Eli Tomac sweeps 2019 Washougal MX National

2019 AMA Pro Motocross

Round Nine – Washougal National

Images by Hoppenworld

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship landed in Washougal for Round Nine of the AMA Motocross championship, with the Washougal National welcoming a massive crowd in perfect conditions for the tree-lined circuit.

In the 450 class it was Eli Tomac who made it clear why he’s leading the standings, with a double win to mark his fourth victory of the summer, with Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin sharing the overall podium, and Cooper Webb also appearing on the podium for Moto 1.

In the 250 class Dylan Ferrandis took the round win ahead of Adam Cianciarulo, with Justin Cooper completing the overall podium. Michael Mosiman also made an appearance on the Moto 2 podium.

450 Moto 1

The first 450 moto got underway with rookie Joey Savatgy capturing his first holeshot over Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen. While Savatgy was able to clear the field and grab hold of the lead, Roczen was on the move and stormed up into second. The German then closed in on Savatgy for the lead, and while the rookie was able to hold him off to lead his first lap in the 450 Class, Roczen pounced to seize control of the moto.

Roczen quickly sprinted out to a multi-second lead over the field, while Savatgy settled into second. Behind them a battle started to form for third, as Webb was under heavy pressure from his teammate, Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson, and Tomac.

Musquin made multiple attempts to get around his teammate, but Webb withstood every attack. This allowed Tomac, who passed Anderson for fifth, to close in and make it a three-rider battle. As Webb continued to hold them off, Anderson joined the fray as well. The increased pace of this group eventually allowed them to take big chunks out of their deficit to Savatgy, in second.

Musquin’s inability to get by Webb proved costly, as Tomac made the pass for fourth. Shortly thereafter, Anderson dropped the Frenchman to sixth. Tomac was determined to keep his forward charge going, and was soon all over Webb for third. A bobble briefly halted the KTM rider’s momentum, which made it easy for Tomac to move into a podium spot.

Anderson attempted to follow by Webb as well, but was unsuccessful. With his exceptional pace, it was only a matter of time before Tomac closed in on his teammate for second, and he easily took control of the runner-up spot. At this point, he sat about eight seconds behind Roczen.

Savatgy continued to lose positions and eventually dropped off the podium, and then out of the top five. Webb moved up into third, Anderson into fourth, and Musquin eventually into fifth. As Webb and Anderson engaged in a captivating battle for the final spot on the podium, Tomac was making his march toward Roczen.

The Kawasaki rider effectively closed to within striking distance of the lead, and with three laps to go he started to look for a way around. Lapped riders brought them even closer together, but as he tried to make a pass, Tomac tipped over.

That gave Roczen some breathing room, but a relentless Tomac closed back in as they approached the white flag. Tomac showed extra aggression as they traversed through the trees on the far section of the track and got alongside Roczen. They made contact, which sent Roczen off the track.

Tomac successfully battled his way from eighth out of the first turn to first, and carried on to the win by 8.4 seconds over Roczen, who recovered to finish in the runner-up spot. Webb and Anderson both endured through late crashes to finish in third and fourth, while Musquin ended up fifth.

450 Moto 2

As the 450 Class field exited the first turn to start Moto 2 it was once again Savatgy, who just narrowly edged out Musquin to sweep the holeshots for the afternoon. Musquin applied the pressure immediately and was able to get around Savatgy for the lead.

Behind them Zach Osborne and Dean Wilson got great starts as well, but they were soon challenged by Roczen, who was making several passes after starting outside the top five. Tomac was mired about mid pack in 15th.

Musquin completed the opening lap with the lead, with Savatgy, Osborne and Roczen in tow. The early pace from Roczen allowed him to pass both Osborne and Savatgy in one section and move into second. He didn’t let up and looked for a way around Musquin.

The sport’s two international stars went at it, but Musquin was able to withstand the early pressure and open up a lead of more than a second. Behind them, Tomac started to make his move through the field. He needed just a couple laps to break into the top 10, and he soon found himself knocking on the door of the top five behind Osborne.

As the moto neared its halfway point, Anderson made a controversial pass on Savatgy to move up to third, while Tomac made his way around Osborne for fifth shortly after that. Tomac then squared in on his teammate, and Savatgy didn’t put up too big of a fight as his teammate made the move for fourth.

Free of their slower competition, Anderson and Tomac picked up their pace to try and catch the leaders. An aggressive Tomac didn’t waste any time in trying to get by Anderson, and he took control of third coming down one of the track’s big downhills.

