Washougal, WA (July 23, 2016) – After six-straight grueling weekends of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, a two-week break couldn’t come at a better time for the GEICO Honda motocross squad. The team suffered through a disappointing weekend at round nine of the season in Washougal, Washington and looks to bounce back when the series resumes.
RJ Hampshire had the best result for the team at Washougal with fifteenth overall and 18-14 moto scores. He wasn’t happy about those results and would rather just think about what’s ahead. “Awful weekend,” he said. “Thankful to be healthy and ready to figure things out during this break and come out swinging for the last three races. The team is all in and we are ready to turn it around, finish the year strong and get ready for next year.”
On the other end, pro rookie Tristan Charboneau was happy with his riding but felt circumstances hampered his results. He went 19-16 for eighteenth overall.
“Got to the track and had the confidence, but practice I was a bit off, just struggling with suspension and tire setups,” said Charboneau, who actually grew up in Washington. “Came off the gate for my first moto, got a good jump but got pinched in the first corner. I tucked in behind Austin Forkner for a few laps and we were picking off people then I managed to go down, twice. In the same corner! Made my way back to nineteenth. Second moto, had an awesome start! Came into the S turns after the downhill and Cooper Webb decided he wanted to make a road block, so everybody was piled up going everywhere. I actually made my way through about seventh but then I fell in the next corner and went back to thirtieth. Managed to come back to sixteenth. I learned this much: I need to work on not crashing!”
Jimmy Decotis made his third motocross appearance with the team this year at Washougal and felt better, but bad starts hurt him. He went 30-20 for twenty-third overall.
“Washougal was better, good progress with the bike,” said Decotis. “Mike [LaRocco, Team Manager] helped me make changes throughout the day and by the second moto I was really happy with my setup. Just two bad starts put me way back in the beginning of each moto. Charged hard and made progress but this class is stacked and starting thirtieth makes it hard to make up ground. I’m happy to be racing no matter the results, tough day but we’ll keep digging for more progress.”
Team members Justin Bogle, Christian Craig and Jordon Smith missed the race with injuries. Racing resumes at the famous Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New York on August 13th.
GEICO Honda Results
Washougal, Washington
250MX:
15. RJ Hampshire
18. Tristan Charboneau
23. Jimmy Decotis
