Photos by: Hoppenworld

The 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to the picturesque Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Wa. for round nine. With Washougal being one of the only true hard packed tracks left in the series, you might expect the results to look a little different, but Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin and Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy both backed up their Millville wins with overall wins at Washougal as well.

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Finishing on the podium with Marvin (1-1) in the 450 class was Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac (2-2) in second and Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Martin Davalos (4-3) in third—the first 450 podium of Martin’s career. Joey was joined on the 250 class podium by Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne (4-3) in second and Star Racing / Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis (3-4) in third.

After the races were run, MotoXAddicts rounded up some post-race quotes from over twenty of the top finishing riders at Washougal.

Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450) “Coming from Millville and finishing 1-1 there, I was really looking forward to another good weekend in Washougal. It’s a track I really like. My practices were good and I qualified 2nd. I was able to grab the holeshot in the first moto, but Tomac was catching up quick. We had a good battle, but I was able to pull away and finish with a good gap. My start wasn’t as good in the second moto, but I still made my way up to the lead on the fourth lap. Once again, Tomac was right behind me but I pushed to increase the gap again. I felt really good today and was really comfortable on the bike. It was a fun day, and I’m happy to get another overall win.”

Joey Savatgy has caught fire late in the season.

Joey Savatgy: (1st in 250) “The #1 for the weekend is the same no matter how we do it. It’s not something I expected with the class being as stacked as it is. It’s unlikely that, that will happen again. There’s too many good guys right now to go 7-1 and get the overall, but we did it. I crashed in the first moto—lost some spots—and we rebounded the best we could. We got off to a great start in the second moto. I rode tight at first, but once RJ [Hampshire] passed me, I picked up on his lines where he was faster. I was able to force the issue and get him back. From there, pulled a little bit of a lead and just managed it. I didn’t feel awesome out here this weekend but we got the job done and that’s all that matters.”

 

Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450) “I was doing what I could, and we had that little bump together. Then, I was trying to settle into a pace, but he kept going that same speed. Couldn’t stay with him and take high risks doing it. My goal was to just settle in second place at that point. That’s all I was today was the second best guy.”

 

Zach Osborne: (2nd in 250) “Overall it was a great day. I took some more points. I had a little tip over in the first moto that cost me a lot of time, but I made it back to fourth. I got a better start in the second moto and ended up third for second overall. It was a really good day for points and I can’t complain.”

 

Martin Davalos: (3rd in 450) “Yeah, I can’t really complain. I’m just so proud of myself, proud of the team and how far I’ve come this year with learning the bike. It was a last minute deal. It’s been an amazing journey for me. Hopefully, I can continue to get better and better. My starts were on point today, and that’s what I’ve been struggling with. I’m really trying to learn the power of the bike. But, yeah, today was awesome. I’m super super proud of myself.”

 

Dylan Ferrandis: (3rd in 250) “It was a difficult weekend again, because the track was really different than we have been riding this season. It was kind of a European track, which is not what I like the most. It was hard pack, so I know how to ride that kind of dirt. I was top five this morning [qualifying] in lap times, so that was not so bad. The first moto, I got a really good start and made a small mistake in the hairpins—I was third. I try many times to pass [Sean] Cantrell and finally AC [Adam Cianciarulo] passed me and I passed Cantrell to finish third. It was good, but I was not happy about my moto ’cause I was not feeling good. I was not riding with a good pace and taking a bad rhythm. The second moto I was not feeling really good before, but I try to give it everything. I got a good start and again made a small mistake in the hairpin and lose time. I was 4th and I had a big battle with my teammate Colt [Nichols]. At the end, I give it everything I can. My mechanic showed me, “you have to pass one rider to make podium” so I give everything. I passed AC in the end and I was really proud to finish strong like this.”

Martin Davalos holeshotted moto two and led three laps before finishing a career-best 3rd in moto two and third overall.

Cole Seely: (4th in 450) “Today was great. I feel like I’ve finally been seeing a lot more forward progress since starting my new training program, especially in the past two weeks. Things are starting to click. I didn’t feel great in practice and was just trying to hammer out laps to get a good time, which didn’t work too great. When the moto came around, I felt way better. I was flowing really well and finding good lines on the track, as well as mixing up my lines each lap if I knew something had changed or gotten blown out. I’ve always struggled with that and normally take the same lines, so I felt good. Third in the first moto ties my best result, so that was great. I was really trying to go after an overall podium in the second moto but it was just out of reach. I didn’t want to push it too much and go down because the track was gnarly, but I still felt strong and am happy with fourth overall.”

