We spoke with several riders after the races at the Washougal National, here’s what other riders from throughout the pack had to say about their day based on team statements.
450 Class
Eli Tomac| 2-2 for second overall
“In the first moto I started a little bit behind, maybe around eighth place or so, but felt really solid and was able to keep passing guys through the whole race. I got myself up to third and was there for a while before Marvin [Musquin] ended up falling and handing me second place, which was key going into Moto 2. I was happy, confident, feeling good energy-wise after Moto 1. In Moto 2 I had a better start going down the first straightaway, but then the wrong line choice in Turn 2 shuffled me back. At that point, the guys that I needed to be in front of were in front of me, so I started pushing and gave it everything I had. I left everything on the track today, literally everything. It’s a frustrating day to get second overall because I made such a strong push, but I’m really happy with the riding and our whole effort today, I just needed a couple more positions in the first few turns.”
Dylan Ferrandis | 5-1 for third overall
“It was a tough day at Washougal. We struggled with the bike set up Moto 1 but bounced back with a win in Moto 2. I tried to manage the gap and manage my energy the whole moto to give everything I had at the end to secure the first place. It was really hard. I had to push really hard and dig deep. I’m really proud to have won this battle with Eli (Tomac) as he’s such a role model for me in the sport. I’m looking forward to getting some rest now before going back to work to be ready for the last five rounds.”
Marvin Musquin | 3-5 for fourth overall
“The day started off awesome, the feeling was great and I was excited for the racing. I was really happy about my intensity, that’s something that I’ve been looking for and I made it happen. In the first moto, I felt like I was riding really good towards the end but I tried to push hard to make a gap on him and unfortunately the front went away on me and I climbed up and into a berm and went down. In the second moto, it was a lot of effort to pass people and I think that got me towards the end. I knew fifth wasn’t going to be enough for an overall podium, which is a bummer, but it’s my best result so far this year and I showed a lot more today. That’s what I needed and what I wanted.”
Justin Barcia | 4-7 for fifth overall
“I’m stoked on the qualifying time of P5! I didn’t get the best starts but I charged as hard as I could and felt like I rode solid. No excuses but it was a difficult track to make passes and ending fifth overall – to me – that’s a really bad week, so I’ll take it. We’ve got two weeks off to regroup and come out swinging for the last five. I’m ready to hammer down!”
Cooper Webb | 7-6 for sixth overall
“It was a little better today even though the results don’t show it. My starts were good in both motos and I felt pretty good but it seemed like those top guys were really hauling the mail today. We’ll go into this break and try to get some more speed and intensity to run up front at Unadilla.”
Aaron Plessinger | 12-4 for seventh overall
“It was a little bit of a rough day for me. I don’t really like that track too much. It was really slick and has lots of shadows. I crashed on the first lap of the first moto and that put me dead last, but I put in a charge to get back to 12th. In the second moto, I got a great start and rode well the first three-quarters of the moto and then fell off the pace a little bit. Overall it was a good day to finish seventh overall after that first moto.”
Christian Craig | 8-8 for eighth overall
“It was a rough day for me. I ended up having a hard crash in the first practice, so I just felt off the rest of the day. I’m looking forward to the break. We’re going to work on some stuff for the last five rounds to finish strong.”
Ken Roczen | 6-10 for ninth overall
"Our weekend in Washougal was super hard; I've been sick all week. I only rode one day a little bit to keep a good feeling, but I didn't feel good coming into this weekend. I still felt super-weak still in my bones and muscles, and I just didn't have it. I fought my way through as well as I could, but it was just a weekend to forget. I’m looking forward to a couple off weekends now, to get myself back on track. I’m looking forward to trying to recover and then rebuild and get back to when I felt good and fight back."
Joey Savatgy | 10-9 for tenth overall
“Today I rode well. While my starts weren’t there, I was able to charge through the field. The consistency is helping us, and We’ll continue to progress. I’m looking to re-focus and work on a few things during the break and come back ready to fight at Unadilla.”
Max Anstie | 9-12 for 11th overall
“Progress was made at Washougal. I rode well in Moto 1 and came out with a ninth-place finish. In Moto 2 I fought hard and ended up twelfth. We will keep pushing and we'll get some testing done in the break to be ready to come back stronger at Unadilla.”
Brandon Hartranft | 13-15 for 13th overall
"It was a solid day. Qualifying went pretty well; I was riding really well today. In the first moto I came from about thirtieth spot all the way up to thirteenth; that was a really strong ride. In Moto 2 I was actually catching the top ten, but just hit a wall and unfortunately faded back to fifteenth. The track was pretty sweet today. I can't thank Suzuki enough for their help this year. We'll keep fighting. There are five rounds to go and I'm going to bring the heat."
Dean Wilson | 11-11 for 12th overall
“I’m just kind of running on fumes, dealing with what I’m dealing with and I feel like I have nothing left in the tank. That was the best I had today but I’m out of here safe and have two weeks off to hopefully recover and try to get some energy back and be ready for Unadilla.”
Justin Bogle | 16-13 for 14th overall
“It was a tough day. The day started good, as I had one of my best qualifying times in a while, it just didn’t translate to the motos. We still have some work to do though we are moving forward. I’m Looking forward to the break, doing some testing and make a few changes to the bike before we come back to Unadilla ready to charge."
