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/707505
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9 / JULY 23, 2016 WASHOUGAL, WASHINGTON / WASHOUGAL MX PARK P62 My Own Race: 94 KEN ROCZEN 2ND 450MX (1-2) "I'm actually pretty happy," Ken Roczen said of his day. "[Washougal] is not my favorite place for some reason. I did well in the first moto, but it was the driest I've ever seen [at Washougal], so it was pretty sketchy, plus with the sun and the shadows that came out later in the day. Eli was riding a great pace in the second moto, so I just stayed in second. I didn't lose any points, got two good starts and I'm leaving here happy. I also don't think I made the right changes to the bike in between motos. Today is one of those days that I got second and it doesn't bother me; just glad this day was done and second isn't necessarily a bad day." 29 ANDREW SHORT 6TH 450MX (6-7) With just three races left to go before he retires, BTO Sports/WPS KTM's Andrew Short, who has been injured much of the year, had his best ride of the season. "It was my best day of the year," he said. "Sixth overall and I moved up in points (to seventh), so I'm excited. The track was a lot less rutted than typical, and a lot less dry, but it was still chal- lenging because it's slippery. I had great starts in both motos. I think just overall this time of year my confidence is a little higher which helps with the starts and riding, but my fitness seems to be lagging a little bit. We were fortunate that it was overcast for most of the day and didn't have to deal with the shadows until the second moto; that was a blessing." 167 BENNY BLOSS 7TH 450MX (5-9) Missouri's Benny Bloss continues to ride well in the 450MX class and had his best day yet after going 5-9 for seventh overall. Plus, Bloss, on the BTO Sports/WPS KTM, got to mix it up a bit with Tomac after getting a great start in the first moto. "Today was good, definitely a step in the right direction," Bloss said. "I got a great start in the first moto, which doesn't happen very often, and ended up fifth. I started out the second moto with an unfortunate crash in the second corner—a guy got a little squirrely, hit another guy, and the next thing you know I was on the ground, but I worked my way through the pack to ninth. I felt pretty solid all day and I really like this track; it seems to fit my style more than oth- ers. I'm very happy. It [his best finish of his career] was a stress reliever for me, I've been pushing pretty hard for that one." 28 WESTIN PEICK 4TH 450MX (7-5) Weston Peick, who was still sore from his big crash last week at Millville, had one of his best days all year with fourth overall. He went 7-5 on the day, which included a great battle with his AutoTrader.com/Toyota/ JGRMX Yamaha teammate Justin Barcia in the second moto. They battled most of the moto for fourth, with Peick holding off his fierce rival until the last lap. "I didn't get the best of starts, about 10th, and had to work my way up. I had to get around [Dean] Wilson to get up on him [Barcia], I ended up getting Justin and we kind of had a really good battle for more than half the race. We got the two-lap board and I friggin' stalled it in a turn and he ended up getting me. I was still a little sore from last week. The first moto, I got a bad start then finally got into a groove, but by then, everybody that was in front of me we're already were checked out." Peick still got the last laugh, as his 7-5 edged out Barcia's 10-4 by a single point. (Barcia finished out the day fifth overall.)