Hunter Lawrence (Honda) wins at Washougal with a 2-1 result

Perfect conditions prevailed at the 8th round of the US Nationals at Washougal in the state of Washington, on the most beautiful track on the US calendar. Star Racing Yamaha rider Haiden Deegan set the fastest lap time in the combined qualifying session and it looked as though he was on course for his first 450cc victory, but things turned out differently. Kawasaki works rider Garrett Marchbanks finished second, somewhat surprisingly, ahead of the two Australian HRC brothers, Jett and Hunter Lawrence. Red Bull KTM works rider Jorge Prado qualified in 5th place, 1.7 seconds off the pace. Danish Triumph works rider Mikkel Haarup, who competed at Washougal with a broken nose, finished qualifying in eighth place behind Eli Tomac (KTM).

Combined Qualifying

1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 2:08.222

2. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, (+0.358)

3. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, (+0.479)

4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, (+0.525)

5. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, (+1.706)

6. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, (+3.658)

7. Eli Tomac (USA), KTM, (+3.803)

8. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, (+5.073)

9. Justin Barcia (USA), Ducati, (+5.099)

10. Cornelius Tøndel (N), Kawasaki, (+5.140)

Deegan crashes in Turn 2

Polesetter Haiden Deegan took the holeshot in the first race, but in the second corner he slid out on the freshly watered track, tipping over harmlessly on both wheels. Instead of moving out of the danger zone, he stood up somewhat dazed and without looking around, causing further crashes. Amongst others, Kawasaki works rider Cornelius Toendel, who’d got off to a good start, went down. Deegan rejoined the race after the field had already pulled away, but then staged an impressive comeback.

Haiden Deegan zog in Washougal den Holeshot

Foto: AMA

Jett Lawrence as elegant as ever

At the front of the field, Jett Lawrence (Honda) took the lead ahead of Jorge Prado (KTM), Hunter Lawrence (Honda) and Cooper Webb (Yamaha). Hunter wasted no time and immediately overtook Prado to move into second place. Kawasaki works rider Garrett Marchbanks crashed in the early stages of the race and was unable to start the second race. Deegan had already made it into the top 10 after just a few laps thanks to his comeback and went on to pull off further overtakes, including against Eli Tomac (KTM), Justin Barcia (Ducati) and Cooper Webb (Yamaha). Jett Lawrence controlled the race from the front, looking composed and elegant from start to finish, just as he had before his foot injury. Jett won the first race with a 7-second lead over Hunter. Jorge Prado (KTM) finished third, 48 seconds behind, and Haiden Deegan came fourth after his comeback.

Garrett Marchbanks stürzte in Washougal

Foto: AMA

Jett’s crash in the second race

Jett Lawrence also got off to a flying start in the second race, but this time Hunter took the lead straight after the second corner. The brothers initially pulled away slightly from the field, and even Haiden Deegan was unable to keep up with the pace set by the two Australians. Jorge Prado didn’t get off to a good start this time and had to fight his way up from outside the top 10.

Penalty for Jett Lawrence

Jett Lawrence went off the track after a long jump and accelerated before returning to the track. The AMA officials penalised the Australian by one position for this manoeuvre. Jett was unaware of this during the race and made a move for the lead halfway through, but Hunter held his ground. Jett was going for the race win and crashed. This allowed Deegan to close the gap on Jett again. In the final three minutes, Jett managed to close the gap on his brother once more, but Hunter defended his lines and won with a three-second lead over Jett. Deegan crossed the line 15 seconds behind. However, due to Jett’s penalty, Jett was classified in third place and Deegan in second. Hunter Lawrence won the day’s standings with a 2-1 result, ahead of Jett Lawrence (1-3) and Haiden Deegan (4-2). Jorge Prado, in fourth place, was already almost a minute behind. The Spaniard narrowly missed out on the podium with a 3-4 result.

Standings at the top of the table

With his fifth race win of the current season at Washougal, Hunter Lawrence extended his lead at the top of the standings from 10 to 12 points. Haiden Deegan dropped to third place, 62 points behind the leader. Prado remains fourth, but is now 98 points behind the leader.

Hunter Lawrence gewann in Washougal

Foto: AMA

Results for the Europeans

Spanish Red Bull KTM works rider Jorge Prado was the best European in fourth place. French Ducati works rider Dylan Ferrandis finished the day in fifth place with a 5-5 result. Danish Triumph works rider Mikkel Haarup finished eleventh in the overall standings with two 12th-place finishes. Fredrik Noren (Yamaha) from Sweden finished in 20th and 11th place, whilst Norwegian Kawasaki works rider Cornelius Toendel could only focus on damage limitation after his crash, finishing in 17th and 18th place. France’s Stephen Rubini (Yamaha) ended the day with a 16th-23rd result to finish 20th overall, whilst Switzerland’s Valentin Guillod (Yamaha) picked up just one point with finishes of 29th and 20th. Guillod is 13th in the championship standings, whilst Toendel is 14th.

Two-week break

The US riders are now heading into a two-week summer break. The championship resumes on 15 August at Unadilla with the ninth round.

450 Washougal results

1. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 2-1, 47 points

2. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 1-3, 45, (-2)

3. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 4-2, 40, (-7)

4. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 3-4, 38, (-9)

5. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 5-5, 32, (-15)

6. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, 7-6, 29, (-18)

7. Justin Barcia (USA), Ducati, 6-7, 28, (-19)

8. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, 8-8, 26, (-21)

9. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 9-9, 24, (-23)

10. Benny Bloss (USA), Beta, 10-10, 22, (-25)

11. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, 12–12, 18, (-29)

12. Mitchell Harrison (USA), Kawasaki, 11-15, 16, (-31)

Standings after Round 8 of 11

1. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 367 points

2. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 355, (-12)

3. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 298, (-69)

4. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 269, (-98)

5. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, 252, (-115)

6. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 214, (-153)

7. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 206, (-161)

8. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 179, (-188)

9. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, 169, (-198)

10. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, 154, (-213)