2012 AMA Motocross
For the second Lucas Oil Motocross Series event in a row, GEICO Honda superstars Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac swept the top two spots on the overall podium.
The only difference at this Saturday’s Washougal National is that Barcia finished ahead of Tomac after winning Moto 1 and coming in second in Moto 2, reversing the order of last weekend’s Spring Creek National, which Tomac won. Tomac finished second and third here, placing him ahead of points leader Blake Baggett (6-1) on the podium.
Justin Barcia (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “It was a great day for the GEICO team. The bike was great, the team worked hard and I had two good rides. Plus, we made up some points, which is exactly what we needed to do. Everything went great. If I hadn’t slid out in the second race I could have gone 1-1-1 but a had one little mistake there and Baggett got by me.”
Barcia was a frontrunner from the beginning of the day. He started third in the first moto but quickly passed Baggett before hunting down and getting past Marvin Musquin for first place somewhere around the middle of the race. After that, he simply rode away for the victory. In Moto 2, Barcia got the holeshot and led for 30 minutes before bobbling and going down at the top of the hill as he turned towards the finish line to take the white flag. He remounted quickly, but couldn’t catch Baggett in the last circuit.
Justin Barcia says: “It was a stupid mistake. And it cost me a few points, but we still had a great day and I’m super pumped.”
The big day helped Barcia trim Baggett’s lead in the championship standings to 11. Tomac remains in third, 21 behind Barcia.
Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “It was a good weekend for us. It’s cool for me and Justin to go 1-2 again. It’s helping us tighten things up in the points and I think the final few races will be crazy. This is a super-fast track with a lot of uphill and downhill runs, but at the same time it’s very tight. You almost have to wait for the guy in front of you to tire out to make a pass. It’s very hard to set people up for passes because there’s nowhere to go around them.
“We’re doing all we can to race hard and win these events. I’m really pleased with how things have been progressing. Now we’ll take a few weeks off, rest up, and make another charge.”
In just his second race since returning from knee surgery, Justin Bogle had finishes of ninth and fifth, placing him seventh overall. Wil Hahn had a fifth- and a 10th-place finish for eighth on the final tally.
Justin Bogle (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “I’m still taking baby steps but I’m really happy with the improvement we showed today. I was second behind Bam Bam (Barcia) for awhile there in Moto 2 and that was encouraging. I didn’t quite have the pace to stay with those guys the whole race but I’m feeling stronger every time I get on the bike. I just need some sprint speed and I’ll be where I need to be.”
The tour is off until Aug. 11 when the Moto-X 338 National takes place in Southwyck, Mass.