250 class
RJ Hampshire | 2-3 for second overall
“I felt good in practice even though I wasn’t that fast, but I knew we’d turn it around for the motos. I felt good, I had two good starts and battled hard all day. In the second moto, I was in contention again, pushing for the win, and it could have been there but I stalled it about halfway into the moto. I got passed a couple times and it took the sails out of me but I can’t complain, I’m stoked on second overall.”
Jett Lawrence | 7-2 for fourth overall
“Washougal wasn’t a great day, but it was alright. In the first moto I was just sleeping on the gate and didn’t get a really good start and was outside the top 10 I think. It was a very tight track, so it was a pain to pass. I only got up to seventh, but I didn’t have much pop in my riding. After that, “Dazzy” [Darren Lawrence, Jett’s father] and Johnny [O’Mara] gave me a little kick in the butt, so I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to try and prove you guys wrong.’ In the second moto my jump wasn’t the greatest but I was able to hold on; I ended up being third on the start and was pumped, but then I pulled a young-kid mistake with a pissing contest with J-Mart [Jeremy Martin] going into that turn, but I paid for it and went back a few positions. I was riding a lot better and was able to come through to second, so I only lost two points on the day. We’re going to use this break very wisely, and I can’t wait for Unadilla, which was kind of my pro debut during outdoors in 2019; I like tha track, and I’m excited to go there.
Pierce Brown | 6-4 for fifth overall
“This is my first visit here and it went really well, I’m stoked! I loved the track all day long and I was really happy with the whole day. First moto, I ended up sixth but it was a big improvement from how the last couple rounds have gone so I just used that to fuel the fire for the second moto. In the first couple laps, I was up there in the mix with all the boys so that was cool. It was my best moto finish and best overall yet, so I’m going to use these next couple weeks off to keep the momentum going.”
Michael Mosiman | 4-7 for sixth overall
“It was a tough day, not how we wanted it to go, but I had a lot of fun and the fans were stoked! I love coming to Washougal and I felt pretty dang good all day. I think I lost the race today on the first lap in both motos, so I just got to work on that and I think we’ll be in good shape. We’ve got a couple weeks off to rest the body and hit it hard for the last five rounds.”
Hunter Lawrence | 5-10 for seventh overall
“Washougal was a rough weekend. I struggled being sick all week, so it wasn’t an ideal prep week. We gave it our best shot. We had an unfortunate second moto, but in the first moto was fifth. We’re looking to give my body the rest it needs in this little break."
Dilan Schwartz | 13-6 for eighth overall
"In the first moto I got off to a top-ten start, but unfortunately tipped over a few laps in. It took me a little while to get up and I when I got going again, I was around twentieth or maybe a little worse. I was able to charge and come back to thirteenth. In the second moto, I almost pulled the holeshot, which was cool. From there I rode consistently in the top ten and ended up sixth. I'm pumped with this result going into the break and I'm looking forward to the next race!"
Austin Forkner | 12-9 for ninth overall
“I felt really good going into Moto 1 with the speed I showed in practice, unfortunately my result in the race was hampered by my involvement in the first turn pile up. After the crash I just did my best to keep charging forward and found myself in 12th at the finish of the first moto. In the second moto I had a much better start, in the top 5, and made my way to fourth early in the race. I felt strong and held my own there for about 15 minutes until I stuck my foot down in a rut and tweaked my ankle. I was in a lot of pain for about five laps which caused my speed to fall off and I was consequently shuffled back to around ninth or 10th. In the later stages, a couple of guys made mistakes and I was able to capitalize but, it was only good enough for ninth. Truthfully, while I’m bummed about the end result today, I am happy with how I was performing in the beginning and we still look forward to more progress this season.”
Max Vohland | 9-12 for 10th overall
“It was a pretty consistent weekend for me. I rode pretty good in the first moto and I was happy with that. I started a little bit further back in the second moto and made my way to 12th but I didn’t really ride well – I wasn’t really flowing on the bike and I was just kind of choppy and holding on tight. I’ve got some stuff to work on going into this two-week break before Unadilla, I’m really looking forward to getting stronger and faster, and getting better results.”
Jo Shimoda | 24-5 for 13th overall
“First moto I was in a bad spot coming into the first turn which led to being caught up in the crash. Unfortunately, the crash defined my first moto result because, despite my fast pace, I couldn’t overcome the deficit to get back into the points. The second moto, I was outside on the gate, had a pretty good jump, but didn’t feel like I had enough of a wheel to cut across to the inside so I came out around 15th. I worked to find the best lines on the track and attack each corner with a clear focus on catching and passing anyone I could see. A lot of the guys were making mistakes because of how challenging it was to navigate the dark shadows covering up an already narrow and rutted track. I am happy with my focus and speed so that’s what I will take going forward. In the future I will continue to work on improving my starts.”
Colt Nichols | 8-33 for 15th overall
“Washougal was definitely one to forget. It started out well qualifying in the top five, and I had a good start in the first moto but we just struggled out there. I was pushing hard to come back through the pack in the second moto and unfortunately took a hard knock late in the race. We’re going to get looked at on Monday and hopefully will be back on the gate at Unadilla.”
Jarrett Frye | 18-13 for 16th overall
"It was a tough day at an all-new track. It was definitely a tricky one and I was struggling all day to find my flow. I had a good start in the first moto, but crashed on the first lap and had to fight my way back to 18th. That kind of set me back in the second moto, but I kept pushing and finished 13th for 16th overall. We’re going to keep working during the break and come back stronger in the final stretch of the season."
