Another weekend, another world-class performance by Eli Tomac.
Tomac mopped up the field for the second straight week taking both Motos at Round 9 on Saturday at Washougal MX Park in Washougal, WA and extended his points lead to 15 over Marvin Musquin.
Tomac set the stage in Moto 1 leading for much of the race but just like the week before at Spring Creek had to work his way up front in Moto 2 and eventually took the lead over Ken Roczen (3-2) with just two laps remaining. Tomac railed ruts, pinned it downhill, and scrubbed jumps to get ahead of the competition boasting a best lap time in Moto 2 nearly two seconds faster than Roczen who finished second overall on the tie-breaker Musquin.
Musquin (2-3) who held the Red Plate for one round after Tomac experienced a bike failure and some crashes at RedBud has had little in the tank since to match Tomac's speed. However, he remains in striking distance and some wins in the final three rounds can certainly make things interesting if he can get to the checkers first. Roczen moved into a third-place tie in the standings with Justin Barcia (5-4) who finished fourth overall and failed to reach the podium for the second straight round.
The 250 class for the second year in a row at Washougal was highlighted by riders finishing well in one Moto while mid-packing or worse the other. Aaron Plessinger took the overall with just 38 points on a (4-3) day while Shane McElrath who finished ninth in Moto 1 led all 16 laps in Moto 2 for his first career Moto win resulting in second overall. Joey Savatgy grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot for Moto 1 and led much of the race for his first Moto win of the season but finished ninth in Moto 2 for third overall.
Dylan Ferrandis finished 11th in Moto 1 but bounced back to take second in Moto 2 for fourth overall. Jordon Smith took third in Moto 1 only to finish 13th in Moto 2 for eighth overall. And, Austin Forkner continued a trend dating to Southwick with a Top 2 in one Moto and a finish outside the Top 15 for the other Moto, this time a crash in Moto 2 ended his day and a chance for a podium.
Check out the Top 15 Best Photos at Washougal starting with Justin Bogle taking another MotoSport.com Holeshot (he got two on Saturday!) at top:
Nice to see Josh Grant back from injury in his first Outdoor action of the year
Congratulations to Shane McElrath for his first career Moto win which helped him get second overall
This is called "Riding on your tippy toes"
Sean Cantrell (left) keeping an eye on Joey Savatgy (right)
Justin Barcia (left) and Cooper Webb (right) did not perform the only flyover of the day
Guess...
What...
Happens...
Next.
Justin Hill mixed it up front for a bit in Moto 1
Aaron Plessinger? Hi, I'm calling from WADA I was wondering...
It's probably safe to say the 2018 Motocross season has been a success for Ken Roczen
?????
Another brilliant ride by the points leader Eli Tomac