Top 10: Washougal 2

Washougal has always been one of our favorite stops on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship schedule. Maybe it's the scenic venue, or hardcore fans. Or maybe it's because it's where GuyB saw his first-ever MX race in the early 70s. Regardless, it's a worthy component of the summer tour, and we dig making the trip there every year.

Our only grump...is there a way to juggle the schedule so that the teams (and particularly the privateers) don't have to go coast-to-coast over the span of four rounds? We get the need to space out rounds that are close together (like Southwick and Unadilla), but the miles needed to go back and forth are excessive.

But enough editorializing...let's dig into the action.

450 Class

1Marvin Musquin nabbed the holeshot in the first  450 moto. Eli Tomac kept it close early on, and the two battled for a bit before Marvin slowly crept away. Marv had to work his way by Blake Baggett, Justin Bogle, and Martin Davalos in moto two, but the result was the same...another first-place moto finish. The only bummer for the KTM rider is that he's 50+ points behind Eli Tomac in the championship standings.

2Eli Tomac hates losing. Even with a 2-2 day, he looked pretty glum at the post-race press conference. He did say that he's starting to take a page from the playbooks of past champions, and realize that consistent podiums can turn into championships. With a 30+ points lead over Blake Baggett, things are looking good for him this season.

3Martin Davalos grabbed the holeshot in moto two, and his 4-3 score on the day turned into his first podium in...well, way too long. He's been putting in some killer rides lately, and had changed up his training regimen to include more strength training. That's benefitting him now, and will help out no matter which bike he's riding come next season.

4Cole Seely had a strong third in moto one, and was fifth in moto two for a fourth overall. The Supercross-style whoops here play to his strengths.

5Something seemed to be missing in moto one for Blake Baggett, as he tallied a seventh. He came back for a fourth in moto two, and was amazing everyone with the way he was sending it off the jump past this one. On the good news side, we hear that the week before Washougal was his first chance since he injured his thumb to be able to do his regular training program.

6After a couple weeks in a row of being on the podium, Dean Wilson had to settle for a sixth overall. As you can see in the background, this year was a lot drier (and dustier) than years past.

7The deeply rutted berm before this had a weird hook at the end, which would kick riders out of it. Weston Peick had it handled, and his 6-8 moto finishes were good for seventh overall.

8Christian Craig battling with Weston Peick. Christian had a pair of top ten finishes, and was eighth at the end of the day.

9Justin Bogle getting a little loose off the jump heading up Horsepower Hill. While the news that the RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing would be ceasing operations at the end of the season wasn't sad to hear, Justin, Matt Bisceglia, and the team are doing all they can to turn in good results before the end of the season.

10A top ten overall for Dakota Alix? That's awesome. A pair of 12th-place finishes put him there.

250 Class

1Joey Savatgy was seventh in moto one, but got a great start (and win) in moto two. Normally a 7-1 score won't take the overall, but that extra point for the moto win was enough to put him over the top.

2Zach Osborne got sick during the day, which cost him some personal horsepower, and his bike was huffing and puffing a bit in moto two, but a 4-3 day for second overall will take the sting out of that. He's also got a three-moto lead on the field in the championship standings. When things are going your way...

3Yeah, we dig the hard-charging style. Dylan Ferrandis grabbed the final podium spot in the 250s with a last-lap pass of Adam Cianciarulo.

4Ugh, you have to feel for Adam Cianciarulo. Dropping from fourth to fifth on the last lap cost him the final podium spot.

5RJ Hampshire has been turning up the heat lately, and a second in moto two was his best of the day.

6Aaron Plessinger grabbed the holeshot in moto one, and flat ran away and hid from everyone. Unfortunately, he was ninth in moto two, which gave him sixth for the day. If he can duplicate that first moto on a regular basis, he'll be a happy camper.

7Jeremy Martin had a bit of an off day in Washougal. He was fast, but not "Jeremy" fast.

8Colt Nichols scored his best moto of the day (and best moto in his last 12), with a seventh in moto one.

9We dug the different look on the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTMs for this weekend. Alex Martin was out of action with injuries suffered in practice during the week before the race, and Shane McElrath was the top TLD rider with an 11-8 score.

10Mitchell Harrison was a strong fifth in moto one, but dropped to 15th in moto two.