View From The Infield: Looking For Bigfoot 1

We may not have spotted the elusive creature at Washougal, but Eli Tomac and Aaron Plessinger made some big tracks on their quest for their respective championships.

GuyB
7/30/2018 12:35am
s1600 073018view1600 169931

We can't think of too many tracks that feature the gorgeous woodsy setting that Washougal has. This year has been a hot and dry one in the northwest, and while it may not have been as lush and green as usual, there was still plenty of roost to dish up. Beware of incoming!

Justin Bogle may still be struggling to get back up to full speed from his arm injury earlier in the season, but his starts are on lock. We were joking with him before the race about getting great starts at this point was sort of a good news/bad news situation (the good news is that you got the holeshot/the bad news is now you have 39 angry guys behind you), and he said that, "I have to give myself a chance." He mentioned before his overall win last year at Budds Creek, that he'd gone 4-10 the week before at Unadilla. You never know when a breakthrough will happen. Justin Hill was also looking for good results at his "home" track. Bogle slipped back to 13th, while Hill was fourth in moto one.

Eli Tomac worked his way past Hill and Bogle, then roosted away for another win and 25 points in moto one.

Fly did their on-track debut for lots of new gear this weekend, and Weston Peick and Blake Baggett figured prominently in its display. Blake was fifth overall this weekend, while Weston was eighth.

Ken Roczen was fifth at the end of lap one in moto one, but had moved up to third by the end.

Watching Weston Peick and Kyle Cunningham drag race down the hill and into this twisty section was pretty wild. Both of them were just a hair over the edge.

Marvin Musquin finished second in moto one, and he easily had the smoothest line over this hump, using a pre-jump and scrub to float over it.

Yeah, it's a long way from January to the end of the season. As he awaited the gate drop for moto two, Eli Tomac looked like he was ready for '18 to be over.

Another start, another holeshot for Justin Bogle. He's had an amazing string of holeshots since his return. Now if he can find that bit of endurance and missing speed...

Justin Hill and Marvin Musquin were racing hard for the second spot early in moto two. Justin later had a big crash on the downhill section after this and unfortunately ended up with a DNF.

Yamaha team boss, Keith McCarty, cheers on Justin Barcia. A 5-4 tally put Justin in fourth this week.

Eli Tomac put on one of his amazing late-moto charges, reeling in Marvin Musquin for second spot. That was good for the overall, but he wasn't done yet.

The good news? Ken Roczen had led the first 14 laps. The bad news? There are two pit boards stuck out there...which meant Eli was closing up quickly. Still, Kenny's 3-2 score was good for second overall.

Eli has the field covered at this point, and there are six motos left in the '18 MX season. Short of another mechanical, or a crash, the question is about to quickly change to how he'll stack up against the rest of the world at RedBud for the MXoN.

A refreshing champagne shower, and something for the 'gram? Sure, why not?

Ready for the 250s? Let's dive in. Joey Savatgy nailed the start at the beginning of moto one.

Jordon Smith has been coming on strong over the last few races and was third throughout this one.

Justin Cooper's 6-8 day, and seventh overall was a bit off his recent pace, but he'll be back on familiar territory when the series reconvenes in two weeks at Unadilla.

Jordon Smith did a good job of holding off Aaron Plessinger (who's just to his inside here) in moto one.

Chase Sexton was third in moto one.

Austin Forkner and Joey Savatgy had a good battle in the first frame of the 250 action. Joey led the first five laps, and Austin took over for the next seven...but Joey got back by to lead the remaining four laps and grab the win.

A moto win was overdue for Savatgy, who's been looking to get back to the front ever since his bike went quiet before the finish of moto one at Thunder Valley.

Aaron Plessinger got the jump on the field in moto two, but his lead didn't last for long. Shane McElrath had other ideas.

Moto two was a bummer for Austin Forkner, as he went down early, and couldn't continue.

Shane McElrath led the way throughout moto two, and the black/orange motif used by the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team was very cool.

RJ Hampshire was the top scorer for the GEICO Honda team at Washougal, with a 10-4 score.

Nope, no quit in Joey Savatgy's game. After winning the first moto, a crash in the first corner dropped him to the back of the pack. He made it back to ninth, which gave him third overall. One more position would have given him second overall.

Dylan Ferrandis had some problems in moto one that kept him down the standings, but he came back strong in moto two for second place.

Yeah, it was that hot at Washougal. Fortunately, the humidity that we get at the rounds in the east was missing.

Things are looking better and better each week for Aaron Plessinger to wrap up this title early. In the meantime, he's got other things to attend to in the off week, like the impending arrival of his son.


Related:
Washougal MX
2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
View From The Infield
Blake Baggett
Dylan Ferrandis
Eli Tomac
Joey Savatgy
Jordon Smith
Justin Bogle
Justin Hill
Ken Roczen
Kyle Cunningham
Marvin Musquin
RJ Hampshire
Shane McElrath
Weston Peick
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Keith McCarty
Justin Cooper
1 comments

View replies to: View From The Infield: Looking For Bigfoot