Follow Racer X on Social Media

X — @racerxonline
Instagram — @racerxonline
Facebook — @racerxonline
YouTube — Racer X Motocross & Supercross News

Morning Report

We’re here for another weekend of Pro Motocross and things couldn’t be more interesting just before the Washougal national. In the 250 Class Cole Davies now finds himself in third place, 25 points back of points leader Levi Kitchen, after a disastrous round last week at Spring Creek. We spoke with Kitchen yesterday, and he’s not ready to go into management mode with this championship.

“There's too much racing left for that,” Kitchen said. “I'm just going to keep trying to execute the best I can. And if I'm feeling it, I'm going to send it for sure. You know, I want to get to the front and that's what I've been doing.”

Julien Beaumer is fresh off his first overall win, and Chance Hymas broke through to win the second moto last week, his first of the season. Pierce Brown is also making his return after getting injured during supercross. The stage is set for a wild day in the 250 Class!

In 450 action things are just as exciting. Hunter Lawrence holds his biggest lead of the season, 10 points, over his brother, Jett Lawrence, and whatever happens today could prove to be pivotal for the championship. When we talked to Hunter yesterday he said the points lead isn’t something he’s paying attention to right now.

“We've still got four races to go so a lot of racing, just got to keep my head down, keep focusing,” Hunter said. “I've done that all year. Just focused race by race. I'm not worried about the future. I'm just worried about what's happening in front of me and what I can control and, and do that.

Eli Tomac, who returned from injury last week at Spring Creek, is here too. He’s traditionally been very, very good at this track, but the best he could muster last week at Spring  Creek was 11^th (via 13-10 finishes). Will the combination of having a race under his belt and Washougal being one of his better tracks help propel him closer to the front? When we asked Tomac about it yesterday he didn’t want to put a number on it, simply stating that he is only looking for improvement.

“I don't even want to put a position on a goal,” Tomac said. “Just be better, have more intensity, and and finish better than I was the week before.”

And speaking of riders who are very good here, Haiden Deegan has been spectacular here, having won two of the three times he’s raced here. Those results were in the 250 Class, of course, so we’ll see if it translates to the 450 later today.

On top of all that, the weather couldn’t be better today. It’s chilly this morning, it’s a little overcast, and highs are expected to top out in the mid-70s. The mild temperatures should allow riders to go harder deep into the motos, which should make for some excellent racing. The track conditions will likely be different too, with the track retaining more moisture than usual. Buckle up, we’re in for a wild ride today!

Qualifying – First Sessions

Well, everyone suspected Haiden Deegan would be strong at Washougal, he always is, and the first qualifier went a long way toward confirming those suspicions. After cruising for a few laps, Deegan put in a heater on lap four, a 2:10.548, then really dropped the hammer on the sixth lap in the closing stages, recording a 2:08.222. That displaced Garrett Marchbanks, who’d posted a 2:08.580 the lap before. Marchbanks, by the way, was on the podium here last year in the 250 Class.

None of the guys posted fast laps early, with most of the heaters coming toward the end, which suggests the track is still breaking in. We’ll see what the times look like in the second qualifying sessions shortly. Will one of the Lawrences rise to the top, or will Deegan's time stand?

In the 250 Class Julien Beaumer was fastest, but barely. Ryder DiFrancesco threw down on his final lap and recorded a 2:12.571, less than a hundredth of a second off Beaumer’s 2:12.562. Beaumer and DiFrancesco were the only to riders to dip below the 2:13 mark, but behind them less than a second separated Drew Adams in third and Michael Mosiman in ninth. Just like in the 450 Class, most of the fastest laps came at the end of the qualifier. Levi Kitchen is the exception, as he pulled out a 2:13.222, his fastest, in just his second lap.

Qualifying – Second Sessions

Sometimes the track will speed up, or slow down depending on conditions, for the second qualifier but for the most part, there wasn’t a big difference in lap times in the second session today. In fact, Haiden Deegan’s fastest lap from the first session held up to be the fastest lap of the day. It wasn’t due to lack of effort from Jett Lawrence, however. Jett turned a 2:09.942 on his fourth lap, then made a push on his final lap but feel just a tad short, recording a 2:08.701 (Deegan’s fastest lap from the first qualifier was a 2:08.222).

Deegan looked like he was having a lot of fun in the second qualifier. He was looking out at the crowd on his slow laps and was throwing huge whips. He and Justin Barcia also goofed around play riding a bit after they crossed the finish line on their final laps.

In the 250 Class Levi Kitchen could barely even make his way through the pits to get to the track. He grew up in Washougal and the fans here love him and were yelling and cheering for him as he tried to get to the line for his second qualifier. The hometown bump didn’t propel him to the lead, however, he closed this session out fourth fastest.

The fastest qualifier was Cole Davies, and by a long way. He busted out a 2:12.269 late in the qualifier, which was over a second-and-a-half faster than Julien Beaumer, who turned a 2:13.785 for second in this one. On the opening lap Davies tucked in behind Kitchen and stayed on his rear wheel for about a lap before the two separated. Davies has never raced at Washougal before, so maybe he thought he’d take a look at some of the local lines. No matter what, we’re set for an incredible day of racing here at the Wasougal national!