The gate dropped on round eight of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship over the weekend in Washougal, Washington, and once again, the action was tremendous. Cole Davies answered the call after the previous round’s disaster, The Lawrences traded wins, and the weather was the best it’s been there in years, which ended up having an effect on the racing itself. To better understand everything that happened, we sent questions to former pro and NBC on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
The weather in Washougal was amazing, with temperatures staying in the low to mid-70s for most of the day under a mostly overcast sky. How did that affect the performance of the riders? Were there any specific riders who especially benefitted?
What a great weekend on the weather front! I don’t know that it really effected anyone specifically but I do believe that the fittest riders suffer a bit as they can’t use their fitness to their advantage. On the hottest/hardest days, those who can continue to push late in the moto can make up huge amounts of time. What could be a small advantage on the lap time chart on the third lap can easily be a four-five second advantage in the last few laps because of fatigue. Fitness is a bit less impactful when the highs are in the 70s.
Did the track develop any differently due to the lack of heat and sun?
Yes, it was a bit less hard packed and dusty but in the final moto, the prototypical Washougal was appearing. The section Jett Lawrence crashed in had hardened and had become very slippery. It’s a coup that the scoop tire was still usable but it was starting to deteriorate in the waning laps of the second 450 moto.
Were the shadows under the trees as bad this year with the overcast skies?
Similar to the track being helped by the cloud cover, the shadows also are beneficially altered. They were prevalent in the final moto but for a majority of the day, the riders caught a break with that. It’s an extremely difficult dynamic to manage and one I dreaded each year, so having it mostly removed for a day was a great thing.
There’s a long whoop section before the finish line at Washougal. Do riders change setup at all to handle that one section, or do they just deal with it?
It would be nice if that were possible but changing the motorcycle for that specifically is not a winning equation because it’s going to have adverse effects on sections that absorb much more of the lap. If the bike isn’t working in its current form for blitzing, it’s totally fine to just jump through them. The time difference is marginal, if measurable at all. There have been years where blitzing was much faster and this could be a consideration, but 2026 was not one of those years.
There were multiple crashes in the inside of turn two, including a big pileup when Landen Gordon went down there on the start of the first 250 moto, and later, Haiden Deegan after he holeshot the first 450 moto. What was it about that spot that was claiming guys?
It’s always been a trouble spot. Between the holeshot devices sometimes being still locked in, the heavy pressure on the front-end to find traction, a freshly watered track, and riders being unable to see the ruts due to roost and other riders, I don’t see it ever changing. It’s not an outright dangerous section but it does have the aforementioned variables that make it troubling.
Levi Kitchen was fifth at Washougal, matching his best ever finish there. Does he leave happy that he did as well as he’s ever done there, or upset he gave up 18 points to Cole Davies?
Very much the latter. When you’re leading the points, fifth overall is not anything to be happy about. The starts are a real issue for Kitchen and with Davies being lights out with the first-gear change, they better find a solution quickly. Kitchen has won motos at both Unadilla and Budds in the past but if he is starting 15th and Davies is out front, that’s a losing play long term.
What the hell has gotten into Carson Mumford? He was tremendous again at Washougal, going 5-4 for fourth overall. In the second moto he stayed right with Chance Hymas deep into the race. How can this sudden spike in performance be explained?
It’s been a slow build, really. He’s been improving quietly for a bit but those rides aren’t headline grabbing. When you start putting yourself inside the top five though, that changes. He was an immensely talented youngster so this isn’t that difficult to comprehend conceptually. He’s riding really well, though. The trick now is to find sustainability at this level. I’m cheering for him.
Ryder DiFrancesco posted a career best race, going 2-2 for second. What was he doing at Washougal that led to this result?
This is likely his best track. Growing up in the SoCal desert develops skillsets for fleeting traction. The same could be said for Mumford, really. When the traction is deteriorating quickly, having “feel” for it really helps. It’s something I could never really sort out with my formative years being in Florida. Even a guy like Ricky Carmichael showed vulnerability to guys like Kevin Windham on a track like this. Aggressive, attacking styles can work against you when the track is begging for finesse and throttle control.
As previously mentioned, Deegan went down after holeshotting the first moto. How do you think the Lawrence brothers would have played it in that moto had Deegan stayed up and held the lead early?
I think it would have likely gone like it has gone up until now. I thought Deegs had a real shot at beating them at this track but he’s still just a tick off. Nothing to be shameful about, he’s riding incredibly well, it’s just what the reality is as of now. The Lawrence’s are 16 for 16 on winning motos for a reason.
Eli Tomac was back at his second race since getting hurt, but he didn’t do better than last week. In fact, he did worse, going 14-14 for 14th at a track he’s usually quite good at. Yeah he had bad starts, but even so, were you expecting more from him on Saturday?
Let’s be real, we all expected better than this. I’m sure he’s frustrated also. I thought he could be like 5-8 on the day. His qualifying wasn’t on par with the leaders but it was also reasonable for a result like I expected. It looked as if he was struggling mightily with the bike so I am sure they will be working overtime to get him comfortable between now and Unadilla. The gap to the front few is very big at the moment but I do think top 5-6 results is possible by season’s end. He has to make big strides over this break, which seems obvious, but no less important.
