The 2012 Lucas Oil Motocross Championship ventured to the most beautiful landscape in motocross for round number eight. Washougal, Washington is home to some of the most picturesque scenery in the country, and on Saturday, the small Pacific Northwest community played host to World-class motocross and the Washougal National
Heading into Washougal the 250 Championship had been a four-way brawl and the 450 Championship had become a one-man show with Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey winning the last ten motos straight. On Saturday, though, MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi upped his game and put a stop to Dungey’s win streak by showing an incredible willingness to fight in moto one. The 250 race at Washougal was more of the same with two incredible multi-way battles for both moto wins.
When the gate dropped for the first 450 moto of the day it was Alessi with one of his patented holeshots out front early and JWR/Kawasaki’s Josh Grant, Monster/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer and Dungey giving chase early. By the end of lap three, Grant threw away his track position with a spectacular get-off, and Dungey quickly pushed Weimer back to third. Once around Weimer, Dungey had a clear track, but Alessi had already built himself a sizable, six-second lead.
With a nice gap to make up, Dungey went to work and, by the halfway point of the race, was in a dog fight with the 800. While Alessi has led a few races this year early on, there was something different about this one that made you believe he may hold on until the end. Alessi’s pace was incredible, but more than that, you could tell he was there to fight. Alessi’s fight kept the #5–who was all over his rear wheel–at bay until a late-race crash by Dungey gave Alessi a new six-second gap. Dungey fought back up to Alessi’s rear wheel again with three laps to go, but the 800 fended off all pass attempts by Dungey and won his first 450 moto of the year. It was also the 800’s first moto win since 2009.
Behind the incredible race for the lead, Weimer rode his own race in third with Chaparral/Honda’s Andrew Short crossing the line with a fourth. The fifth place rider, Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle, may have had the ride of the day. The #25 checked in after lap one in thirteenth and moved forward for thirty + two to score a solid top five.
After a hard fought first moto, most wondered if Alessi had anything left for moto two. The answer was yes and no. Alessi had enough to ride away from most of the field, but not enough to stop Dungey. Unlike in moto one, Dungey rounded the first-turn with the lead and never looked back. Alessi kept the KTM close early in the moto, but in the end, it was back to business as usual for the #5. Dungey went on to win the second moto by more than thirty seconds over Alessi, stretching his overall win streak to six-straight. Saturday would also mark Dungey’s fifth-straight Washougal National win dating back to his 250 class days in 2008.
Behind the #5 and #800 from start to finish in moto two was Andrew Short. Short has struggled since scoring his first podium of 2012 in Lakewood, but was able to get back on the box in third with his 4-3 score at Washougal.
Finishing fourth and fifth in moto two were Broc Tickle and Jake Weimer. The two Kawaski riders chased Muscle Milk/Honda’s Tommy Hahn for most of moto two with Tickle passing them both to get fourth in the moto. For the overall, though, it was Weimer getting fourth with a 3-5 score and Tickle finishing fifth overall with a 5-4 score on the day.
When the 250 class got underway in moto one, it was the Red/Bull KTM of Marvin Musquin with the lead early on with the GEICO Powersports/Hondas of Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac, the Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki of Blake Baggett and Marvin’s KTM teammate, Ken Roczen, in pursuit. All year long these five riders have been the cream of the crop, and with all five at the front, the stage was definitely set for a thirty-minute war.
For the first half of the race, positions would remain about the same with the only exception being Baggett. The #12 crashed early on and fell back to fifth. Then late in the race, he made another mistake that pushed him back to finish the moto with a sixth. Baggett would later say that he never felt comfortable in moto one and that he partially attributed it to a change from his normal tire setup.
With Baggett struggling behind the leaders, the fans focused on the Musquin, Barcia, Tomac and Roczen battle up front. Musquin held strong in the lead until about the twenty-minute mark when Barcia dove inside for the lead to take over first and shortly later Tomac went by him in the whoops to grab second.
At that point, the running order was Barcia, Tomac, Muquin and Roczen in the top four, and that is how the moto would end. Tomac made a run at Barcia and Roczen made a run at Musquin, but neither were able to make a pass stick.
Baggett had lost ten of his eighteen-point lead in the Championship to Barcia in moto one and needed to respond in moto two. Baggett has shown the ability to rebound from adversity all year long, and in Washougal, he showed it again.
In moto two, Barcia grabbed the holeshot and once again set the pace, but this time, the #12 was right there. The two pulled a disappearing act on everyone else, pulling a thirty-second lead on Musquin and Tomac who were fighting for third. Baggett stalked Barcia for the first thirteen laps before finally making a pass stick on lap fourteen. From there, Baggett rode away for his eighth moto win of 2012. Barcia held on to finish second in moto two which, with a 1-2 on the day, was good enough for the overall win. Baggett’s 6-1 was good enough for the third spot on the box.
Very similar to the race for the lead was the race for third between Musquin and Tomac. Musquin held third for most of the race, but Tomac was never far behind stalking him. The two played follow-the-leader for the first twelve laps until Tomac made a pass stick on lap thirteen to finish third. Tomac’s 2-3 score was enough to net him second overall, and Musquin’s 3-4 score put him in fourth overall. Musquin may have finished off the box, but both motos served notice that the Frenchman is going after wins.
Finishing fifth overall was Ken Roczen. After a decent moto one, Kenny had a rough moto two. The #70 checked in after lap one in twelfth and spent half the moto battling with Malcolm Stewart just inside the top ten. In the end, Ken was able to climb up to seventh, but the German expressed a lot of disappointment with his ride after the race.
450 Class (Moto Finish) – Full Washougal Results>>>
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-1) 2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki (1-2) 3. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (4-3) 4. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (3-5) 5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (6-4) 6. Tommy Hahn, Great Bend, Kan., Honda (7-7) 7. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki (8-10) 8. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (10-9) 9. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki (9-11) 10. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (17-6)
450 Class Championship Standings – Full Points Standings>>>
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 383 2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki, 303 3. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 280 4. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 247 5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 220 6. Justin Brayton, Ft. Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 183 7. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki, 169 8. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 151 9. Brett Metcalfe, Mannum, Australia, Suzuki, 142 10. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki, 137
250 Class (Moto Finish) – Full Washougal Results>>>
1. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Honda (1-2) 2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (2-3) 3. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki (6-1) 4. Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM (3-4) 5. Ken Roczen, Apolda, Germany, KTM (4-7) 6. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki (7-6) 7. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda (9-5) 8. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda (5-10) 9. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha (8-8) 10. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki (10-9)
250 Class Championship Standings – Full Points Standings>>>
1. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki, 355 2. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Honda, 344 3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 323 4. Ken Roczen, Apolda, Germany, KTM, 305 5. Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM, 256 6. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 218 7. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 185 8. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M, Suzuki, 168 9. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 144 10. Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda, 134
