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/1546039
T h e y s a y t h a t w h a t g o e s around comes around, and this certainly was the case at this week's Lites round at Washougal. Last week in Denver, Andrew Short had high hopes of winning in front of his home crowd but saw those hopes go up in smoke when his bike blew up on the first lap of the second moto. He was forced to watch Ryan Villopoto run off with the win on his turf. This week at Washougal, Ryan Villopoto was anxious to get his sixth- straight win in front of his home crowd, but he, too, had his hopes dashed when his bike blew up on the second lap of the first moto and was forced to watch Short ride off with the moto win and, ultimately, the Lites-class overall victory on his turf. So much for the home-court advantage. "Me and Villopoto switched home- towns, I guess," Short said. "Last week was really tough for me; I put a lot pres- sure on myself and buckled in the first moto, and Ryan basically killed me. In the second moto, I had bike problems, and he seemed to have the same kind of luck today. But it turned out good for me." For Short, the win at Washougal was indeed sweet revenge, and his 1-1 result was the second sweep of his career, the first coming at Millville last year. Unfortunately for him, the win still leaves him in fourth place in series standings and 35 points behind the new series leader, Mike Alessi, who finished third with a 3-4. Speaking of Alessi, the Red Bull KTM rider got a big break at Washougal, a track that he hasn't had much success at in the past, especially last year. After having seen his early-season points lead shrink to a 13- point deficit to the streaking Villopoto, and this round being a homecoming of sorts for the Kawasaki rider, Alessi had little hopes of gaining any ground on Villopoto. You might even say that Alessi, instead, came into Washougal in damage-control mode. But Alessi came out smelling like a rose and, once again in the points lead, much thanks to Villopoto's blown motor. Alessi is now three points ahead of Villopoto. Sandwiched between winner Short and third-place Alessi was SoBe/Samsung Mobile/Honda's Josh Grant, who gated well in both motos. And he made good use of those starts, running among the leaders throughout both motos. He ended up going 2-3 on the day, which just wasn't quite good enough to give him his first outdoor overall victory. Grant was unavailable for comment after the race. Fourth overall went to Villopoto's teammate Troy Adams and rounding out the top-five overall was Star Racing/Lucas C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 9, 2006 25 Washougal MX Park Washougal, WA Round 8 July 30, 2006 2006 Toyota AMA Motocross Lites Championship Presented by FMF STORY BY KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN AND PALMER Chris Gosselaar (102) grabs the Lites holeshot over Mike Alessi (800), Ryan Villopoto (51) Josh Grant (24) and Matt Goerke (53). Andrew Short came back strong with a 1-1 win at Washougal after a disappointing weekend in Thunder Valley.