| July 23, 2016
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac is starting to really come on during the 2016 Lucas Oil/AMA 450cc Pro Motocross Championships, but it’s likely too little, too late for the championship. Two races ago, in the sand out Southwick, Tomac became the first racer to go 1-1 in front of RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen during the entire outdoor motocross series. A week later, Roczen made Millville look downright easy. But on the hard-pack, deceptively slippery dirt of Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Washington, Tomac managed to beat Roczen yet again.
450MX Washougal
In moto one, AutoTrader.com/Monster Energy/JGR Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti snatched the holeshot over BTOSports/KTM’s Andrew Short, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel, Roczen, and Short’s rookie teammate Benny Bloss. Tomac started near the tail end of the top 10, and Roczen went to work right away. First, the points leader went by Pourcel heading into the Washougal S turn, then by Short for second a couple of turns later as the two jumped into the sand section. About five turns after that, Roczen blitzed the Washougal whoops to pass Nicoletti for the lead just before they crossed the line to complete lap one.
Tomac finished the opening lap in sixth, just behind the lead group.
It took Tomac only two laps to pass his way into third while Roczen blitzed away with the lead, but once he got there, he ran into Pourcel, who was very much game in the opening moto. Tomac chased Pourcel for almost 10 laps before finally making a pass stick, and within 100 yards of the pass, Pourcel – obviously pushing to get back by Tomac for second – scrubbed a jump too hard and caught his left boot on the ground, which ripped him off the bike, sending him to the ground in a heap. The crash dropped Pourcel out of the moto, taking away what would’ve been his first top-three finish of the season.
Roczen took the win by a deceptively small margin of just over three seconds (after he backed it down the last few laps), while Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin overcame a mid-race crash to finish solidly in third place in front of Nicoletti, Bloss, Short, Nicoletti’s teammate Weston Peick, Red Bull KTM’s Dean Wilson, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart, and then JGR Yamaha’s Justin Barcia.
In moto two, Musquin got the start just in front of Wilson, Roczen and Tomac, and again Roczen went immediately to work. Roczen passed all of them in five turns, topping it off with a forceful outside move to drop Musquin to second heading into the S turn.
Tomac got sorted out in the pack in third, behind Musquin and Roczen, and anxious not to let Roczen get away again, Tomac used an outside line to go around Musquin as the two headed toward Horsepower Hill. Once in second, Tomac quickly narrowed the gap to Roczen, and then on the start of lap four, Roczen seemed to pull over and let Tomac by.
Although it seemed like it could be a ploy to learn Tomac’s lines, Roczen wasn’t able to hang with Tomac. Tomac took the win by 16 seconds over Roczen, who was nearly 45 seconds in front of Musquin in third. Then came Barcia, Peick and Pourcel, who despite his huge crash in moto one returned in moto two to come from well outside the top 10 to sixth at the finish. Then came Short, Honda-backed privateer Fredrick Noren, Bloss, Wilson and Nicoletti.
As for Stewart, who was ninth in moto one, he dropped out halfway through moto two once again complaining of blisters on his hands.
Overall, Tomac took the win, but didn’t manage to gain any championship points on second-overall Roczen. Then came Musquin (3-3), Peick (7-5), Barcia (10-4), Short (6-7), Bloss (5-9), Nicoletti (4-11), Wilson (8-10) and Noren (15-8).
In the points standings, Roczen still leads by 55 over Tomac, who now has 96 points on Musquin in third.
The series now takes two weekends off before returning to action in Unadilla, New York, on August 13th.
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Washougal MX Park
Washougal, Washington
450MX
Results: July 23, 2016
STEVE COX