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Vital MX Pit Bits: Washougal

The latest in people, products, and racing from Washougal.

64 GuyB https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/64/avatar/c50_110811guyb_redbud_1449985751.jpg?1449984985 https://www.vitalmx.com/community/GuyB,64/all 07/10/06 9429 3581 46002 870 2413 30810 41 1719 2 185

GuyB
7/27/2021 11:08 PM

Unfortunately, Ralph Huffman passed away earlier this year. The Huffman family (owners of Washougal) had a new memorial to him in the infield and lots of remembrances throughout the weekend. (See above and below.)

Washougal does bring out some characters.

It was good to run into the longtime voice of Washougal, Brian Barnes, as he was touring around the infield.

We ran into Mike Genova, Vince Friese, and Tony Alessi hanging out and spectating at the race.

There was an awful lot of extra tire grooving going on in Washougal. Among the teams we spotted getting after it were the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna crew...

...Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory Racing...

...and Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing.

We dug this art on Travis Soules. He was Weston Peick's mechanic when Weston got hurt in Paris. The number 18 is for him, and the heartbeat behind the number was from a photo of Weston's heart monitor in the Paris hospital.

The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory Racing guys had some really unique gear for Washougal, with a tie-in to the upcoming Marvel movie Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

That helmet...

We ran into some Jo Shimoda fans in the infield.

Unfortunately, Jo had a crash at the start of moto one, and it looked like he wadded a plug of dirt into the end of the muffler. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki guys had to use a trackside stake to try and get him going again.

Washougal is a good race for new gear spotting. The gear that the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki guys were wearing? Nice.

Ken Roczen had some new gear to show off, as well.

Answer Racing had some new goodies for Alex Martin. (Above and below.)

Fly Racing had a bunch of new gear on the track, too. Check the next few shots below for some of the new combos. Jalek Swoll's day got cut short in the same first turn incident that Shimoda was involved in.

We're not sure what was more impressive...the fact that Carson Brown scored points on a Husqvarna 250 two-stroke, or that he could ride at all, considering he was dealing with a shoulder injury. Either way, it was fun to hear a two-stroke ripping out there.

It's awesome to see fans back in the pits, and up-close opportunities for them to meet the riders.

With Adam Cianciarulo taking off the rest of the season for some biomechanical tuning before the start of the '22 calendar, it's up to Eli Tomac to deliver. He's been showing some amazing bursts of speed.

Props to Jordan Jarvis for racing her way into the lineup for both 250 motos.

That was the good news. The bad news is, the angle of the gate makes it rough for those who start outside.

Jordan finished the day with 36-30 moto scores.

Mathilde Musquin cheering on her rider.

Matt Winters turns the wrenches for Colt Nichols.

Ken Roczen took his bike out for a putt around the pits on Friday afternoon, which also gave his trusty dog, Rio, a chance to stretch his legs.

Dylan's better half, Nastasia, helping with clean-up after practice.

It's been interesting to watch the points lead swap back and forth in the 250 class. Justin Cooper came into the race with the red plate again, and will still have it (and an eight-point advantage) when the series resumed at Unadilla.

Garrett Marchbanks is still holding it down as the lone entry for the Club MX crew. Brandon Scharer was also on hand for the team at the last couple of rounds.

On the back of the Fox support rig.

Hmm...a couple of the trees up on the road jump hill don't quite fit in with the rest of the decor.

We missed this helmet of AP's at RedBud, but on the other hand, it's one of those that once you see, you can't unsee.

The trophies for Washougal were cool pieces of art, with a Bigfoot forest scene for the winners, salmon for second, and antlers for third.

We're always fascinated by pit board messages. Here are a couple for Dylan Ferrandis and Justin Barcia (above), and Ken Roczen and Chase Sexton (below).