AMA Motocross - Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing, Baggett charges back at Washougal MX

While the Cascade Mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for the Washougal National, things got ugly for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Blake Baggett early in the second moto. A crash followed by a massive pile-up cost Baggett any chance of another podium run, but the gritty young rider never gave up.

He picked up his bike in last and rallied to get all the way back to 12th by the chequered flag. That gave him a (5-12) moto result and allowed him to finish inside the top 10 (ninth) in spite of what appeared to be certain disaster.

Additionally, Baggett’s determined run in the second moto allowed him to leave Washougal still securely in fourth in the AMA Pro 450 Motocross standings after nine of 12 rounds.

Light rain greeted the fans and riders on Saturday morning and when wet, the black loamy dirt of Washougal made things extremely challenging for the riders. Baggett approached the session with caution, yet found enough traction with his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to qualify 11th, with a time of 2:14.558.

“It was lightly sprinkling all morning,” Baggett said. “When this place gets a little bit of water on it that black dirt rally gets slippery. I had to get out of the main line in some areas and be in the main line in others. So it kind of a bit of a guessing game trying to find traction to drive up and down these hills. Gate pick will be big and the run up the hill. If we can get to the top of the hill with clean goggles I’ll be a lot better off for sure.”

Things went close to plan in the first moto. Running eighth in the early laps, Baggett calmly worked his way to fifth by the end of the muddy moto. It was in moto two when things went off script in a big way.

“I had a pretty good start inside the top 10 heading up the hill,” Baggett explained. “There was a cluster of bikes coming together at the turn at the top of the hill. I ended up getting hit from behind and just went down.”

The fall was bad enough, but it was on a tricky uphill turn with poor visibility and like a gang tackle in football, the following riders just stacked up on top of Baggett’s machine.

“The bike was getting run over and I wasn’t able to pick it up, Baggett said. “I had to wait and was dead last. I picked it up and got going. I charged as hard as I could. I was trying to save tear-offs because it was still pretty muddy outside the main line and I made it back to 12th. We’re going into a weekend off and I’m looking forward to coming back and racing Unadilla.”

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will observe its final break in action next weekend before hitting its three-round stretch run to close-out the 2015 season. Yoshimura Suzuki will be back in action at the legendary Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York, on Saturday, August 8th.

Washougal 450 Motocross Results:

1. Ryan Dungey (2-1)

2. Justin Barcia (1-2)

3. Christophe Pourcel (3-5)

4. Ken Roczen (RCH Suzuki) (7-3)

5. Phil Nicoletti (4-6)

6. Weston Peick (12-4)

7. Fredrik Noren (9-7)

8. Trey Canard (8-9)

9. Blake Baggett (Yoshimura Suzuki) (5-12)

10. Josh Grant (11-8)

450 Motocross Standings: