The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team has taken the 250 AMA Motocross Championship by the reigns and made it a three-way battle between teammates. This week Dean Wilson, Tyla Rattray and Blake Baggett would hop in the rig and take their Championship fight to the picturesque Pacific Northwest for round eight of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship and the Washougal National. At this point, it almost seems like a Pro Circuit/Kawasaki showcase between the three riders, and Washougal, Washington would be the site of their eighth show.

2011 US AMA National Washougal - Dean Wilson
Photo by Hoppenworld

Moto 1

The only team of late to give the Pro Circuit squad a run has been the DNA/Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha team, and they took it to them early on at Washougal. Off the gate with the holeshot was the number twenty-five Star Racing Yamaha. Ryan Sipes used his holeshot to lead the first five laps before being hunted down by the “Chupacabra,” Blake Baggett. Blake is like a wind up toy that takes a little bit of winding to get moving, but by lap five, he was all wound up, in the lead and ready to check out. Blake has been hot and cold throughout the season, but in moto one, it was all hot for the Californian. It was all Blake for the remainder of the race. He would check in at the checkered flag with his eighth moto win of the year.

Behind Blake, there was a lot of shuffling going on. When Sipes was passed for the lead, he began a trip backwards, but one of his Star Racing teammates was on his way forward. Kyle Cunningham has always done well at Washougal, and after a seventh place start, he turned it on and moved all the way up to second by lap six. Coming through the pack with Cunningham was Pro Circuit’s Tyla Rattray. After a good battle, Tyla took over the second place position on lap ten. From there, the top three would stay set with Baggett first, Rattray second and Cunningham crossing the line with a solid third.

2011 US AMA National Washougal - kyle cunningham
Photo by Hoppenwold

The third man in the Pro Circuit threesome had a tough moto one. Points leader Dean Wilson was buried mid-pack off the start and crossed the line after lap one in thirteenth. From there, Deano spent the entire moto taking three steps forward and one step back, but in the end, he salvaged a solid fifth despite a myriad of mistakes. It was a moto Dean was probably happy with finishing fifth in after all that went wrong. Finishing right in front of Deano with a fourth in moto one was GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Justin Barcia. Dean and Justin had a nice battle in the final laps, but a mistake by Dean cost him the position.

Moto 2

With Dean Wilson losing a chunk of points to his teammates in moto one, he needed to answer back in moto two, and he did just that. The number fifteen grabbed the holeshot and early lead, but Tyla Rattray wasn’t letting him off the hook easy. The two of them checked out on the field while Blake Baggett was the one stuck in the pack in moto two. Blake checked in after lap one in ninth, but he immediately went to picking off riders in the field.

2011 US AMA National Washougal - Tyla Rattray - dean wilson - 2011
Photo by Hoppenworld

Up in third for most of moto two was another Star Racing Yamaha. Washougal has always been a favorite for former FIM GP riders, and South African Gareth Swanepoel was loving the natural terrain circuit. Gareth rode a great race in moto two, but in the end, was caught and passed by the charging Baggett. Gareth went on to finish a solid fourth in moto two and–with a 7-4 on the day–fifth overall. The biggest surprise of moto two was the first top five appearance for a Suzuki in the 2011 Outdoor Nationals. The rider to get Suzuki into the top five was Rockstar/Suzuki’s Martin Davalos. All day long Davalos was fast, and after qualifying with the second fastest time in the morning, transferred that speed into a top five in moto two. The Rockstar/Suzuki team has had a rough year, so it was nice to see them have something to cheer about.

For most of moto two the top two of Wilson and Rattray stayed about three seconds apart, but you knew the South African would eventually make a move for the moto win. With a second in moto one, a pass on Wilson would be enough to give Rattray his fourth overall win on the year and make up some valuable points in the Championship. When the two lap board came out, Tyla was still two seconds behind, but by the white flag, he was right on Wilson’s rear wheel. The final lap was an all-out battle of wills, and in the end, Wilson was able to hang on for the second moto win. With a 5-1 on the day, Wilson grabbed the third spot on the box. Rattray did everything he could to get by Wilson, but had to settle for second moto two and a 2-2 for second overall on the day.

2011 US AMA National Washougal - Blake Baggett - 2011
Photo by Hoppenworld

The man with the overall win and his fifth of 2011 was Blake Baggett. Blake’s second moto was a tough one, but in the end, getting up to third by the flag was good enough to get the job done. Blake was also able to make up a few points on his two teammates. Still, with five overall wins in eight rounds, Blake trails Wilson by seventeen points. With Wilson’s consistency it’s going to be tough to close the gap in four rounds, but with these three very different riders, you know it will be fun to watch them try. Now the three have two weeks until the next stop in Unadilla to prepare for the final eight motos.

Overall Washougal National Results

1 57 Blake Baggett Grand Terrace, CA, US Kawasaki KX 250F 1 3
2 28 Tyla Rattray South Africa, ZA Kawasaki KX 250F 2 2
3 15 Dean Wilson Scotland, GB Kawasaki KX 250F 5 1
4 35 Kyle Cunningham Aledo, TX, US Yamaha YZ 250F 3 7
5 387 Gareth Swanepoel South Africa, ZA Yamaha YZ 250F 7 4
6 17 Justin Barcia Monroe, NY, US Honda CRF250R 4 10
7 139 Malcolm Stewart Haines City, FL, US Suzuki RMZ 250 8 8
8 23 Martin Davalos Ecuador, EC Suzuki RMZ 250 13 5
9 37 Darryn Durham Butler, PA, US Honda CRF250R 11 9
10 20 Broc Tickle Holly, MI, US Kawasaki KX 250F 9 16

2011 US AMA National Washougal - Tyla Rattray
Photo by Hoppenwor

250 Updated Championship Points

1 15 Dean Wilson 346
2 28 Tyla Rattray 333
3 57 Blake Baggett 329
4 35 Kyle Cunningham 233
5 19 Eli Tomac 201
6 20 Broc Tickle 187
7 17 Justin Barcia 181
8 387 Gareth Swanepoel 177
9 23 Martin Davalos 152
10 37 Darryn Durham 144

Photo by Hoppenworld
Author

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