth until he inherited fifth after Justin Cooper’s crash late in the race. HRC has increased their support with Dylan, supplying some factory parts, including a factory transmission. It has been a roller coaster for Ferrandis since winning the 2021 Pro Motocross Championship, but it is good to see the Frenchman back in the mix up front.
3. JCoop:
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper continued his upward trajectory in Seattle. He qualified on the pole, and straight up caught and passed his teammate Cooper Webb to take the first 450 Heat Race win of his career. Cooper gave Webb a taste of his own medicine over the finish, pulling out a finger gun of his own! In the main, JCoop was in the lead battle with Roczen, Sexton, and Webb. He appeared to have a podium on lock until he got into the tough blocks in a rhythm lane and went down. Cooper ended up sixth on the night, but it may have been his best riding of the year thus far. He is on the cusp of a win.
2. Kenny’s Fighting:
Ken Roczen shed some light on the severity of his shoulder injury this weekend in Seattle. The ligaments in Roczen’s AC joint are almost completely torn, and there is a considerable risk of doing more damage if he were to take another hit to the shoulder. Despite that fact, Ken put up an incredible fight. The Progressive/Ecstar HEP Suzuki rider passed championship leader Webb early in the main and led until lap fourteen. He eventually settled into fifth place but took advantage of Justin Cooper’s fall and ended up fourth on the night. It was evident that his shoulder was not strong enough to keep that level up for twenty minutes but the way Ken was riding early in that race must make you wonder what if he was healthy.
1. LCQs never Disappoint:
The 450 LCQ in Seattle was one for the ages. ISRT/MX4Christ Kawasaki’s Freddie Noren lead early with Gizmo Mods/ Rock River Yamaha’s Grant Harlan and Rides Unlimited RMATV MC Racing’s Anthony Rodriguez in tow. Everything looked locked in as that trio ran 1-2-3 for six laps until things got out of control. Noren nearly went down in one of the rhythm sections which allowed Rodriguez, Harlan, and HEP Suzuki’s Kyle Chisolm to get by. Noren was able to settle into the final transfer spot. On the last lap, in that exact same rhythm section Rodriguez got into the tough blocks and went down in spectacular fashion. In the process, Rodriguez’s bike clippped Harlan and sent him cartwheeling as well! Chisolm and Noren escaped the carnage to finish 1-2, but the real beneficiaries were The McGinley Clinic/Privateer Support Path’s Tristan Lane and Next Level/ Redline Oil/ Hammer Nutrition’s Hunter Schlosser who inherited the final two transfer spots.
As for Harlen, who also crashed out of a transfer in the final lap of his heat race, it was a heart breaker for the second time. A-Rod had to be crushed as well. There's no room for error in the LCQ!
