Washougal, WA
July 27th, 2008
The verdant hills of the great Northwest came alive with the sound of moto this weekend as round nine of the 2008 AMA National Motocross Series invaded the normally quiet town of Washougal, WA. Team Redux Beverages/Brawndo Honda made the long cross-country trek from Unadilla, NY and were looking for a strong showing by team rider’s Bob Kiniry (2008 Honda CRF 250R) and Ryan Clark (2008 Honda CRF 450R).
“Brawndo” Bob Kiniry has been picking up momentum lately and was motivated to notch his first top ten of the series. Bob wasted little proving his worth, setting blazing quick lap times from the first time his Dunlop tires hit the dirt. Bob said it best, stating, “I either have a really good race here or I crash.” We were all hoping for the former.
When the gate dropped on moto one, Bob busted out like a caged rhino and moved right to the front of the pack. He rounded the first lap in sixth, a position he would hold for the next several laps. At the halfway point, he had relinquished three spots, but was now comfortably in ninth. He would finish strong to grab an impressive ninth place first moto finish.
Moto two granted Bob another excellent start, as he completed his first circuit in tenth position. The moto was hard fought, as Bob was locked in battle for nearly the entire 35-minutes. When all was said and done, he emerged with another great finish in tenth position. His 9/10 moto tally awarded him with his first top ten overall finish of the season, in eighth.
“Redux” Ryan Clark was looking for just that, a new lease on a somewhat frustrating season. Feeling much better than he has since the injury at Mt. Morris, Ryan was excited to be able to ride with aggression and not worry about re-injury. He set a solid pace from the first time he hit the track on Saturday, a pace he would sustain for the remainder of the weekend.
The first moto was looking good early, as Ryan launched from the outside of the doghouse to a top ten start. Unfortunately, the excitement would soon end as he suffered flat tires on both the front and the rear wheel. It seems that a sharp rock or object gashed the tires and tubes simultaneously, adding to the frustration and forcing a first lap retirement from the moto.
Looking for a much better second moto, Ryan tried to repeat his first moto start but only managed to garner 25th around turn one. He rallied quickly, moving inside the top twenty by the second go around. One by one, Ryan moved his way through the field and up to 15th position on lap 12. One last ditch effort to catch the 14th place rider fell just short, but nonetheless he would be rewarded with six points for his finish. Ryan’s moto score of 40/15 was just enough to earn 19th overall at Washougal.
Team Redux Beverages/Brawndo Honda is entering the home stretch of the 2008 AMA Motocross National Series. With only three events remaining, the squad is motivated to finish on a positive note. There are two off-weekends before returning for round ten of the AMA series at Millville, MN on August 17th. In the meantime, Ryan Clark will be competing at X-Games 14 on Saturday, August 2nd in the MOTO-X discipline. Watch for live coverage of X-Games 14 on ESPN, ESPN2 and EXPN.com.
Team Solitaire/MB1 Racing is a privately owned professional Supercross and Motocross race team based in Phoenix, AZ. Our 2008 marketing partners include: Redux Beverages, Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator, MB1 Suspension, Kingdom Clothing, American Honda, FLY Racing, Dragon Optical, Pro Honda Oils and Chemicals, Factory Effex, DRD Exhaust, Vortex, ASV, Dunlop, WPS, Sidi, Rockwell Watches, DUS, OGIO, Applied, QTM/Brembo, RK Chain, EXCEL Rims, HoyFox.com, Boyesen, Hinson, Ready Filter, CoachSeiji.com, Cycra Plastic, Element Sports, Sano Systems, AIMMD, Pivot Works, Hot Cams, Hot Rods, Champion Tool Storage, Crank Works, CP Pistons, Cometic Gaskets, Ron Davis Racing Radiators, NGK Spark Plugs, Flyin' Kolors, DC Auto Wraps, Leatt Brace, Dirt Pro, Parkway Chiropractic, Mechanix Wear, JM Collision, Team Hawg Racing and Group D Manufacturing.
For more information on Team Solitaire/MB1 Racing, visit www.teamsolitaire.com. To purchase your own Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator or other offerings in the Redux Beverages family, log onto to www.drinkbrawndo.com or www.drinkredux.com.