 

Adam Cianciarulo: (4th in 250) “We were so close. I felt great all day today and I think it showed, finally. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite put it all together at the end, but I’m confident we can get a before this year is done.”

 

Justin Hoeft: (11th in 450) “I’m stoked with how this whole weekend went. Thursday Night Motocross went really well. I won the heat and then ran up front with those guys all the way to the finish and came away with 3rd. It was a great foreshadow for Saturday. Practice at Washougal went well, and the team had my bike working great on the track. I got an awesome start in the first moto, but got passed a little ways into it. Once I settled down a bit I was able to ride smart and fast laps. This is only my second Pro National so I’m really excited to come out with an 11th overall.”

 

RJ Hampshire: (5th in 250) “Yeah, for sure. We had a good second moto. In that first moto, I missed my shift off the gate. I had a bad start. I put some laps together, but man, that second moto felt good. I had a good start. We were charging. We were fighting for that one. I came up just shot but that felt good. Honestly, I came here—even told my guy back home, “Dude, I am not that good here.” I don’t think I’ve ever had a top ten here. To go 6-2… People say it was because we were in the sand the last couple of weekends, but this is the farthest thing from sand.”

 

Christian Craig: (8th in 450) “Washougal didn’t go as I’d hoped. I felt awesome in practice but couldn’t find a good flow during the first moto. I’m usually pretty good on that track so I’m not sure why I wasn’t able to put it all together. The second moto went a lot better after we made some bike changes. I had a pretty decent start but tangled with [Dean] Wilson and went down. I was able to work my way back up to ninth and ended up eighth overall on the day. I’m looking forward to this weekend off and getting back to where I should be in a couple weekends at Unadilla.”

Osborne finished 2nd, but still stretched his points lead to a commanding 74-points.

Sean Cantrell: (12th in 250) “This class is very tough, but I feel like I’ve learned so much since the season started. It would be nice to finish the season strong and the Moto 1 finish is hopefully just the start of that as we head to Unadilla.”

 

Dean Wilson: (5th in 450) “I did the absolute best I could do. I feel like I struggled a little bit on this track. I’m healthy and happy for Martin – that’s awesome for the team. I’m going to have a good couple of weeks going into Unadilla, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the podium.”

 

Shane McElrath: (9th in 250) “Washougal is very beautiful to come to but it has its unique challenges. I’m happy to get out of here healthy and I’m really looking forward to the final push for the last three rounds. I think we can get some good results.”

 

Freddie Noren: (13th in 450) “Qualified 4th this weekend on my Precision Racing Products / Ti Lube / Honda. Was running around 10th [in moto 1] and then my wheel bearings blew out. Came back in second moto and got 7th. Excited for Unadilla in two weeks.”

 

Aaron Plessinger: (6th in 250) Had a pretty good weekend. Had a little mistake with another rider and holding our lines a little too good. I had fun here and will get them in NY.

 

Dakota Alix: (10th in 450) “I had a solid day at Washougal. Pumped to get my first top 10 overall on the 450. Big thanks to everyone that helped me throughout the day.

Musquin was untouchable at Washougal.

Luke Renzland: (11th in 250) 12-10 for 11th at Shougal. A solid result for me on the track that I’ve never felt very comfortable on. Between the shadows and the rock hard base, Washougal is a different animal. I’m glad we were able to pull out another top 10. Onto the home race at Dilla

 

Weston Peick: (7th in 450) “I had good speed all day at Washougal, but my head was up my ass on the starts.

 

Justin Bogle: (9th in 450) “Disappointed with my day yesterday. Second moto, I had a weird allergic reaction that restricted my breathing and had to just finish it and survive. We are working to figure out exactly what happened. I belong up front and my fitness is good. It’s a bummer to have a race like that. Going to make these next few rounds count. Thanks to the team and everyone behind me that believes and keeps pushing to get where we belong

Author

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