Washougal MX Park is known for its challenging conditions, sections with heavy shadows, and slick, hard-packed dirt, and this year was no exception. Ferrandis got off to a flying start, earning the fastest qualifier honors in the premier class. Unfortunately, he did not get off the gate well in the first moto and was ninth after the first lap. He made his way to sixth by Lap 3 and with five laps remaining, passed his championship rival to break the top five. He closed the gap to fourth but ultimately had to settle for fifth.
The red-plate holder bounced back in Moto 2, narrowly missing the holeshot, and then quickly moved into the lead. He ran his own race up front but was unable to break away. In the final laps, the competition closed the gap but Ferrandis held him off and made a final push to cross the line with a 4.5-second lead. His efforts secured third overall and earned another 15 points to give him a 47-point lead in the championship heading into the break.
Plessinger also had a tough start to the first moto and found himself at the back of the pack after a crash on the opening lap. The Ohio native put his head down and put on an impressive charge back to 12th. In Moto 2, he came out swinging and was right there with his teammates going for the holeshot. He was shuffled to sixth but quickly made his way to fourth on the first lap. Plessinger moved into third a lap later but was passed at the halfway mark and ultimately finished fourth for seventh overall.
Craig had a tough start to the day with a crash in the first practice session. He came back from adversity to have a solid qualifying in sixth and then got a great start in the first moto in fourth. A bit sore from his crash earlier in the day, the Californian soldiered on to finish eighth. In Moto 2, he got another great start in fifth but once again crossed the line eighth to finish eighth overall.
The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team gets a couple of weekends off before the Unadilla National on August 14, Round 8 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in New Berlin, New York.
