Press Release

Peick Leads Pack of Pirelli Riders to his Season-Best Finish at Washougal

WASHOUGAL, Wash. (July 23, 2016) – The ninth round of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its annual return to Washougal Motocross Park for the Peterson CAT Washougal National on Saturday. For the final time this season, racers lined up on West Coast terrain and were treated to perfect weather that featured temperatures in the lower 80’s with plenty of bar banging action on the track. The unique dark clay challenged riders and teams throughout the day, however, Pirelli’s SCOPRION™ MX32™ front and MX32™ PRO rear tires prevailed to capture five top-10 positions in the 450 Class.

Despite a hard crash that left him on the sidelines one week ago in Millville, Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Weston Peick bounced back in typical bulldog fashion for an inspiring performance. In 450 Moto 1, he found himself just outside of the top-10 to complete the opening lap and quickly went to work with a hard charge to seventh place at the checkered flag. The second moto witnessed him circulate the opening lap in eighth before making a couple of aggressive passes to claw his way into fifth. He earned his best finish of the season with fourth overall via 7-5 moto scores.

JGRMX rider Justin Barcia came into the day full of confidence after winning a moto at Washougal just one year ago, however, the first moto proved to be an uphill battle as he fell victim to carnage and started the opening lap in 20th position. The No.51 dug deep and fought-hard the entire race to finish 10th. When the gate dropped for 450 Moto 2, he got off to a much better start and was credited in fifth. He charged to fourth, placing him fifth overall (10-4) on the day.

Andrew Short was full of excitement as he lined up at one of his favorite tracks for the final time in his career, nearly pulling the holeshot in the first moto as he crossed the opening lap in third. “Shorty” stayed strong the entire 30-minute plus two lap race to score his best moto finish of the season in sixth. Another start near the front of the field helped him finish seventh in Moto 2 for a season-best sixth overall (6-7). It marked the third consecutive race that the BTO Sports/WPS/KTM rider has finished inside of the top-10 and improved him to seventh place in the championship standings.

BTO Sports/WPS/KTM’s Benny Bloss continued his recent hot streak of impressive performances and came out swinging with a fifth place start when the gate dropped for 450 Class Moto 1. After losing a few positions in the early stages of the moto, the rookie regrouped to regain control of the fifth position for a career-best moto finish. A start outside of the top-20 in the second moto would be the ultimate test to the youngster’s fitness and ability to come through the pack, but he could not be stopped and charged to ninth at the finish. He tied his career-best overall finish with seventh overall (5-9) and moved inside of the top-10 in the championship standings for the first time this season.

Pirelli’s MX32™ PRO tire handled the slippery surfaces with ease as Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti found plenty of traction to capture the holeshot in 450 Moto 1. The New Yorker ran near the front to score fourth. Misfortune struck on the opening lap of Moto 2, forcing him to start at the tail end of the 40-rider field. A clutch performance guided him to eleventh for eighth overall (4-11).

Justin Brayton came from behind for 13th in Moto 1, but had a big crash while battling inside of the top-10 in Moto 2. He finished 18th overall (13-34), while TPJ Racing’s Dustin Pipes rounded out the top-20 (23-17).

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will take a two-week break before returning to action on August 13 in New Berlin, New York for the Unadilla National.

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

  1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-1)


  2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-2)


  3. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-3)


  4. Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (7-5)

  5. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (10-4)


  6. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (6-7)


  7. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (5-9)

  8. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (4-11)

  9. Dean Wilson, United Kingdom, KTM (8-10)


  10. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Honda (15-8)


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18. Justin Brayton Fort Dodge, IA., KTM - (13-34)

20. Dustin Pipes, Madera, Calif., Suzuki (23-17)

450 Class Championship Standings

  1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki – 434


  2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 379


  3. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 283


  4. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 244

  5. Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna – 217


  6. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki – 171


  7. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM – 155


  8. Justin Brayton Fort Dodge, IA., - 152


  9. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 151



  10. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM - 151


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