AMA Motocross
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel and Tyla Rattray battled on the track and celebrated on the podium together claiming second and third overall respectively.
Rookie Dean Wilson overcame crashes in both motos to finish 6-6 and fifth overall while Jake Weimer went 3-11 ending the day sixth overall. In the 450 class, Nick Wey turned in his best performance of the year finishing 10-6 which placed him fifth overall.
Pourcel rode two strong motos finishing second in both. The Frenchman overcame a slow start in the first moto and worked his way into the runner-up position. In the second moto, he lost his clutch early and rode the entire race without it.
Chritophe Pourcel says: “I didn’t have a clutch the whole second moto,” said Pourcel. “It was difficult in the slower sections of the track. I was worried I was going to stall the bike in the corners.”
Wey rode a streak of top-10 finishes into Washougal and posted his best finish of the season earning fifth overall.
Nick Wey says: “Everything is coming together. Everyone on the Monster Energy Kawasaki team is working hard to be the best and we are getting better every week. Today was tough with the heat and Washougal is always tricky with the shadows and the rocks.”
Rattray showed his signature style in the first moto, charging through the field and finishing fourth despite being under the weather most of the week. In the second moto he got a good start and battled for most of the moto with his teammate Pourcel. The two battled for most of the second race with Rattray settling for third in both the moto and overall.
Tyla Rattray says: “Nothing really special happened today. I’ve been sick all week and my ears are still all clogged. I think I rode well.”
Wilson had two great starts nearly grabbing the holeshot in both motos, but the 18-year-old rookie went down early in each one. In the first moto, he worked his way up from 26th to 6th. In the second moto, Wilson went down on the first lap, but again charged up to sixth to earn 5th overall.
Dean Wilson says: “I’m kind of bummed right now, but also I feel good about how I rode. I never want to crash and especially not twice in two motos, but at the same time I know I rode really well so that’s the positive I’m taking from this weekend.”
Weimer continues to work his way forward, ending the first moto on the podium for the second week in a row. In the second moto, the AMA Supercross Lites West Coast champion was battling for an overall podium finish when he went down and ended the moto in 11th, dropping him to sixth overall.
Jake Weimer says: “It felt good to get on the podium again in the first moto. I need to put together two strong motos and get back to the top step for an overall win.”
Ryan Villopoto was also in attendance at Washougal, signing autographs and taking a turn in the television booth during the first 450 moto. Villopoto is still recovering from a broken right leg.
Ryan Villopoto says: “It’s great to be back at the track, but I would rather be racing. This summer has been difficult sitting on the sidelines, but I’m going to the doctor this week and hopefully I’ll get clearance to get back to riding my Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F.”
With the AMA Motocross series taking the next two weeks off, Wey will keep busy by switching gears and competing at X Games in Los Angeles this week. Wey will race in Super X and will be joined at X Games by Monster Energy Kawasaki WMX rider Sara Price, who will be making her professional supercross debut.
