Spoiler Report: Dungey and Baggett Take Washougal
July 24, 2011, 3:15am
The already-tight points battles in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship just tightened up again after four more superb motos in the 250 and 450 classes, this time at Washougal MX Park in Washington. The merging storylines resulted in a pair of winners on 450s, as Ryan Dungey romped home to the overall win for the second-straight week on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki, but Ryan Villopoto matched him on points for the day to take over the 450 series’ lead by the slimmest of margings. Chad Reed, leading the points coming into the race on his TwoTwo Motorsports Bel-Ray Racing Honda, struggled just a bit after his big crash last week and finished fourth overall via 7-4 scores, with Dungey’s teammate Brett Metcalfe taking third overall for his first podium of the year.
In 250s, no surprise, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki boys battled hard again. Blake Baggett dominated the first moto after getting a good start and overcoming an early challenge from DNA Shred Stix Star Racing Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes to take the win. Tyla Rattray climbed up to second and Sipes teammate Kyle Cunningham took a solid third. Dean Wilson, leading the points coming into the race, got a bad start and had a tough moto coming through, even falling over while trying to pass GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia for fourth. He settled for fifth, but then bounced back in a big way in moto two, snagging the early lead and riding strong. This time Baggett got the bad start and had to move forward to preserve the overall, while Rattray shadowed Wilson and stayed with him all the way to the end. In came down the last corner, with Rattray going for the pass but running out of room, and Wilson
Make no mistake, Dungey was the best of the 450 bunch on this day, as he lost some ground to Villopoto early in the first moto, but then closed in and attempted a pass. He tried to hit a berm on the outside, but the berm gave way and he went down, dropping him off of Villopoto’s back fender. Villopooto took the win with Trey Canard third. In moto two, Villopoto grabbed the start, but Canard crashed early, leading to a red flag situation, and Canard was transported to a local hospital complaining of pain in the same leg he broke a few months ago. Sad news there. Dungey controlled the start the second time around, ad Villopoto was all over him early. But Dungey began edging away, and pulled a gap that led to a moto win and the overall. Villopoto took second. Reed started third but admitted he didn’t quite have his normal push, and Metcalfe got by him to take third. Reed hung on with Muscle Milk Toyota’s Justin Brayton and Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi closing in right on him at the end, but settling for fifth and sixth.
Look for a full race report and photos later tonight right here at Racer X Online.com
In 250s, no surprise, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki boys battled hard again. Blake Baggett dominated the first moto after getting a good start and overcoming an early challenge from DNA Shred Stix Star Racing Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes to take the win. Tyla Rattray climbed up to second and Sipes teammate Kyle Cunningham took a solid third. Dean Wilson, leading the points coming into the race, got a bad start and had a tough moto coming through, even falling over while trying to pass GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia for fourth. He settled for fifth, but then bounced back in a big way in moto two, snagging the early lead and riding strong. This time Baggett got the bad start and had to move forward to preserve the overall, while Rattray shadowed Wilson and stayed with him all the way to the end. In came down the last corner, with Rattray going for the pass but running out of room, and Wilson
Make no mistake, Dungey was the best of the 450 bunch on this day, as he lost some ground to Villopoto early in the first moto, but then closed in and attempted a pass. He tried to hit a berm on the outside, but the berm gave way and he went down, dropping him off of Villopoto’s back fender. Villopooto took the win with Trey Canard third. In moto two, Villopoto grabbed the start, but Canard crashed early, leading to a red flag situation, and Canard was transported to a local hospital complaining of pain in the same leg he broke a few months ago. Sad news there. Dungey controlled the start the second time around, ad Villopoto was all over him early. But Dungey began edging away, and pulled a gap that led to a moto win and the overall. Villopoto took second. Reed started third but admitted he didn’t quite have his normal push, and Metcalfe got by him to take third. Reed hung on with Muscle Milk Toyota’s Justin Brayton and Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi closing in right on him at the end, but settling for fifth and sixth.
Look for a full race report and photos later tonight right here at Racer X Online.com
