AMA Toyota Motocross Championship: Washougal 1

Click the following link for a 34-photo gallery covering AMA Toyota Motocross Championship race action from Washougal MX Park in Washougal, WA.

Driving to Washougal MX Park on Sunday morning required the use of your windshield wipers, which made you wonder if the rain would put a damper on things by making the track a quagmire. But when all was said and done, it was definitely the best thing that could have happened to it, laying down just the right amount of liquid to make for a great racing surface. Saturday’s track had been dry, fairly smooth, and devoid of the usual ruts normally found at Washougal. But that all changed once the riders hit the track.

Washougal had been tough on James Stewart (Monster Energy Kawasaki) last year, after he popped his knee out of place, requiring him to drop out of the season. But this time around, he got his revenge, scoring a pair of first-place finishes, and extending his moto win streak to 18, and his points lead to 145…just five points short of what he needed to wrap up the series title.

James’ teammate, Timmy Ferry, had a rough weekend. He was feeling ill on Saturday, and skipped practice, and came back on Sunday off his normal pace, finishing with an 11-6 day, but he still holds down second place in the MX1 series standings.

Andrew Short (Honda Red Bull Racing) had a somewhat lonely day in second spot in the MX1 class, finishing with a 2-2 ahead of Michael Byrne (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) who carded a 3-3. Cody Cooper (Rockstar Suzuki City) nailed both holeshots, but eventually finished fourth in both motos.

In the MX2 class Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) followed his usual script…at least for the first moto. He took at that win, after working his way past Broc Tickle (Division 7/Star Racing/NCY/Yamaha), Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) and early leader Josh Grant (Geico Powersports Honda), though Ryan Dungey kept the pressure on throughout.

In the second moto, however, Villopoto got a bad start, while Trey Canard sprinted away out front. Dungey passed Canard just before the halfway point, and Villopoto got by Canard a couple laps later and began closing on Dungey. The lead duo put on a great race out front, until Villopoto caught a rock in the goggles, and the sweat splatter obscured his vision enough to cause an off-track excursion. Dungey continued on to the win, and his first outdoor overall. Villopoto took second, and Josh Grant rounded out the podium.

The bad news of the day belonged to Trey Canard, who after leading the first half of the moto, tangled with a lapped rider on the last lap. In the ensuing crash, he ended up with a broken left femur. Get well soon, Trey.

In MX2 points, Ryan Villopoto now has a 109-point lead (438-329) over Ryan Dungey, while Brett Metcalfe has a good grip on the third spot at 267 points.

While next weekend is an off weekend for the series, a percentage of riders are headed to various events at next week’s ESPN X Games in Los Angeles. The next regularly scheduled event is in two weeks at Millville, MN.

MX1
1. James Stewart (Kawasaki) 1-1

2. Andrew Short (Honda) 2-2

3. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 3-3

4. Cody Cooper (Suzuki) 4-4

5. Josh Hill (Yamaha) 5-5

6. Jimmy Albertson (Honda) 6-7

7. Jeff Alessi (Honda) 7-9

8. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki) 11-6

9. Antonio Balbi (Honda) 13-10

10. Billy Laninovich (KTM) 10-14

11. Nick Wey (KTM) 14-11

12. Sean Collier (Kawasaki) 38-6

13. Sean Hamblin (Yamaha) 8-31

14. Chris Blose (Honda) 9/33

15. Charles Summey (Yamaha) 39-12

16. Justin Sipes (Suzuki) 12-36

17. Paul Carpenter (Honda) 24-13

18. Bobby Bonds (Kawasaki) 16-18

19. Ryan Clark (Honda) 40-15

20. Kevin Rookstool (Honda) 15-28

21. Cole Siebler (Honda) 25-16

22. Tyler Bright (Honda) 29-17

23. Kyle Partridge (Honda) 17-37

24. Kyle Summers (KTM) 18-22

25. Robert Fitch (Honda) 35-19

26. Jack Carpenter (Honda) 19-29

27. Adam Metzler (Honda) 22-20

28. Gray Davenport (Kawasaki) 20-21

29. Ryan Abrigo (Yamaha) 32-23

30. Jeffrey Man Jr. (Yamaha) 30-24

31. Jeff Loop (Honda) 28-25

32. Mitchell Rask (Honda) 34-26

33. Greg Crater (Honda) 26-27

34. Michael Blose (Honda) 21-30

35. Konnrad Kuest (Honda) 33-32

36. Daryl Ecklund (KTM) 31-34

37. Tony Boughten (Yamaha) 27-35

38. Michael Willard (Yamaha) 36-38

39. Kyle Mace (Kawasaki) 23-39

40. Derek Costella (Honda) 37-40

MX2
1. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 2-1

2. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 1-2

3. Josh Grant (Honda) 3-4

4. Brett Metcalfe (Kawasaki) 5-3

5. Ryan Sipes (KTM) 4-5

6. Jake Weimer (Honda) 6-6

7. Nico Izzi (Suzuki) 7-7

8. Robert Kiniry (Honda) 9-10

9. Matt Goerke (KTM) 12-8

10. Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki) 11-9

11. Kyle Cunningham (Honda) 10-11

12. Martin Davalos (KTM) 8-15

13. Jake Moss (Yamaha) 13-14

14. Phil Nicoletti (Kawasaki) 17-12

15. Andrew McFarlane (Kawasaki) 16-13

16. Wil Hahn (Yamaha) 15-17

17. Mike Brown (Yamaha) 19-16

18. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki) 14-31

19. Tucker Hibbert (Yamaha) 18-19

20. Broc Tickle (Yamaha) 33-18

21. Sean Borkenhagen (Honda) 20-20

22. Jason Potter (Honda) 32-21

23. Trey Canard (Honda) 22-22

24. Donald Vawser (Honda) 30-23

25. Tye Hames (Suzuki) 25-24

26. Brad Kelly (Yamaha) 28-25

27. Willy Browning (Suzuki) 27-28

28. Scott Champion (Honda) 26-27

29. Adam Miller (KTM) 38-28

30. Corey Pennington (Honda) 31-29

31. Freddy Sanchez (Honda) 29-30

32. Brandon Brower (Honda) 37-32

33. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha) 36-33

34. Ryan Newton (Kawasaki) 34-34

35. Sean Hackley (Kawasaki) 24-35

36. Justin Brayton (KTM) 23-36

37. Kyle Beaton (Yamaha) 21-37

38. Eric McCrummen (Honda) 35-38

39. Bryan Perry (Yamaha) 39-39

40. Ryan Morais (Yamaha) 40-40