By Adam Simpson
THE American Pro Motocross series arrived in Washougal, Washington this weekend for round nine of the 2017 championship. Hailed as one of the most scenic tracks on the tour, Washougal saw some wild racing, as the series enters the final stages.
Here's our run down of the results in each class:
450 Class
Following on from his 1-1 sweep in the previous round, Marvin Musquin once again dominated both motos in the 450 class, making it the Red Bull KTM rider's fourth moto win in a row and his third overall victory of the season. Now clearly fully recovered from his torn meniscus, a knee injury sustained earlier in the season, Musquin managed to hold off the challenge from current points leader Eli Tomac, and is arguably in the best form of his career right now.
Tomac rode well all weekend but was simply unable to match the race pace of Musquin. Finishing both motos in second behind Musquin, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider still managed to extend his points lead over Blake Bagget, who finished fifth overall. With the championship nearing closing stages, Tomac and Musquin battled hard, but after a contact in one of the corners in the first moto, Tomac decided not to jeopardise his title hopes by making any unnecessarily risky passes on Musquin, who clearly wasn't about to back down from the fight.
Dean Wilson finished in sixth overall and looked comfortable at the front of the pack on his Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna.
Washougal also proved to be a great weekend for Martin Davalos, who claimed his first 450 class outdoor podium.
250 Class
In the 250 class, it was Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy who would continue his performance from the previous round to take the overall win, following a seventh place finish in moto 1.
Aaron Plessinger managed to bag himself the Holeshot in the first race and proceeded to lead every lap to bring home a solid victory, ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki's Adam Cianciarulo, who made some great passes to earn second position.
A superb battle for the lead took place in moto 2 after RJ Hampshire took the lead away from Joey Savatgy. But as the race neared the final stages, Savatgy came back to re-take the lead, win the moto and amazingly the overall victory as well.
It was an unbelievably frustrating second race for young hopeful Adam Cianciarulo, who was sitting in fourth and seemed fully on course to take his first overall win of his 250 career, after his second place finish in moto 1. But a last minute charge and a confident pass by Dylan Ferrandis on the final lap would not only deny Cianciarulo of the win but knock him from first to fourth place overall.
The AMA Pro Motocross series returns to Unadilla for round 10 on August 12.
450 Class Overall Results
1. Marvin Musquin (1-1), 50 pts.
2. Eli Tomac (2-2), 44 pts.
3. Martin Davalos (4-3), 38 pts.
4. Cole Seely (3-5), 36 pts.
5. Blake Baggett (7-4), 32 pts.
6. Dean Wilson (5-6), 31 pts.
7. Weston Peick (6-8), 28 pts.
8. Christian Craig (9-9), 24 pts.
9. Justin Bogle (8-10), 24 pts.
10. Dakota Alix (12-12), 18 pts.
250 Class Overall Results
1. Joey Savatgy (7-1), 39 pts.
2. Zach Osborne (4-3), 38 pts.
3. Dylan Ferrandis (3-4), 38 pts.
4. Adam Cianciarulo (2-5), 38 pts.
5. RJ Hampshire (6-2), 37 pts.
6. Aaron Plessinger (1-9), 37 pts.
7. Jeremy Martin (9-6), 27 pts.
8. Colt Nichols (10-7), 25 pts.
9. Shane McElrath (11-8), 23 pts.
10. Mitchell Harrison (5-15), 22 pts
