VOL. 54 ISSUE 30 AUGUST 1, 2017 P63
My Own Race:
23 AARON PLESSINGER 6TH 250MX (1-9)
Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Aaron Plessinger flat out smoked
everybody in the first moto at Washougal, grabbing the holeshot and
winning by 13 seconds. "My mechanic, Billy, was telling me every
lap how big of a lead I had and what my laptimes were," Plessinger
said after the first moto. "That helped me out a ton. I just got off to a
great start. I told Billy I was going to get the holeshot on the line, and
I pulled it off. I just got out there and rode my own race, and focused
on what I needed to do. We made some changes on the bike, and
it's working amazing. I trust it a lot right now." Unfortunately for Pless-
inger, in moto two, he went down while battling with points leader
Zach Osborne and could only recover for ninth.
36 ADAM CIANCIARULO 4TH 250MX (2-5)
Adam Cianciarulo was the fastest qualifier for the third week in a
row at Washougal, and he was fast in moto one, working his way up
through the field to finish second. "I was really far back, maybe fifth
or sixth, and had to come through a few guys, like Sean Cantrell,
who was super-tough to get around, and also Mitchell Harrison and
Dylan Ferrandis; those guys are no joke," Cianciarulo said after the
first moto. "These guys are the best in the world, so it was difficult to
get around them, and by the time I did, I think Plessinger was five or
six seconds ahead and he was riding fantastic. So, I just need to be
up there off the start and put myself in the position to get this overall
today." But in moto two, he got a better start, but couldn't do much
with it, falling from third back to fourth.
31 RJ HAMPSHIRE 5TH 250MX (6-2)
RJ Hampshire has been really fast since he came back to racing after
recovering from injury. He's had a few technical problems with his bike,
but recently led briefly at the Southwick National. Finally, at Washougal,
Hampshire had a breakthrough, scoring his first-ever podium moto finish
with second in the second moto after passing eventual winner Joey
Savatgy and leading a few laps during the race. "It's kind of emotional,"
Hampshire said. "It's been a long run to this. I'm very thankful."
108 DYLAN FERRANDIS 3RD 250MX (3-4)
Ferrandis was in the battle up front in both motos at Washougal. He
was third in the first moto, holding off teammate Mitchell Harrison
and points leader Osborne at the finish. It wasn't just because it was
a cooler day at Washougal than it had been recently in the series. "I
make some good races when it's really humid, but when I feel good
on the track, it's okay," Ferrandis said. "The warm-ups are short, so
it's not easy for me to learn the track and my bike every weekend, so
sometimes I have some trouble with that, but here I felt good. The
track is good and slippery, and I like that." In moto two, he was in
the battle again, and his last-lap pass for fourth on Adam Cianciarulo
gave him third place overall, and knocked Cianciarulo out of conten-
tion for the win. "It was crazy!" Ferrandis said of the battle. "I got a
good start, but the first lap, I had people passing me and I was pass-
ing them back, and my teammate put a crazy pass on me and I had to
use a lot of energy to get ahead of him."