With about 14 minutes left in the moto, Tomac sat four seconds behind Musquin and Roczen. With 10 minutes to go, Tomac caught Roczen, which initiated a battle for second. The increased pace of this battle carried both riders to Musquin and soon the top three were all within two seconds of one another.

Tomac found an opening as they reached the top of one of the track’s uphill sections and took it, which moved him into second. He distanced himself from Roczen almost immediately and put the pressure on Musquin.

The Frenchman was able to counter Tomac’s advances and run more defensive lines, which helped him hold Tomac at bay. However, Tomac’s patience was tested during this exchange and he didn’t relent in the next pass attempt.

He forced his way to Musquin’s inside and took control of the moto with about three minutes to go. Musquin did well to keep Tomac within reach, but the Kawasaki started to inch away as the race wore on. Tomac left his rivals behind in the final laps to complete the moto sweep by 11.9 seconds over Musquin. Roczen finished third.

Tomac’s class-leading fourth win of the season, and his second 1-1 sweep of the season, gives him sole possession of fifth on the all-time 450 Class wins list, with 21 victories, breaking a tie with James Stewart.

Eli Tomac

“On the bike [today] it was like perfection, other than the starts. The second moto was pretty much mistake free. Everything was in the right place, at the right time. It’s pretty cool when that happens. That was just a good day on a dirt bike.”

Roczen’s consistent day helped him grab a runner-up finish (2-3), for his first overall podium result since Round 4 at High Point. Musquin rebounded from his slow start to finish third (5-2).

Marvin Musquin

“I was really disappointed in my first moto result, I had a tough time getting around Cooper and unfortunately just lost my rhythm a bit and couldn’t move back up. In the second moto, I felt really good on the bike and was able to battle with Eli [Tomac] and salvage some points with a second place finish and third overall for the day.”

Cooper Webb

“It was an up-and-down day for me. In the second moto, I struggled with some stomach issues – I’m not sure what was going on but after the first one I was really struggling with my stomach. We’ll get to work on the off-weekend and finish these last three strong.”

Tomac added even more points to his cushion in the 450 Class standings, where he now sits 50 points ahead of Musquin. Roczen continues to hold onto third, 57 points behind Tomac.

Jason Anderson – P5

“My day went pretty decent. In the first moto, I got up to third and then I fell and ended up fourth. In the second moto, I got up to fourth and tried to make a charge and ended up getting passed for fifth. I went 4-5 for the day but I got docked two positions, so I ended up fifth overall, which isn’t too bad.”

Zach Osborne – P6

“It was just a really ‘off’ day until the second moto, where I was able to turn things around, I think I’ve just been a little bit off the normal regimen with my shoulder but going into an off-weekend, I feel like I can make a lot of improvement with it and keep moving forward.”

Dean Wilson – P9

“Today was definitely an improvement but I’m still trying to catch up on my fitness. The second moto, I had a really good start and those guys passed me but to be honest I was really struggling with cramping in my legs. It’s a little disappointing as a 7-8 was looking doable but we’ll just keep working at it.”

Justin Barcia – P10

“We struggled a little bit this morning, made lots of little changes all day. In the first moto, got a bad start again. I charged through the pack up to the top 10. I passed a lapper and got taken out, so that kind of put me back a little bit, but still managed to finish 10th. Then got another bad start in the second moto, which is frustrating. I can’t figure those out at the moment. I just charged as far as I could forward and rode the best I could today. It was a tough one, but just going to keep working and getting better and move forward.”

250 Moto 1

The opening 250 Class moto of the afternoon saw a slew of Yamaha Racing machines at the front of the field, as Justin Cooper grabbed the holeshot ahead of Ferrandis, Ty Masterpool and Colt Nichols.

Cooper and Ferrandis were able to put a firm grasp on the top two, but their teammates came under fire from Cameron McAdoo and Adam Cianciarulo. McAdoo soon fought his way up to third, but an aggressive Cianciarulo went on the attack to take over the spot and track down his two championship rivals.

Cianciarulo applied heavy pressure on Ferrandis in the early minutes of the moto, and the two nearly made contact when the Kawasaki rider dove to the inside for a pass attempt, but some slight bobbles caused the championship leader to settle in behind the leading Yamahas.

