The Ryan Dungey Justin Barcia Show continued for the third straight round as the two riders tied in points again but Dungey taking the win for Round 9 of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series on Saturday at the Washougal National.
Riders braved the mud as a steady drizzle fell on the track prior to the start but nothing remotely close to the slop fest at Budds Creek a few weeks ago. Despite the prominence of wet weather in the Pacific Northwest, it was only the second time in the history of the Washougal National that rain played a part of racing. The last time was 1982.
Good news then for the mud loving Barcia whose season turned around at Budds Creek. He flew out the gate for his sixth straight MotoSport.com Holeshot Award just beating Phil Nicoletti and checked out shortly after winning by nearly 30 seconds. Dungey never had a chance as he rumbled around in the Top 5 but finally made a move around Nicoletti who held his own for the first few laps. Dungey secured second-place on Lap 9 when he got around Christophe Pourcel. Nicoletti stuck it out on fourth and Blake Baggett finished fifth.
Defending Champion Ken Roczen recorded the fastest lap time of the day in practice but wasn't able to keep that momentum going as he finished seventh. Trey Canard raced for the first time since a collision with Jake Weimer in Detroit gave him a broken arm and ended his Supercross season. He stayed with the front pack in fifth for much of Moto 1 until he crashed. He got up quickly but couldn't get his bike started as riders passed him. Despite the lost ground he managed an eighth-place in his first race in almost five months.
In Moto 2, Barcia again took the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award looking for the sweep but Dungey positioned right behind and Roczen trailed in third. The patient Dungey waited for a mistake and finally got it when Barcia went down giving up the lead. Barcia got back up quickly and almost went down again trying to retake the lead so he settled in for second with Roczen in third.
Dungey's win secured him the overall over Barcia and Pourcel took third for the day after finishing fifth in Moto 2. Roczen took fourth and Nicoletti rounded out the Top 5. Canard crashed again in Moto 2 but took ninth for eighth overall. In the last six Motos it's been either Dungey or Barcia taking first or second. Dungey leads Barcia and Roczen by 69 points as Barcia is now tied with Roczen in points and is in second-place.
The MotoSport/GPI/Honda team boasted the most number of riders to date with Tommy Hahn, Freddy Noren, Kyle Peters, Brett Cue and Japanese rider Toshiki Tomita all under the tent.
Fredrik Noren got seventh overall for the third straight round
In the 450 class, Noren tied his career best from the last two rounds with his third straight seventh-place overall going (9-7) on the day. Noren looks to be heading back to the Honda Factory team this time filling in for Cole Seely whose shoulder injury is expected to sideline him at Unadilla and possibly beyond. Noren however, will ride with MotoSport graphics on his bike this time around.
Two bad starts in muddy conditions kept Tommy Hahn out of the Top 10
Hahn took 14th overall and rode well but didn't get the starts needed on a muddy track to get into the Top 10.
"In the mud you've got have a couple of lucky breaks," said Guy Cooper, team manager. "He didn't get that fortunate good start in either Moto but he rides the mud good and rides Washougal good. On a track that's muddy and slippery you have to be at the front of the pack."
In the 250 class, Cooper Webb continued to play spoiler winning for the second straight time. Webb returned from a Round 1 injury at Budds Creek and is already in 10th place for points. He has no chance to win the title but is coming in between Jeremy Martin and Marvin Musquin who battle it out each week.
This time it was, as most expected, Musquin's turn at the top as he tied Webb in points, took second overall and decimated Martin's 19 point lead heading into Washougal. Martin, the defending Champion, took ninth in Moto 1 and turned it around in Moto 2 leading for a time before crashing and giving up the front position and more valuable points. He recovered to finish third and a fifth overall but now only leads Musquin by four points. Aaron Plessinger took third overall with a (5-4) day and tied in points with Christian Craig who went (4-5) for fourth-overall.
Kyle Peters took 16th twice for 16th overall at Washougal
On the MotoSport team, Kyle Peters got involved in the Moto 1 first turn pile-up but fought his way to 16th. He doubled that effort in Moto 2 for 16th overall.
"In the second Moto he never got into the race mode. We would have liked to see a little more of a charge from him," Cooper said. "Although when he came in he couldn't put weight on his knees."
Cooper added that Peters really pushed it in Moto 1 after the crash and in those conditions you work every muscle in your body which drains you for the second Moto. He did hurt his knee in the pile-up but they don't know to what extent. Peters is getting evaluated this week.
Tomeda, a Factory HRC rider under the MotoSport/GPI tent, went 17-12 for 14 overall. Cue finished 18th in the Consolation race.
Riders get the last of three two-week breaks this season and resume racing August 8 at Unadilla in New York with three rounds remaining.
2015 Washougal National Motocross Results
Washougal 450 Class Results
- Ryan Dungey (2-1)
- Justin Barcia (1-2)v
- Christophe Pourcel (3-5)
- Ken Roczen (7-3)
- Phil Nicoletti (4-6)
- Weston Peick (12-4)
- Fredrik Noren (9-7) - MotoSport rider
- Trey Canard (8-9)
- Blake Baggett (5-12)
- Josh Grant (11-8)
Washougal 250 Class Results
- Cooper Webb (2-1)
- Marvin Musquin (1-2)
- Aaron Plessinger (5-4)
- Christian Craig (4-5)
- Jeremy Martin (9-3)
- Jessy Nelson (6-8)
- Shane McElrath (11-6)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (8-9)
- Zach Osborne (7-11)
- Arnaud Tonus (3-20)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ryan Dungey (400)
- Justin Barcia (331)
- Ken Roczen (331)
- Blake Baggett (275)
- Christophe Pourcel (247)
- Jason Anderson (242)
- Broc Tickle (226)
- Phillip Nicoletti (209)
- Weston Peick (198)
- Fredrik Noren (187) - MotoSport rider
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (375)
- Marvin Musquin (371)
- Zach Osborne (259)
- Joey Savatgy (240)
- Alex Martin (233)
- Jessy Nelson (233)
- Aaron Plessinger (203)
- Shane McElrath (181)
- Adam Cianciarulo (178)
- Cooper Webb (174)
