Moto madness

The Peterson CAT Washougal National, Saturday at Washougal Motocross Park, attracted riders and spectators from around the world.

The estimated number of spectators at the ninth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship was between 21,000 and 23,000, according to Race Announcer Brian Barnes.

Eli Tomac, of Cortez, Colorado, captured the overall win in the 450 class, after placing second in the first moto, then first in the second moto.

Ken Roczen, of Germany, placed first, then second.

During a press conference, Tomac and Roczen said the track was dry during the second moto.

Marvin Musquin, of France, agreed.

“The track got dry and hard,” he said.

Musquin placed third in both 450 class races.

“Every week, I am getting stronger and stronger,” he said.

After Saturday’s races, the 450 class championship standings have Roczen on top with 434 points, followed by Tomac (379) and Musquin (283).

In the 250 class, Alex Martin, of Millville, Minnesota, led all 16 laps to win the first moto.

“That was the best feeling so far this year,” he said.

Joey Savatgy, of Thomasville, Georgia, came in second place in the first moto.

Austin Forkner won the second moto.

Martin, who got the overall victory, said the second moto was chaos.

“Overall, it was nuts,” he said.

“I could hear the crowd,” Martin said. “It gave me chills. The crowd was loud.”

He said due to erosion and/or rain, the topsoil was gone.

“They need to haul some dirt in,” Martin said.

Forkner, of Richards, Missouri, placed 10th in the first moto before he got his first professional win in the second at the age of 17.

“I just wanted to lead a couple laps,” he said during a press conference.

“I was so pumped [during the last lap],” Forkner added. “I was screaming in my helmet.”

His win resulted in a career-best runner-up finish.

“I was in disbelief,” Forkner said. “I thought they did not do the math right.”

During the second moto, Savatgy made an aggressive pass on Cooper Webb, resulting in contact between the two riders that forced them wide and allowed Forkner to slip under for the top spot.

Not long after that, Webb attempted to return the favor on Savatgy with both riders coming together again. The contact forced Webb and Savatgy to stall their motorcycles, creating a bottleneck at the tightest part of the track.

Webb and Savatgy were able to restart their motorcycles, but they fell outside the top 20.

On lap 12, Martin Davalos crashed out of the race.

Webb, of Newport, North Carolina, placed third in the first moto, and sixth in the second moto.

Jessy Nelson, of Paso Robles, California, was in 16th place in the first moto and third in the second moto.

The current 250 class championship standings have Webb in the lead with 372 points, followed by Alex Martin’s brother Jeremy Martin (321) and Savatgy (319).

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is observing its final break of this year, before closing out the season with three consecutive rounds. The Unadilla National will occur Saturday, Aug. 13, for the 10th round of the championship in New Berlin, New York.

The championship is sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Highlights of the Peterson CAT Washougal National will air Friday, at 11 p.m., on NBCSN.

For more information, visit www.ProMotocross.com.