Photos by: Octopi

The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship headed to the very picturesque and uncharacteristically hot Washougal, WA. for round number nine and the Washougal National. Once again it was Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac sweeping the 450 class—this time in dramatic come from behind fashion. Since losing the points lead with a mechanical DNF at RedBud, Eli has gone on a terror, winning four straight motos and pushing his lead back to 15 points. Eli was joined on the 450 podium by HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen in 2nd and Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin in 3rd.

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In the 250MX class, everything seems to be going Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger‘s way. AP somehow converted a mediocre 4-3 score into his third overall win in a row. The win pushed his lead in the 250 Championship to a missive 59 points. Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull / KTM’s Shane McElrath (2nd) and Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy (3rd)—Joey’s first podium of 2018—joined the points leader on the overall podium.

After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their ninth outdoor national race of 2018.

Eli Tomac: (1st in 450MX) “Today was great. It was another 1-1 which is what we want to do, and that second moto was crazy. I was only anticipating getting 2nd, but we got it done and took the win and overall. Washougal was good to us, and I felt great all day. We’ll take the weekend off to rest and prepare for the last three rounds.”

250 overall podium

Aaron Plessinger: (1st in 250MX) “38 points [4-3] doesn’t usually get the overall, but I’ll take it. I’ll take it how I can get it. Today was pretty rough and it was hot. These guys were riding unreal. Props to them. I liked the track better in 2015 when we got a lot of rain. It was pretty muddy that year and I had a lot of fun. It’s definitely a good track. It got a little slick this year and it was really rough. It was definitely one of the tougher ones.”

 

Ryan Villopoto: (1st in 125 All-Star) “I raced here a little bit growing up, but not a ton. Today was great. I didn’t race here a ton when it was a no stress situation and it’s stress free now. Growing up it wasn’t. It was good. It was a lot of fun. The track was good. My losing streak is over from Straight Rhythm and Hangtown. I’m back to winning. (laughs) Man, Brownie was on the gas. On the podium I was like, “Dude, any more laps than that and I would have been too tired to go that speed.” He goes, “I know; these things are hard to ride.” We’re all used to four stokes now.”

 

Ken Roczen: (2nd in 450MX) “Today went pretty well. I’m so close, but yet so far at the same time! [laughs] I can’t complain with how this season has been going though. We’ve found ourselves in second on the podium for the third weekend in a row. I think that’s pretty good, so I have to be happy with that. I’m so close to another moto win, but I just need to put together that last five minutes. We keep making progress though; we’re learning each week and trying really hard, so as long as we leave the races healthy and I know I did the best I could, then it’s a great day. This isn’t a track that I’ve really enjoyed in the past, so I kind of expected today to be more of a struggle, which makes me even happier with my finish.”

 

Shane McElrath: (2nd in 250MX) “I didn’t know that was Aaron, but I knew it was a Yamaha trying to pinch me off [on the start]. I was like, “No” like pushing, but I hit the banners on the inside with my bars. One, I didn’t want to get the roost going up the hill. I wanted to stay out of that. In the first moto, I followed too much and couldn’t really get around the guys. We made a big bike change before the secong moto. I knew I could get a good start, and then I felt like I could go anywhere I wanted. That’s the first time I felt like that this year. It felt really good. ”

 

Marvin Musquin: (3rdin 450MX) “Honestly, I expected a little better weekend. I love Washougal but it was definitely a tough track and it was hot out there so it was hard for the guys to keep the moisture and the softness in the ground, as expected. My starts were decent, not great, and I was able to put myself in okay position both motos and fight hard for the lead, but I came up short in both motos with second and third.”

 

Joey Savatgy: (3rd in 250MX) “While I felt good enough to get the overall, getting the moto win and on the overall podium is a step in the right direction. The track was tough and technical so after my bad start in Moto 2, it was good to at least get into the top 10. I’m ready to close out the season stronger than ever.”

125 overall podium

Dylan Ferrandis: (4th in 250MX) “The place was good. In the morning it was a little muddy. In the first moto, I really liked the track, it was good. In the second moto, I don’t know why but the visibility was terrible. The first was good, but second one was terrible. I couldn’t see in some places on the track and it was a little bit too dry. We all know how Washougal is.”

