Things are shaping up nicely for tomorrow’s eighth round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington. After a couple days of heavy rain, the weather forecast is promising for tomorrow’s race – sunshine and 80-plus temperatures. After hot and humid rounds at Millville and RedBud, riders and crew are enjoying the cooler weather in the Pacific Northwest.
Chad Reed, who survived his well-documented crash last weekend at Millville, looks loose and relaxed. We spoke with Reed who said he’s feeling pretty good considering how hard the crash was and is ready to go tomorrow. He also said in a statement, “I’m still feeling the after affects of the crash, but day by day, I’m feeling better. We have two weekends off after Washougal, which is nice to know, as it’s easier to tell my body it just has to step it up for one more 10-hour day before getting a rest. After Saturday, I will worry about the hurting. I don’t have one particular thing that is injured – I’m sore all over. I hit my head pretty decent in the crash, so I’m laying low this week from on-the-bike training.”Even though he hit his hit and lied motionless for a moment after the crash, he said he never lost consciousness.
American Honda’s Josh Grant will not ride tomorrow and it looks as though he will sit out the rest of the series with a knee injury. Grant, who injured his knee at RedBud, was hoping to finish out the season but decided to undergo surgery to get the knee repaired as soon as possible in order to be ready for the 2012 Supercross series.
Grant’s teammate Trey Canard, who made his outdoor debut last week and was impressive in his first ride outdoors on the 450, said today that he’s feeling good and ready for tomorrow. Canard broke his femur a few years ago at Washougal while competing in the 250 class but has generally had good success at the Washougal track, which includes, of course, last year’s win here in the 250 class.
Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR Yamaha’s Davey Millsaps is also out of action with a knee injury, which he suffered at RedBud. It is not yet known when he’ll return. His teammate Justin Brayton will be holding down the JGR fort.
Returning to the AMA National circuit tomorrow will be Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin. Musquin suffered a compound fracture of his thumb at Texas but is ready to go tomorrow. We spoke with his tuner Jon Primo who said Musquin has been riding for about three weeks and his feeling healthy and very good on the bike again.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will be the home favorite tomorrow and says he is anxious to ride Washougal again for the first time in a couple of years. Even though it’s his home track, Villopoto hasn’t had the best of luck here. In fact, he has yet to win at Washougal.Last week’s winner, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey is hoping to record his fourth straight win here at Washougal, and the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is hoping to sweep the podium in the 250 class for the fifth time this season.
Tyla Rattray won last week’s National in the 250 class.And, of course, Washougal will take place sans Kevin Windham who decided to sit out the rest of the season and recharge his batteries for next year’s Supercross Championship.For the first time, both 250 and 450 motos will be shown live on FUEL TV and SPEED. The first moto will be shown on FUEL TV and the second motos on SPEED.
