Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 29 JULY 23, 2013 time here and the roost hurts quite a bit, so you want to try to switch up the lines. But you put in a lot of effort to catch up to someone and then if you switch up your line, and it's not a good line, then you lose ground again, which is frustrating. For sure, it's a challenging track." With four races remaining on the schedule and just one point separating the top two riders, the 250 class is getting exciting. Tomac has proven over the last few seasons that he is very capable of coming from behind, but he has also shown a tendency to tighten up when the pressure is on. This one could go down to the final moto. CN 450 OVERALL 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw) 2-1 2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 1-2 3. James Stewart (Suz) 3-3 4. Jake Weimer (Kaw) 10-4 5. Mike Alessi (Suz) 7-6 6. Josh Grant (Yam) 5-10 7. Andrew Short (KTM) 6-9 8. Chad Reed (Hon) 9-7 9. Broc Tickle (Suz) 13-5 10. Justin Barcia (Hon) 4-17 "I flat-out decided it had to happen now, and I just needed to go out there and do it. This track is notorious for being one line, so I worked really hard on my early sprint to get that free track in front of me. That was key. I think Roczen got caught up in traffic early in the first moto and had to race hard to get second place. I was just cruising up front, no pressure. In moto two he was on me for the first 15 minutes. I knew he was back there, so I dug down and made a second push, threw down some hard laps, and got the gap I needed. Four races, eight motos left, and we're one point behind. Things are looking good for sure. It's going to be a crazy finish. 94 KEN ROCZEN 2ND (2-2) 250 25 MARVIN MUSQUIN 3 Red Bull KTM's Ken Roczen worked his way up from a bad start to finish second in the first 250 moto but couldn't catch the flying Eli Tomac in the second moto, surrendering six points to Tomac on the day. His lead in the championship has dwindled to just one over Tomac. "My shoulders got a little tired in the second moto," Roczen admitted. "But no excuses, Eli rode better than me and I have to bounce back next week to continue to hold the points lead in the championship." RD (3-4) 250 Marvin Musquin made it two Red Bull KTMs on the podium at the end of the day. Despite not getting the best of starts in either motos, Musquin caught up to the lead group both times. "The shadows were really difficult to deal with in the second moto," Musquin said. "I struggled with my starts this weekend and couldn't get up into the top three early in either moto. Luckily, I was able to still pull off a third place result but I want to be on the top of the podium for the remainder of the season." P67 250 OVERALL 1. Eli Tomac (Hon) 1-1 2. Ken Roczen (KTM) 2-2 3. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 3-4 4. Justin Bogle (Hon) 4-6 5. Justin Hill (Kaw) 5-7 6. Zach Osborne (Hon) 14-3 7. Jason Anderson (Suz) 11-5 8. Martin Davalos (Kaw) 7-9 9. Cole Seely (Hon) 9-10 10. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) 6-16 34 JUSTIN BOGLE 4TH (4-6) 250 317 JUSTIN HILL 5TH (5-7) 250 338 ZACH OSBORNE Justin Bogle, on the GEICO Honda, enjoyed his best ride of the Nationals. He grabbed a holeshot and went on to finish out the day with a 4-6 for fourth overall. "This was the strongest race I've had all year," Bogle said. "I also had the best starts I've had all season. I was riding in second most of the first moto until Roczen and Musquin caught me in the end. I'm happy that I'm improving each race, and I am definitely more confident in my riding." Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Josh Hill perked up at his home track. The Washington-native enjoyed a careerbest fifth overall after going 5-7, giving his team its best performance of the day. "I'm almost speechless, this day was absolutely awesome," said Hill. "To get a career day at Washougal couldn't be more meaningful and to know I led the way for my team makes it even better. We've made a lot of progress this season and this was the chance for us to show how fast I can be. My Kawasaki KX250F is dialed in right now and I'm so happy I was able to run up front with the class leaders." 6TH (14-3) 250 GEICO Honda's Zach Osborne struggled with arm-pump in the first moto but rebounded with a strong third in moto two. His 14-3 on the day gave him sixth overall. "I really like this track and I had a lot of fun, especially in the second moto when I was riding up front," Osborne said. "It's really apparent what I need to work on and I only have four races left, so I need to make it happen. I have to eliminate the arm pump I'm getting early in the day and put myself in a position to be on the overall podium. My speed and fitness are good, so I just need to overcome this arm-pump deal."

• Cover