With Cianciarulo on his rear fender, Ferrandis picked up his pace and started to close in on Cooper for the lead. He soon got within striking distance and wasted no time in making a pass happen. The Frenchman moved into the top spot just over 10 minutes into the moto, and in his attempt to follow, Cianciarulo tipped over. He remounted quickly, but ran a distant third.

Once in the lead, Ferrandis put some breathing room between he and his teammate, which allowed him to drop down to a more conservative pace and protect the advantage.

As time ran out on the moto, the top three were each separated by about two seconds with two laps remaining. While they were all within reach of one another, their near-identical lap times stabilized the distance between them. Ferrandis carried on to his fifth moto win of the season, 1.9 seconds ahead of Cooper, with Cianciarulo right behind in third. Chase Sexton followed in fourth, while Nichols rounded out the top five.

250 Moto 2

The deciding 250 Class moto once again saw a slew of Star Yamahas leading the field through the first turn, this time with Nichols earning the holeshot ahead of his teammates. However, the field was much more bunched up this time around and it was Ferrandis who emerged with the early lead ahead of Michael Mosiman and Cianciarulo.

Knowing he needed to act early, Cianciarulo forced the issue with Mosiman and made the pass for second. He kept up the pressure and started to stalk Ferrandis for the lead. The Kawasaki rider showed a wheel in a few spots, but the Frenchman didn’t flinch, and after Cianciarulo briefly went off course if put some distance between the two.

The field settled in through the middle portion of the moto, with Ferrandis maintaining about a second advantage on Cianciarulo. With just under seven minutes left, Cianciarulo started to force the issue and closed to within mere bike lengths of Ferrandis, showing the front wheel of his Kawasaki in a couple spots. However, Ferrandis responded again and extended the lead.

With one lap to go, Cianciarulo let it all hang out to give himself a shot at making a move on Ferrandis, but it wasn’t enough. The Yamaha rider was able to secure the sweep of the day’s motos by five tenths over Cianciarulo. Mosiman followed in a distant third.

It marked the fourth win of Ferrandis’ career, and continues a recent hot streak in which he’s won five of the past 10 motos. Both of the Frenchman’s victories in 2019 have come via 1-1 sweeps, and the Washougal victory couldn’t have come at a more important time in the championship battle.

Dylan Ferrandis – P1

“The track is always slippery at Washougal, but today it was a bit worst due to the bit of rain we got all morning. I still had a lot of fun riding today. I got two very good starts and was really happy with myself. I had good battle with AC [Adam Cianciarulo] in the second moto. We made a good show for the fans, I hope they liked it and I look forward to watching it later myself. I’m pretty pumped about winning both motos today. It’s a good bounce back after my bad weekend in Millville. I look forward to racing again in two weeks at Unadilla.”

Cianciarulo’s runner-up finish (3-2) continues a streak of finishing on the overall podium at all nine rounds this season. Cooper rounded out the top three in third (2-4).

Adam Cianciarulo – P2

“You’re conscious of points, but at the same time we’re just racers. After winning a lot this year it’s all I’m craving. I want it. It’s what I expect of myself. I’m happy with all these seconds and thirds, but I’m a little disappointed in myself [today]. I was the fastest guy today, and not to take anything away from Dylan [Ferrandis] because he was riding awesome, but I maybe let that one get away. We’re in a really good position in the championship and I’m feeling great about where we’re at with our program.”

Ferrandis gained eight points on Cianciarulo in the 250 Class standings, where 28 points now separate the lead duo. Cooper maintains his solid hold of third, 48 points out of the lead.

Justin Cooper – P3

“The bike was really good this weekend! A couple mistakes in the motos, but nothing we can’t recover from. The conditions were really good with it misting in the morning, the track was moist all day and pretty rough. It was difficult to be consistent with the slick lines out there and that cost me a couple of times especially in the first moto when I lost the lead. It was good day overall, though. I’m still looking to get back to the top, but I feel we are headed in the right direction.”

Michael Mosiman – P4

“It’s good to be here, I’m really fond of this track and this area. And I think this track suits my style – I’m really able to get into a flow. I’m stoked to get on the podium. I love the fans up here!”

Colt Nichols – P8

“My YZ250F was awesome today. The track was technical, but honestly really good. I got an awesome start in the second moto, I just didn’t ride smart and ended up on the ground in both races. That was disappointing, but we have a few rounds left to put it all together and get the result we are looking for.”

The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will take its final break in action this summer before returning for its three-round stretch run on Saturday, August 10, at upstate New York’s iconic Unadilla MX.