After thinking about attending Washougal for several years, I finally did it and here are some of my impressions and pictures from behind the fence.
I flew into Seattle and drove to Portland, which is 40 minutes away from Washougal. However, my route to Portland was anything but a straight line, as I had decided take the opportunity to visit Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and Sawtooth National Forest.
Here's my Long Way Round drive from Seattle to Portland:
After 2,000 miles of some amazing views, I finally arrived at the track on Saturday morning right before practice.
Having been to many nationals (including Glen Helen, Hangtown, Lake Elsinore, Budds Creek, Unadilla, Broome Tioga, Gainesville and Red Bud - yes, I know I'm getting old), I was really impressed with the beauty of the place. There are other tracks that offer better spectator viewing, but I had never been to such a scenic location for a motocross race!
I'll try to post some comments and pictures covering practices, the 125 dream race and the motos. So, shall we get started with practice?
250 timed practice
I believe Adam Cianciarulo was fastest on both 250 sessions. He was really aggressive from the get go, immediately attacking the track even when it was fairly wet in the first session. In person AC looks kind of tall for the 250F, and I believe a transition to the 450s should suit him.
Versace Savatgy was second, roughly half a second slower than AC. Savatgy was deceptively fast, as it didn't look like he was pushing that hard. In this picture you can see how loamy the track looked in the first practice session. Mitch Payton was probably smiling at this point, with both of his riders up front!
Shane McElrath and Zach Osborne followed in 3rd and 4th, with less than a second between them. Here's a couple of shots from similar angles to compare their styles.
McElrath carries good speed and flows everywhere, while Osborne looks much more aggressive all the time.
Here are a couple of bonus shots from Justin Hill, who qualified in 12th but, unfortunately, didn't race.
And also one of Kyle Cunningham (14th), just because I think the early morning light looks kinda of cool 
), I'll post the 450 pics. 
