Vital Buzz




Click the following link for a 37-photo gallery of motocross race action from Washougal.

You can also click the following link for a 25-photo gallery from Saturday's pre-race action in the pits, as well as timed qualifying.

Don't forget, if you're a Vital MX member, you can comment on any of the photos in the gallery. Not a member? Join now! It's fast and free.



At about the 2/3 mark of the second 450 moto at Washougal, we heard a pair of photographers joking with one another that they were, “Processional motocross journalists.” The moto had been a bit predictable, especially compared to the last couple rounds at Unadilla and Lakewood…outside of James Stewart’s first turn crash and rapid charge through the pack, and Grant Langston leading. It looked like Stewart was headed for yet another overall win, and a huge points advantage on the rest of the field in the title chase. But then Stewart hit a large rock with his front wheel, went down, and was unable to continue due to a knee injury.

That changed everything.




James Stewart

James Stewart is headed for the doctor's for an MRI following his knee popping out at Washougal. Let's hope it was a one-time thing and that he doesn't need some major surgery. But if there's one thing he's proven, is that he can ride in pain.

At that point it looked like Langston would be the overall winner with his 4-1 score, compared to Timmy Ferry’s 2-3. But Kevin Windham, who was just ahead of Ferry, thought the white flag was the checkered, and backed off. He realized his mistake as Ferry charged by, but by then it was too late. Ferry’s eventual 2-2 finishes were enough to edge Langston by a single point for the overall.



Timmy Ferry

Up until Washougal, moto wins had been the highlight of Tim Ferry's season. Now it's an overall win that he considers among his biggest accomplishments in MX.

While Stewart still holds a seven point advantage over Ferry in the title chase, everyone’s wondering if he’ll be able to finish the season, or participate in the Motocross of Nations…and the U.S. team is due to be announced this week at Loretta Lynn’s. An MRI and James’ doctors (who have been working overtime lately) will tell the tale this week.



Timmy Ferry and Ryan Villopoto

Timmy Ferry grabs some tips from Ryan Villopoto before the start of the first moto in Washougal. Could these two end up as National Champions?

Now at the 2/3 mark in the National season, everyone’s watching to see who seizes control of the title chase in the AMA Motocross Lites class. After Sunday’s race in Washougal, Ben Townley rode two smart motos and nudged the advantage in his direction…by a slim two points. After a crash in the first turn at the start of the second moto, Ryan Villopoto put in an absolutely amazing ride to go from last place to third by the end of the moto. His bike was showing occasional puffs of smoke, and was bent up in the crash, but luckily he avoided a DNF like the one he suffered at Unadilla, which erased his series lead.



Ben Townley

Ben Townley heads to the gate for the first moto.

With two of their riders battling for the title, are things tense around the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki truck? Not particularly. Ryan noted in the post-race press conference, “You probably wouldn't know we we're racing for a championship.” Maybe not, but the collection of number one plates on the doors of the semi are a constant reminder of what they’re there to do.



Lites Moto Two start 4

It figures that Townley and Villopoto would make contact...it seems like they've been about this far apart in the Lites point standings ever since Unadilla.





Lites Moto Two start 5

If Ryan has some scrapes on his back, it could come from either from Billy Laninovich, or his hard second moto crash. In either case, it's cool that he didn't suffer more serious injuries.




Ryan Villopoto

Ryan was able to quickly remount.

In the poll running on the homepage of Vital MX, 71.5% of you think that Ryan Villopoto will take the title, compared to only 28.5% for Ben Townley. If you want to voice your opinion, log in (or sign up for a membership) to cast your vote.

We have to say, the Washougal fans are a passionate bunch, whether in their choice of riders to cheer for, or letting everyone know what they thought of the track changes for this year’s edition of their National event…the 27th anniversary edition.



Ryan Villopoto Fan

There were no shortage of Ryan Villopoto fans.




Josh Hill Fan

While Ryan Villopoto had lots of support, some of Josh Hill's friends were sporting these shirts to show there was more than one hometown favorite. The back of these said, "Joshougal."

There were more than a few signs spotted designed to let the track management know that they were upset with changes that led to removal of a couple signature features of the track, like the Chuck Sun jump and Leach’s Lump, and modifications to the Catcher’s Mitt berm, which we heard re-dubbed the Pitcher’s Mitt, since it’s so much flatter than before.



