10 Things to Watch for at Washougal

Press Release from Alli Sports

Saturday afternoon marks the eighth round of the stellar 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The race takes place in the Pacific Northwest, at the pristine Washougal Raceway high above the banks of the Columbia River. You can watch the first motos of all three classes—250, 450, and Women—live right here on Allisports.com, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 PT), and then the final 450 moto will air live on SPEED TV at 9 p.m. ET (6 out west). Here are ten things to watch for at the Motosport.com National, presented by Yamaha and Scott USA.

1.) Reed Still Leads

Chad Reed is on a methodical march to the 450-class championship after racking up his second win of the series last Saturday in Minnesota. The Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider is a born-again outdoor rider, having sat out the summer the last two years. Now he hopes to become the first Australian ever to win a Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship—he’s already the first to win an AMA Supercross title here!

2.) Josh Grant Can Go Faster

The revelation of the 450 class has been the emergence of Josh Grant as arguably the fastest man on the track in any given moto. The problem is that he has trouble putting two motos together more often than not. Riding on the Joe Gibbs Racing MX/Toyota Yamaha, Grant put a beautiful move on Reed in the first moto at Millville and then held him off in a thrilling 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto. But in the second moto, Grant got cleaned out in the first turn and went down in a heap, never seeing Reed as his rival wheelied away. Grant must stay up if he wants to nail down his second overall win of the series.

.) International Duel in the 250 Class

At least for the title right now. Rising U.S. star Ryan Dungey and French import Christophe Pourcel are battling tooth-and-nail for the red plate each week. The red plate signifies the points leader, and right now the superbly talented Pourcel has a three-point advantage. But Dungey, who rides for Team Suzuki, is coming off a perfect weekend in his native state of Minnesota, where he won both motos over Pourcel in front of his hometown crowd. Pourcel’s never been to Washougal, but he’s a fast learner; Dungey’s won here twice in his young professional career. They could leave her with a split in moto wins, and it would surprise nobody.

4.) Don’t Forget the Red Riders

In both the 450 class and the 250 class, Honda is well represented at the front of the pack. In the bigger class, Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan Tedesco already has an overall win, while teammate Andrew Short has been a disappointment so far this summer. In the smaller class, GEICO Powersports Honda riders Justin Barcia, Brett Metcalfe, and Blake Wharton have all been in podium positions, though none of them seem to be able to run as fast as the two title contenders are right now. And last week in Millville, Barcia and Millsaps got so close to one another over a massive tabletop that their wheels touched, almost causing a major crash. Maybe that’s the spark they need to get up there with Pourcel and Dungey.

(PHOTO OF NEAR CRASH)

5.) Ashley is Wearing a Target on Her Back

Saturday will see the return of the Lucas Oil AMA Women’s Motocross Championship after a two-race hiatus, and all eyes will be on Ashley Fiolek. Ashley is a full-factory Honda rider, the defending champion, and is profoundly deaf. Her life story is amazing, but her talent on the motorcycle is equally impressive. Fiolek has won all five of her races to date, which means she’s the heavy favorite on the steep hills of Washougal—especially on very good equipment.

6.) Welcome to America, Monsieur Desalle

Clement Desalle is barely known here in the States, but the Belgian rider is currently ranked fourth in the Europe-based world championships, where he rides a Honda CRF450R. With that series on its summer holiday, Desalle decided to come to Washougal to see how he stacks up against all of the heavy hitters on the AMA circuit. He will wear #463, but it might as well be a giant question mark, because nobody know how this guy is going to do! But here’s some food for thought: Last year, a Dutch rider named Marc de Reuver came over and was fantastic at Southwick, finishing third in a moto. If Desalle matches that, it will be like winning for the Belgian prospect. It will also open up some doors for him here in America.

7.) Contract Time = Go Time

With the economy still a mess all over the world, riders are finding it more and more difficult to figure out exactly where they are going to be next year, as teams large and small are dealing with budget cuts, absent sponsors, and general financial worries. Even if you’re Ivan Tedesco or Jake Weimer, each of whom have won nationals this summer, you are worried about where you might end up—or even if you will have a job—so now is the time to make something happen. Same goes for the vast majority of the riders in both classes: Lose now and maybe lose your contract for 2010!

8.) Scott Champion is a Factory Rider?

Yes, he is! Team Yamaha is having a tougher summer than any other team out there, and now they find themselves with all three of their factory riders—Grant Langston, Broc Hepler, and now Josh Hill—out with injuries. But rather than pull up stakes and head back to Cyprus, California, the team has invited a rookie privateer named Scott Champion to use one of their 450s and work from under the tent. Kawasaki is in a similar situation and has reached out to Canadian rider Ryan Beat to man Tim Ferry’s motorcycle. For one of these two, this could be the best day of their still young motocross careers.

9.) New Gear for Everyone!

With its natural scenic beauty, Washougal is a great place to take photos, which is probably why so many gear companies like to debut their new clothing at this race. Look for riders from Fox Racing (Dungey, Tedesco, Barcia, Metcalfe, Wharton) and Fly Racing (Short, Jason Thomas, Tyler Bowers) to pull some prototype 2010 equipment out of their gear bags—and nothing makes you want to ride faster than having brand new motocross gear! Okay, wanting to keep your job as a factory rider does, but we already brought that up.

10.) Michael Byrne Is the Dark Horse

The 2009 season started poorly for Michael Byrne, the less heralded teammate of Chad Reed and Ryan Dungey, as injuries slowed him in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and nearly wiped out his summer. But now Byrner is on the gas, and he scored a season-best third last week in Minnesota. Michael loves Washougal, and with some good starts and continued momentum, he could match that ride or maybe even do better this time around. And yes, he’s looking for a job for 2010. It’s go time!