 

Weston Peick: (8th in 450MX) “I had some issues with my hand, because the track was hard-pack and choppy. There wasn’t much forgiveness on that track, so I had to back my speed down quite a bit in order to survive. We made a few changes in between motos, and I ended up sixth in the second moto. I still struggled with my hand. Fortunately, I had a gap in the middle of the moto and was able to relax for a few laps before charging hard at the end. I’m counting down the days until I can get surgery on my hand.”

 

Phillip Nicoletti: (10thin 450MX) “Today was up and down. The first moto was decent and I had a hard-fought race. I went down in the first lap of the second moto. I got up, made some quick passes and started coming back. Then I crashed before the whoops. I literally picked my back up and tried to take off but then went down again. It took the wind out of my sails, but I’m going to keep plugging away.”

 

Mitchell Harrison: (10th in 250MX) “Washougal was dry, hard packed and bumpy. I got a good start in the first moto but went down in the third lap. I got another decent start in the second moto and ended up seventh. It was a decent weekend, but I want to step it up.”

 

Justin Hill: (12th in 450MX) “Qualifying went well and I was very comfortable on the Suzuki RM-Z450. I had a great start in the first moto, but expended too much energy trying to get around my teammate [Justin Bogle]. I was smoked by the time I was in third place. I learned quite a bit by being up front with those guys. Then, while running third in the second moto, I had a huge crash. It was a strange deal where I landed sideways in some ruts. I tried to blast out of it and straighten up the bike. By doing that I swapped even harder and flew straight into a tree. I’ve definitely felt better than I do right now. My left knee is swollen up almost as big as a volleyball right now. It seems that I’m just tough enough to not get broken, but I’m wimpy enough to get hurt every time I hit the ground [laughter].”

 

Michael Mosiman: (11th in 250MX) “I felt a little weird in the first practice, then made an adjustment for the second one and dropped some heaters. I was in a good headspace and was enjoying it. I got a great start the first moto then had a close one in the second lap. I launched the wall into the sand and almost went off the track. It was probably the save of the weekend. That shook me up quite a bit, but I was still happy with my ride. Savatgy crashed in front of me in the second turn of the second moto. I put my head down and got back up there, but it was getting sketchy with the shadows and kickers. All-in-all it was a good day and I’m pleased with it. I think things are looking up and I’m building momentum for these last three races.”

Tomac has once again taken command of the championship

Joshua Grant : (14th in 450MX) “I was really excited to come back for Washougal, and felt great in that first moto. Unfortunately, my ankle was hurting and couldn’t start the second moto, but we’ll take advantage of the weekend off and let the ankle rest a little more and be ready to go for Unadilla. I’m just happy to be back to racing.”

 

Jordan Bailey: (17th in 250MX) “I didn’t feel like I gelled with the track all day. It’s a different kind of soil and a different kind of rough that I’m not used to. I went down in the first moto, then kicked the bike into neutral before the gate dropped in the second moto. I came back pretty well so I’m happy with that. It’s a really tough track. I’m going to work on some things during the off-weekend then will head to Unadilla.”

 

Justin Bogle: (18th in 450MX) “I got the holeshot in the first moto and held the lead for the first few laps. I’m having issues with my arm and being able to hang on after five laps. I’m struggling with that right now. I have to slow down and ride a pace that I can maintain without crashing. That pace is around 13th place right now. It’s a bummer, because when instincts kick in I’m very capable of doing well. I holeshot the second moto, and I landed hard off a wall jump. My arm got hot and tingly, which didn’t feel right. I’m going to get my arm checked out this week and make sure everything is good.

 

Enzo Lopes: (15th in 250MX) “It was a step in the right direction. Practice went okay. I felt good on the bike and qualified 15th. I knew that I could do more on the bike, so I went into the first moto pretty confident. I came around the first turn in eighth, but dropped back to 13th. I got a decent start in the second moto and was aggressive through the first few turns and was around ninth place. I was in that position for half of the moto, but then I got tired because I haven’t been riding a lot due to my collarbone injury. There were positives to take away from the day. I’m stoked to be on the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team.”

 

Jimmy Decotis: (21st in 250MX) “I rode well in the first qualifying practice. The track was wet, so the traction was hard to find. Still, I felt good on my Suzuki RM-Z250. I wasn’t worried about my time, but instead put in a hard moto during the second practice session. I got off to a great start in the first moto, but I struggled during the opening laps and dropped back. I started to find a flow around the halfway mark. I had a good start again in the second moto. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any energy. I’ve been sick since before Millville. The second moto was a challenge, and I’m doing my best to get healthy again.”

 

Author

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