If Millville will always be remembered as the place where Reed pulled off the impossible, Washougal will be remembered as the place where Trey Canard wasn't so lucky.
After a solid first moto run that landed him third overall, Canard went down in the second moto off of the drop off down the hill and, in an attempt to scrub, caught his front wheel and hit the ground hard.
The result? A broken femur. Actually worse. The same broken femur that he just returned back from last weekend at Millville. Needless to say, our hearts are with TC during his time of recovery.
Now on with the show. Chad Reed was the man of the hour in Millville despite placing fifth. He still had his Red Plate to fall back on and he still had the support of the fans in his corner. At Washougal, however, at least one of those went missing. While he still may hold the fans hearts in the palm of his Shift gloves, his Red Plate now belongs to Ryan Villopoto.
RV took the first moto despite heavy pressure from Ryan Dungey. Canard wasn't far behind in third and Brett Metcalfe and Andrew Short were brining up fourth and fifth, respectively. The two Ryan's managed to build a lead on the rest of the pack, but from that point back things stayed tight. Canard impressed, as many thought he would, and Metty looked poised to snatch his first podium of the season.
Reed wasn't too pumped on his seventh in the moto but considering his crash last weekend was really just working to salvage what he could before heading into the break. One of the most impressive rides of the moto actually came from Andrew Short, who put his KTM 350 in fifth after getting a good start. Other notables in the moto were Justin Brayton (6th), Michael Byrne (10th) and Jimmy Albertson (11th).
In the second moto Dungey was out to prove that he and he alone is the fittest man on the track. With the same assertiveness and poise he showed in front of his home crowd in Minnesota, Dungey was able to lead out the second moto for his third overall of the season.
However, while Dungey took the overall, it was the man with the least amount of overall wins who would take the Red Plate. Villopoto may only have one overall win compared to Reeds four and Dungey's three, but he rode out of Washington with the last laugh, as he catapulted past Reed into the championship lead. However, RV's crown isn't secure quite yet, not by a long shot. Dungey now sits a mere one point behind in second with Reed only nine down in third. Four rounds and eight gate drops are left before a true king will be crowned, and we're not taking our eye off the action even for a second.
Other standouts from Washougal were Brett Mettcalfe, Justin Brayton, Tommy Hahn, Jimmy Albertson and Michael Byrne.
Metty finally got the monkey off his back and landed on the podium. He's looking more and more comfortable on his Suzuki and could be a potential interruption to the championship if he can get off the gate. Brayton showed up huge as well. He's been a top 10 staple since returning from injury in Colorado and is only getting better with each passing week.
He had his best finish of the season so far with a fifth. Let's not forget Tommy Hahn, Jimmy Albertson or the Byrner, either.
Hahn planted himself in seventh overall and pushed his way into the top 10 in the championship while Albertson pulled off his first top 10 of the season in ninth and Byrne wasn't far from him with a very impressive 10th overall.
Top 10 Washougal
- Ryan Dungey / 2-1
- Ryan Villopoto / 1-2
- Brett Metcalfe / 4-3
- Chad Reed / 7-4
- Justin Brayton / 6-5
- Mike Alessi / 9-6
- Tommy Hahn / 8-7
- Andrew Short / 5-10
- immy Albertson / 11-9
- Michael Byrne / 10-12
Top 10 Overall
- Ryan Villopoto - 341
- Ryan Dungey - 340
- Chad Reed - 332
- Brett Metcalfe - 247
- Kevin Windham - 193
- Andrew Short - 183
- Mike Alessi - 178
- David Millsaps - 173
- Jake Weimer - 159
- Tommy Hahn - 140
In the Lites class it was no surprise to see Pro Circuit once again dominate the podium. With only four rounds left this train is rolling and we're not sure Superman himself could stop it. Lucky for us, there are enough riders on the team to keep things interesting for the championship.
Blake Baggett showed weakness in the wet, sandy conditions of Millville. But on the loamy soil of Washougal, he shined. Leading the first moto with dominant speed and keeping his teammates in tack in the second moto with a third was enough to put Baggett on top of the podium for fifth time this year. However, Dean Wilson's consistency paid off once again. The likeable Scotsman finished 5-1 for third overall and was able to keep his points lead heading into the break.
The top three now sit Dean Wilson (346), Tyla Rattray (333) and Blake Baggett (329), and much like the 450 championship, we're sure we'll see the Red Plate trade places a few more times before the fat lady sings.
Aside from the boys in green putting on another dominating show, there were a few more standouts to note from the weekend. Tommy Weeck, a Washington state native who has sat out the entire season without a ride, showed up pulling his own bike and put it to some of the more seasoned factory boys. Weeck placed sixth in the first moto and backed it up with a 19th for 11th overall. We're not sure if it was enough to land him a ride for the remainder of the season, but he definitely landed himself on the list of potentials for 2012.
Another standout was Kyle Cunningham. After placing third in the first moto, Cunningham had high hopes of breaking the podium streak set by Pro Circuit, however, a few mistakes in the second moto left him in seventh and off the podium.
He was able to finish fourth overall, but will definitely be looking to gain some momentum over the break.
Top 10 Washougal (Lites)
- Blake Baggett / 1-3
- Tyla Rattray / 2-2
- Dean Wilson / 5-1
- Kyle Cunningham / 3-7
- Gareth Swanepoel / 7-4
- Justin Barcia / 4-10
- Malcolm Stewart / 8-8
- artin Davalos / 13-5
- Darryn Durham / 11-9
- Broc Tickle / 9-16
Top 10 Overall (Lites)
- Dean Wilson - 346
- Tyla Rattray - 333
- Blake Baggett - 329
- Kyle Cunningham - 233
- Eli Tomac - 201
- Broc Tickle - 187
- Justin Barcia - 181
- Gareth Swanepoel - 177
- Martin Davalos - 152
- Darryn Durham - 144
With the Loretta Lynn's Amateur title coming up next week, the 2011 Lucas Oil Motocross Championship is now on a two week hiatus until showing back up at Unadilla. While we'll be taking a break from coverage, stay tuned next week for all the Loretta Lynn's content you can handle.