Fan Opinion

It's too bad the fans in Washougal had trouble expressing how they felt about the changes to the track at Washougal. A portion of the infield was reconfigured to make more room for a hospitality area, though they did add extra sections in the hills and down near the old starting gate to keep the lap times longer.

We spotted Chuck Sun himself in the pits on Sunday morning, and when asked for his opinion, he put a positive spin on it, saying, “Hey, it was here for 26 years, and if that was a sitcom that'd be a huge success.” The former Team Honda star and Northwest hero later added, “It feels like something's missing. It was central to the track. It was cool because if a rider was dominating, it was a great place to show off. But change is good.”

Over the years we’ve heard riders mention that Washougal can be a bit deceiving. The top may look gorgeous and loamy, but underneath that top layer it can also be greasy and very slick. The track crew laid down a bunch of water overnight on Saturday, and we got to see examples of both conditions on Sunday morning. Check out the photos of Jason Thomas below to see what we mean.



Jason Thomas

When the traction at Washougal is good, it's very, very good. Jason Thomas demonstrates.


Jason Thomas

Underneath the loam at Washougal lurks some pretty slippery stuff, that can show up when wet or dry.

By now you’ve probably seen that one of the rumors from recent weeks has been confirmed…that Mike Alessi has joined the Makita Suzuki team for 2008 and beyond. The mix of Mike, David Vuillemin, Ryan Dungey and Nicco Izzi will be very interesting to watch.



Mike Alessi

Now we know for sure...Mike Alessi will be Suzuki-mounted in '08.

Want a few random rumors from the weekend? We hear that Chris Gosselaar may end up with the Troy Lee Lites West/Supermoto squad for next year. Chris has yet to experience Supermoto, but seemed more than up for the challenge.

Ryan Morias was MIA last weekend with an ankle injury, but his Boost Mobile Yamaha of Troy teammate, Kyle Cunningham was back in the semi.

Washougal was the last race for Dusty Klatt and the Lucas Oil Star Racing Yamaha team, who never seemed to fit together well. We may see Dusty on a 450 for the remaining rounds, though we hear that finishing up the Canadian season with Blackfoot Yamaha is also a possibility.

James Stewart had been fitted for a Leatt-Brace last week and rode one lap of Sunday morning’s practice with it on, but once at the track he’d opted to wear an under-jersey chest protector, which caused it to ride up higher than it had when it was fitted. He quickly decided to skip it for the weekend, but we may see him using it again in the future.

You may have noted a few riders wearing a Leatt-Brace without the usual strap arrangement, but in a couple cases they’re actually using something more “invisible” to hold it in place. Both Chad Reed and Ben Townley use headbands that loop under each arm and over their heads in a sort of X pattern. They then hooks the bands over a tab on each side of the brace at the top of their shoulders to hold it in place.

We’re not sure what the deal is, but it sure seems like quite a few guys have had goggle problems this season. Both Broc Hepler and Jason Lawrence were missing goggles in the second moto, though only J-Law stopped for a replacement pair.



Broc Hepler

Broc Helper never made a pit stop in the second moto for goggles, though his Yamaha's engine gave up before the finish.


Jason Lawrence

Jason later stopped for a replacement pair of goggles. A 20th-place finish in moto two was definitely a setback in his goal of third overall for the season.

With Washougal in the rear-view mirror, some riders and mechanics were looking forward to a week off, while others were planning on traveling to Loretta Lynn’s this week, or were getting ready for the X Games.

With an open format for bikes, Mike Alessi will be riding both a 250F and a 450 this week before picking which bike he’ll ride. While it sounded like he’s leaning toward the 250F, he’ll also have some options…maybe something in an in-between size?

Grant Langston, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham and Michael Byrne will all be aboard their usual big-bore equipment, and Josh Grant will be riding his 250F. Ivan Tedesco wanted to do the race, but Suzuki apparently declined, instead opting to focus on Ricky Carmichael’s effort. Ryan Dungey will also sit the event out, along with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Villopoto and Townley, who had previously been the subject of a press release saying that they were going to focus on the Lites outdoor title.

James Stewart was already planning on sitting out X, and Timmy Ferry was going to ride it, though with Ferry now a prime title contender in the outdoor series, Kawasaki is already re-thinking that decision. As far as we know, Andrew Short is still in.

