The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its annual visit to the legendary Washougal MX Park for Round 9 of competition.
The opening 250 Class moto of the afternoon saw a slew of Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing machines at the front of the field, as Justin Cooper grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Ferrandis, Ty Masterpool and Colt Nichols. Cooper and Ferrandis were able to put a firm grasp on the top two, but their teammates came under fire from Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Cameron McAdoo and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo. McAdoo soon fought his way up to third, but an aggressive Cianciarulo went on the attack to take over the spot and track down his two championship rivals.
Cianciarulo applied heavy pressure on Ferrandis in the early minutes of the moto, and the two nearly made contact when the Kawasaki rider dove to the inside for a pass attempt, but some slight bobbles caused the championship leader to settle in behind the leading Yamahas. With Cianciarulo on his rear fender, Ferrandis picked up his pace and started to close in on Cooper for the lead. He soon got within striking distance and wasted no time in making a pass happen. The Frenchman moved into the top spot just over 10 minutes into the moto, and in his attempt to follow, Cianciarulo tipped over. He remounted quickly, but ran a distant third.
Once in the lead, Ferrandis put some breathing room between he and his teammate, which allowed him to drop down to a more conservative pace and protect the advantage. As time ran out on the moto, the top three were each separated by about two seconds with two laps remaining. While they were all within reach of one another, their near-identical lap times stabilized the distance between them. Ferrandis carried on to his fifth moto win of the season, 1.9 seconds ahead of Cooper, with Cianciarulo right behind in third. GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton followed in fourth, while Nichols rounded out the top five.
The deciding 250 Class moto once again saw a slew of Star Yamahas leading the field through the first turn, this time with Nichols earning the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of his teammates. However, the field was much more bunched up this time around and it was Ferrandis who emerged with the early lead ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Michael Mosiman and Cianciarulo.
Knowing he needed to act early, Cianciarulo forced the issue with Mosiman and made the pass for second. He kept up the pressure and started to stalk Ferrandis for the lead. The Kawasaki rider showed a wheel in a few spots, but the Frenchman didn’t flinch, and after Cianciarulo briefly went off course if put some distance between the two.
The field settled in through the middle portion of the moto, with Ferrandis maintaining about a second advantage on Cianiarulo. With just under seven minutes left, Cianciarulo started to force the issue and closed to within mere bike lengths of Ferrandis, showing the front wheel of his Kawasaki in a couple spots. However, Ferrandis responded again and extended the lead.
With one lap to go, Cianciarulo let it all hang out to give himself a shot at making a move on Ferrandis, but it wasn’t enough. The Yamaha rider was able to secure the sweep of the day’s motos by five tenths over Cianciarulo. Mosiman followed in a distant third.
It marked the fourth win of Ferrandis’ career, and continues a recent hot streak in which he’s won five of the past 10 motos. Both of the Frenchman’s victories in 2019 have come via 1-1 sweeps, and the Washougal victory couldn’t have come at a more important time in the championship battle.
“It was crazy [in the second moto], but I had a really good start. It was good to get two good starts today. AC [Cianciarulo] was right there with me and I knew we were going to see who is the best,” said Ferrandis. “We were both giving it everything, and the track was so crazy. I really enjoyed battling with AC throughout the moto. I’m going to have to watch this one. I’m just happy to get this win.”
Cianciarulo’s runner-up finish (3-2) continues a streak of finishing on the overall podium at all nine rounds this season. Cooper rounded out the top three in third (2-4).
“You’re conscious of points, but at the same time we’re just racers. After winning a lot this year it’s all I’m craving,” explained Cianciarulo. “I want it. It’s what I expect of myself. I’m happy with all these seconds and thirds, but I’m a little disappointed in myself [today]. I was the fastest guy today, and not to take anything away from Dylan [Ferrandis] because he was riding awesome, but I maybe let that one get away. We’re in a really good position in the championship and I’m feeling great about where we’re at with our program.”
Ferrandis gained eight points on Cianciarulo in the 250 Class standings, where 28 points now separate the lead duo. Cooper maintains his solid hold of third, 48 points out of the lead.
The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will take its final break in action this summer before returning for its three-round stretch run on Saturday, August 10, at upstate New York’s iconic Unadilla MX. First motos of the Circle K Unadilla National can be seen live on MAVTV at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. The 250 Class will be showcased on network television for the first time ever with live final moto coverage on NBC at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET, while second moto coverage of the 450 Class will be shown via tape delay on NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET. All of the action can also be live-streamed with the “Pro Motocross Pass” via the Gold channel on the NBC Sports app.
