The cammo gate at Washougal tends to inspire combat when it drops. Photo by: Hoppenworld

Round number nine of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to the beautiful Pacific Northwest’s Washougal, Washington and the Peterson Cat Washougal National. Since back in 1980 when local Northwest Motocross hero Chuck Sun rode his CR 500 to the inaugural Washougal National win, the Washougal Motocross park has been a regular on the AMA Outdoor National scene. The combination of the mountainous natural terrain and the picturesque Washington State forest backdrop makes it one of the most beautiful and unique circuits in the world. If there is a motocross heaven, some may argue that it would look just like Washougal.

The reason the Washougal circuit is lined with some of the most beautiful pine trees is due to all the rain in Washington State, and today Mother Nature is doing some watering. Over the last three months, the Pacific Northwest has had record low rainfall, but this morning the rain has been coming down intermittently. When the first qualifying session hit the track, the dirt looked to be holding the moisture well, but if this continues throughout the day, things may get messy. I’ve raced at Washougal many times in the mud, and it may be the worst mud track I’ve ever ridden. Yes, there is a lot of sandy topsoil brought in just for this race, but once you get under that, you have an ice rink in the rain. With that, all the fast times today came from session one, and with only four to five laps of session one counting towards qualifying, it was incredibly important to find a clean lap right away.

250MX Qualifying

In the first 250MX qualifying practice of the day, the defending Champion, Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin came out on fire under the wet conditions. The #1 quickly went to the top of the leaderboard with a 2:10.831 on lap two of qualifying and backed that up with the fastest lap (2:10.001) of any sized bike on lap four. With the rain making the conditions less than optimal as the day wore on, that lap time would stand to lock down the first gate pick today from Jeremy. In session two, Jeremy was also the fastest rider, but the track conditions would only allow the Yamaha rider to get as low as a 2:14.538. While it was four seconds off his first session time, it was two and a half seconds faster than anyone else in the final session.

Jeremy Martin was the best in the sloppy stuff this morning. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Jeremy Martin was the best in the sloppy stuff this morning. Photo by: Hoppenworld

Last year, the Washougal National was all about Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin. Marvin had the fastest lap in both qualifying sessions and swept both motos, but so far he has not been able to stop the defending Champ. Marvin was second fastest in both qualifying sessions today, and his session one time of 2:10.810 secured him the second gate pick. Today is massively important for the wFrenchman in the Championship fight. With a 19-point deficit and only eight motos left on the schedule, the #25 has to take advantage of the tracks he likes. This week and Unadilla will tell the tale in the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 250MX Championship.

Finishing with the third (2:10.875), fourth and fifth fastest 250MX lap times this morning were GEICO/Honda’s Jordon Smith, Red Bull/KTM’s Justin Hill and Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Chris Alldredge. For the rookie Smith, his third fastest qualifying time is a bit of a surprise, but for the two Oregonians, Hill and Alldredge, we expect them to be fast at what’s considered their home National. Smith has been blazing fast all year, but consistency and mistakes have been the freshman’s Achilles’ heel thus far in ’15. We don’t expect today’s conditions to help him out much, but it looks like he may have the speed to make up for a few mistakes. As for Hill and Alldredge, if you play fantasy motocross, today is the day to slate them into your top ten. Both have turned thousands of laps at this facility growing up.

This is a home race for Chris Alldredge. Can the #66 find the podium for the first time since Hangtown? Photo by: Hoppenworld
This is a home race for Chris Alldredge. Can the #66 find the podium for the first time since Hangtown? Photo by: Hoppenworld

The big surprises of the 250MX class this morning were Troy Lee Designs/KTM’s Mitchell Oldenburg qualifying sixth (2:11.671) and Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb finishing down in eleventh. Oldenburg has been showing decent speed since joining the TLD team as a fill-in, but this is his best qualifying spot thus far. Webb came into Washougal off his first win of the year at Spring Creek, so we expect more from the #17, but with only four laps counting towards a great qualifying spot today, he may not have found a clean lap.

250MX Overall Top-40 Combined Qualifying Times

Click Time Sheets to View in Slideshow


*Top 36 go directly to motos. 4 from consolation race.

250MX Overall Combined Top-36 – 2015 Washougal National – Click to Enlarge

450MX Qualifying

In the first session of 450MX qualifying, Honda Racing’s Trey Canard wasted no time reinstating his name in the podium conversation. We’re not sure there has ever been anyone that can shake off injury and race-rust like Trey does. Immediately he was on pace and, by lap two, on top of the board. RCH/Suzuki’s Ken Roczen took over the top of the leaderboard (2:12.687) on the same lap and finished with the top spot in the end, but Canard fired back with a 2:12.850 and closed the session with the second fastest overall 450MX time. We expect Kenny to be on or near the top, but to see the #41 finishing second in his first race in six months, simply put, blows the mind.

Kenny will use that #1 gate pick to try and reignite his Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The #1 has been in a slump since Muddy Creek. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Kenny will use that #1 gate pick to try and reignite his Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The #1 has been in a slump since Muddy Creek. Photo by: Hoppenworld

Finishing 450MX qualifying in third (2:13.165) and fourth (2:13.326) were also two surprises, but for very different reasons. In third was the Monster/Kawasaki fill-in rider Josh Grant, and while that’s unexpected because he’s not had the best 2015, Motosports.com/GPI/Honda’s Tommy Hahn finishing in fourth had a lot of uninformed spectators asking who the three-digit Honda rider is. Tommy has always been fast at Washougal and even finished second in a 450MX moto in 2009 and third in a 450MX moto in 2010. Since returning to racing in 2015, though, we have not seen this kind of speed out of the #130. Comfort is everything for these guys, and something about Washougal adds a level of comfort to Tommy that just works. Tommy’s definitely our dark horse pick for your fantasy team today in Washougal.

Over the last two rounds, Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey has been the man in qualifying, but the #5 had the misfortune of not being able to get a clean lap in those four laps that counted in session one. The red plate holder was pulling into the mechanics’ area trying to find traction, and that cost him a good gate pick today. At the end of session one, Ryan was the 14th fastest (2:16.175), but he did fight back in session two. Ryan was the fastest rider in session two—probably the only rider to improve his time in session two—although that only locked down the thirteenth gate pick. Fortunately for Ryan, Washougal has one of the most fair starts in the Lucas Oil pro Motocross Championship, and a good start can emerge from almost any gate.

Washougal is one the most beautiful spots in the world. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Washougal is one the most beautiful spots in the world. Photo by: Hoppenworld

450MX Overall Top-40 Combined Qualifying Times

Click Time Sheets to View in Slideshow


*Top 36 go directly to motos. 4 from consolation race.

450MX Overall Combined Top-36 – 2015 Washougal National – Click to Enlarge
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.