It will be cool to see Jeremy McGrath back in action, though it’ll only be aboard a Supermoto bike, or step-up, and not in the SX race. Reed will also be doubling up, riding in the Supermoto.

On Saturday afternoon, the women of the WMA raced round five of their six-race ’07 season. Saturday morning’s first moto was run on a smooth but slick track, with some light drizzle causing problems with vision and crashes.

Jessica Patterson’s injured finger (which had been caught in Sarah Whitmore’s rear sprocket in Colorado was still painful, but she was able to skip the large bandage arrangement and wear her normal gloves for the race, and she took the first moto, while Tarah Gieger had multiple crashes and an eventual eighth-place finish. Tania Satchwell and Patterson dueled throughout the moto, with Patterson just edging her out for the win.



Jessica Patterson

Jessica Patterson was sporting a pair of pants that said "Off Probation" on the butt. While last year's skirmish with Tarah Gieger may have seemed like a bad deal at the time, there's no doubt that the fans at Washougal were there to watch the women race on Saturday.

Jessica had an easier time in Saturday’s rough second moto (which was run after the men’s practices), leading wire-to-wire went 1-1 to reassume the points lead over Gieger. Geiger was catching Jessica late in the moto, but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a pass attempt. Satchwell’s 2-3 was good for second overall, and Sherri Cruse used a 5-4 score to grab the final podium spot.




30-Second Dude

GuyB was threatening to gouge out his own eyes with a spork after watching the 30-second board guy doing "the wiggle" before the gate dropped on the second WMA moto.

You can click the following link to jump to a photo gallery of WMA action from Washougal.

AMA/WMA Women's National Motocross Championship presented by Kawasaki






































1 Jessica Patterson HON 1-1
2 Tania Satchwell KAW 2-3
3 Sherri Cruse YAM 5-4
4 Elizabeth Bash KAW 4-5
5 Mariana Balbi HON 3-6
6 Tarah Gieger YAM 8-2
7 Vanessa Florentino HON 6-7
8 Ashley Boham HON 7-9
9 Lindsey Jelitto HON 9-10
10 Sayaka Kaneshiro SUZ 11-11
11 Sarah Whitmore YAM 16-8
12 April Zastrow HON 12-14
13 Stephanie L. Cancilla YAM 14-13
14 Meika Cornelius HON 10-17
15 Jill Carter YAM 13-15
16 Michelle Camacho YAM 17-12
17 Michele Collins KAW 15-16
18 Alisa Nix YAM 18-DNS

WMA Pro Point Standings (after five of six rounds)












































1 Jessica Patterson  223
2 Tarah Gieger 207
3 Elizabeth Bash 168
4 Mariana Balbi 166
5 Tania Satchwell 165
6 Alisa Nix 135
7 Vanessa Florentino 126
8 Sarah Whitmore 125
9 Ashley Boham 87
10 Meika Cornelius 73
11 Taylor Miller 60
12 April Zastrow 57
13 Lindsey Jelitto 54
14 Leah Cantrell 52
15 Tatum Sik 49
17 Penni Cyrus 45
16 Katie McGuire 45
18 Sherri Cruse 41
19 Stephanie Cancilla 36
21 Michele Collins 32
20 Jill Carter 32

Okay, just a couple more notes before we go…

We’re not saying that guys are already looking forward to the end of the season, but we did note that one KTM mechanic had a countdown timer on his cell phone, and he noted on Saturday that it was “44 days, 11 hours, and 15 minutes,” to go.

Okay, that’s it for this week. Be sure to click the following link for the full gallery from today’s Vital Buzz, which includes some bonus photos. As far as the rest of the week, we’re looking forward to checking out the new SX event at the ESPN X Games, as well as all the usual mayhem that X is known for. We can only hope the freestyle guys stay safe…though safe and freestyle is an obvious oxymoron. Be sure to check back for our coverage from the X Games later this week and into next weekend, as well as coverage from the Amateur National Championships from Loretta Lynn’s later this week.

And finally, if you dig Vital MX, be sure to sign up as a member, and don’t forget to tell a friend.



I Miss Premix

Yep, we miss it, too. But isn't that what the schoolboy classes at Loretta's are for? To sit behind the gate and soak up some Essence of Two-Stroke?

If you want to talk about anything you've read, seen or watched in here, you can do it in the Vital MX Forums.

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