Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco finished second overall at Saturday’s Washougal National, with a career-best 2-2 moto scorecard elevating him to fourth in the 250MX standings following Round 8 of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship.
With the team featuring a Military Appreciation Race livery for the weekend, DiFrancesco qualified third in the 250MX division on board his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition after posting a 2:12.571 lap-time, continuing his impressive form outdoors.
Up-front from the outset in Moto 1, the 21-year-old held second position from start to finish, securing a convincing runner-up result. A holeshot in Moto 2 was converted into another P2 result, as his combined scores earned him second overall for the weekend.
With the Pro Motocross series – part of the wider SMX World Championship season – now entering a two-week break before returning at Unadilla on August 15, Ryder D moves into fourth in the 250MX standings.
“It was a great weekend,” recalled DiFrancesco. “Coming this way to the west coast, it’s close to home and has a special place in my heart. The Washougal fans were great today, and to put a whole day together was my goal coming into the round. To take 2-2 on the day for second overall, I’m stoked with the results!”
Also equipped with the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, Casey Cochran finished 13th in Moto 1, while a strong launch in Moto 2 led to a solid seventh-place score in Moto 2 for 10th overall. He’s now ranked ninth in the 250MX standings.
“It was good to finish the day strong in Moto 2, which put us into the top-10 overall this weekend and in the points,” commented Cochran. “We are heading in the right direction and my speed has been solid, so we just have to consistently put it together and the results will come. We will keep working over these next couple of weeks and look forward to the final three rounds.”
250MX teammate Daxton Bennick also showed encouraging speed at Washougal, completing the opening lap of Moto 1 in third before recording a measured fourth-place finish. After starting outside the top-15 in Moto 2, Bennick salvaged 18th, securing 11th overall.
“My day at Washougal had its highs and lows,” reflected Bennick. “That first moto was obviously really good with a strong start and finish, and then the second race I struggled off the start a little bit, and ended up ripping off all my tear-offs on Lap 1. Unfortunately, from there I kind of got stuck, but it doesn’t feel acceptable – I’m pretty mad at the result. But, I think there were positives to take from the day with running at the front the whole first moto, so I’m just going to keep building, stay positive, and do work between now and Unadilla.”
Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition-mounted Hampshire qualified sixth in 450MX at Washougal after adapting well to the highly-technical circuit, although a sequence of crashes on the opening lap of Moto 1 immediately put him on the back-foot.
The 30-year-old mounted an impressive charge through the pack to claim seventh, and then backed that up with sixth in Moto 2 despite a heavy crash for sixth overall. Following his Washougal result, Hampshire is fifth in the 450MX standings with three rounds remaining.
“Washougal was an eventful day!” said Hampshire. “I felt good on the bike – I just had some issues on the opening lap of Moto 1 and had to come through the pack back to seventh. Second moto, better start, but I caught an edge on the side of the track and landed in a soft spot, and had a pretty big one… I was still able to manage sixth in the moto and sixth overall on the day, so we’ll enjoy these next couple of weekends off, and then give it a good push to finish out the final three rounds.”
Next Race: August 15 – Unadilla, New York
