Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128625
A MA/Che vy Trucks N a t ion a l C h ampions h ip 1 2 5 c c M o t o cro s s S e r ie s Roun d 9 : W a s hou g a l Motocross P a r k "Winn in g is th e ke y - th at 's wh y we're here ," Ron cad a sai d. "I was pretty p iss ed with th a t s e c o nd m oto , but I didn 't los e a ny po ints , a nd I tried m y best. I want to ha ng in there , and if I ca n win [races] , that's gre at, bu t if I ca n't then I'll try to make as ma ny points as I can . I'm pretty c onfident. Yo u never know wha t can happen , but it's good to hav e a points lead like tha t." If Pastr ana 's hop es at a title a re slim , th ose of one -time s e ries leader Ste ve Lams on ar e now s lim m er. The Moto Roma n/Works Con ne ction/DGY/Troy Lee Des ign s Honda ride r had a day to forget a t Wa s hougal , stru gg ling with inj uries to his lower ex tr emit ie s a nd go ing 9-17 for 12th overa ll. Though st ill th ird in the standings , La mson is now 55 poi nts beh ind Ron c a d a , and ha s prett y much given up on regaining his cha mpionship. "I kind of hu rt m y foot a litt le b it last week, and th en yeste rday I ca ugh t m y foo t in one of the ruts an d twisted m y knee a nd my foot ," Lamson said. "I've go t a litt le bit of fluid on my kn ee that I've got to get dra ined th is week. Wh e n you ' re o n [the gas ), yo ur feet ar e dangl ing ha lf the time, a nd I didn't really feel comfortable with that." Lamson 's lead isn 't comfortable , ei ther, as Team S p litFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Tallon Vohla nd rode like a man poss essed a t Washougal, taking ' fourth in the first moto and then parti c ipating in a knock-down , drag-out tuss le with Pa stran a in m oto two before finish ing second . Taking th ird overall on the day , Vohla nd moved to within five poi nts of Lamson in the standings. Vohl and 's teammate Nath an Rams e y pu t to get he r e ighth - and fou rth - B y CHRIS J O N N UM P HOT OS BY S T EVE B RU HN WASHOUGAL, W JULY 30 A, ra vis Pa stra na prove d himself to be a hec k of a motorcycle ra c e r and a gifted auctioneer at 'Ya s hou ga l, following up th e s ec ond overa ll win of his ro o k ie s e a son b y cli m b ing th e announc e rs ' tower and hawk ing rid ing g ear to th e hig he st b idd e r in a n effort to ra ise fun ds for the upcom ing MX d e s Na t ions , wh ic h t he T e a m Su zu k i r id er w ill b e co ntesting. Th ough he hol ds second in the poin ts stand ing s , Pastrana knows a title is a lo ng shot, but qu a s hin g enthus iasm like his is just about im poss ible . "I di d n 't m a ke a sin g le p oi n t on Ste p h a n e Roncada t h is week e nd , " Pastra na s a id . "But I'm havi ng a good tim e , a nd that's wh a t my ma in goa l wa s coming into thi s ye a r. Be ing in second , I'm rea lly ha p py. It's going to take m or e t han d o in g well o n m y pa rt; it' s go ing to take som e m ess ing up on h is part. I'm st ill go ing for the ch a mp ion s hip - t h a t wou ld b e the gre a test th ing in th e wo rld - but re al istica lly, he 's go ing to hav e to ha ve a ba d mot o ." The form idab le o bstacle between Pa str an a a n d a c ha mpions hi p is Ste pha ne Ronc ada , and a lthoug h the dom inant Fren chma n co uldn't manage a win in Wa shington , he did prevent Pastr ana from cutting into his 35-point series lead . Pastra na and Roncada tra ded moto wins and third-place finis hes, but since Pastrana 's victory took place in the second outi ng , the Yamaha of Troy ride r lo st out on a n his fifth overall win of the season . T 18. AUGUST 9 , 2000 ' c u e I e neVIl' s IAbove) Travis Pastrana reigned but d idn't gain In Washington. The Suzuki ri d e r went 3-1 In the 125cc National, but so did Stephane Roncada. (Below) Roncada went 3-1 for second overall but still leads Pastrana by 35 points. place moto fin ishes to ta ke fourth on the day, a nd the top five wa s completed by KTM fa ctory rider Rodrig Thai n. Last wee k's winne r Brock S ella rds , of FMF / Ho nd a , wa s ne xt , fo llo we d b y moto -one runne r-up Ca s ey J ohnson , of the Yamaha of Troy squad. Comp leti n g th e top 10 wer e Motoworld of EI Cajo n's Greg S chne ll, ro u nd -three winn e r Kell y Smith , o f t e am KTM, an d Ya maha of Tro y ' s Ern es to Fo nseca . MOTOONE Hom ebo y La n c e S m a il t ook t he first h o le sh o t of th e day on h is DeMa r in i/ Bi ll' s Pipes Suzuk i, b u t Yamaha of Troy clon es Ron c a da and Jo h nso n we re qu ick ly b y him . Th e two were flying at th e front as they pounded through th e wh oops after on e lap , but ba ck in fifth follow ing a so-so s ta rt , Pa s tr an a was fly in g a s well. The roo kie got by FMF/ Honda 's Danny Sm ith on lap two and s et sa il a fte r th e top th ree . His efforts saw him swa pping through the wh oops on two c o ns ec utive laps , but th e y paid off when he pulled alongs ide Smail up Hor sepower Hill on th e s ixth go around. The riders d is appeared into th e woods , a n d wh en th e y popped ba c k o ut off th e downhill s ki jump, it wa s Pastrana in th ird. Ron cada and J ohn son wer e pre tty mu ch gon e at this po int, and desp ite Pa s t rana 's best efforts t hrough the re mai ning laps , h e was st ill 10 sec o n ds b eh ind t h e m by the t im e t h e ra c e finished . A littl e ne ar er to his first Nationa l t itle , Roncada rai s ed his h ands o ve r his hea d as he cr ossed th e finis h line , with J ohns on a nd Pa strana following . Next up was Vohl an d , on e of th e fastest riders on the trac k follow ing a bad s t a rt , and Tha in and B ill ' s P ip e s / Mot o r iou s . c o m ' s Bra n d en J e s s em an we re fift h an d six th , re spective ly . Se llards and Ra m sey were next, with Lams on a nd Sc hnell compl eti ng th e to p 10 . "He rode s o aw esome ," J o h ns on said of h is te amm ate. "I tried every thing I could in tha t moto , but he just ro de so s mooth. " "I' m neve r really happy with third, but I love th is trac k," Pa strana said . "I had a great time out th e re. Hop efully I can win the ne xt moto. " MOTOTWO J e s s e m an ki cked off th e sec o nd ra ce w ith a ho lesh ot , b ut T ha in moved by him on the first uph ill. Pas tra na also moved a round , and a s the pa ck hamm er ed thro ug h the whoops a nd acro ss th e line to c omp lete lap one , it was Th a in lead ing fro m Pastra na , Vohland and Ramse y. The top Yam aha of Troy rider was Ern e s to Fo n s e c a , as Ron c ad a had gott en h el d up in tu rn o ne whe n Jo h n so n c ras he d . "I had a g rea t