Report and Photos by James Lissimore  

The eighth round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships made it's way to the towering evergreens of the picturesque Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington.
 

Yamaha's Broc Hepler has been fast since making his return to racing and was again battling up front at Washougal. After finishing fourth in the first moto, he was running up front again in the second moto when his motor blew, causing yet another Factory Yamaha 250f DNF. 

Denny's Holeshot Kawasaki rider Brady Sheren made the trip to Washougal and qualifed for his first ever US National. Unfortunately, an electrical problem prevented Sheren from making a single lap in the first moto but he came back in the second moto and finished 31st. 

Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey continues to display a maturity far beyond his years. At Washougal he went 3-2 for third overall. 

In one of the most evenly matched championships in years, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ben Townley again put himself in a position to capitalize on his teammate Ryan Villopoto's mistakes. Townley won the overall with 2-1 moto scores and managed to pull a slim 2 point lead in the Lites championship. 

Ryan Villopoto was definately the fastest Lites racer at Washougal. He used his local knowledge to take a convincing win in the first moto, but a pair of falls in the second moto set the stage for one of the all time great come back rides. Villopoto put on a clinic, charging from the back all the way to third and looking like he might even win until a second fall forced him again to work his way up. His third in the final moto salvaged valuable points in the championship chase with his teammate Townley. 

The big news for Canadian fans at Washougal was the parting of ways of Canadian National Champ Dusty Klatt and his team, Star Racing Yamaha. In his final ride with the team, Klatt went 29-18 for 24th overall. Hopefully Klatt can regroup and come back to show the US fans the speed that earned him 3 straight Canadian championships. 

Yamaha's Grant Langston had a breakout ride at Washougal, scoring his first 450 class moto win with a victory in the second moto. He would have also earned his first overall victory on the strength of his fourth in moto one if not for Kevin Windham slowing up on the last lap when he mistakenly thought he had recieved the checkered flag, allowing Tim Ferry to get by for second place and the overall.
 

James Stewart's weekend didn't exactly go according to plan. After getting another week to heal up after Lakewood, it looked like business as usual for Stewart when he took the first moto victory. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well in the second moto as he fell on the first lap and had to work his way from the back fo the pack all the way up to third and then he fell and dislocated his knee. His second moto dnf allowed his teammate Ferry to move within 7 points of him in the series standings. 

Butler Brother's/BTO Sports Doug DeHaan didn't have the weekend he was hoping for at Washougal. After he ended up with the far inside gate pick for moto one, DeHaan got pinched off and was involved in a first turn pile that included Gavin Gracyk and Josh Summey. DeHaan only managed a few laps before pulling off. Combined with a 23rd in moto two, Dougie D could only muster a 32nd overall. 

 Former Canadian competitors Gavin Gracyk(273) and Doug DeHaan(77) collect themselves after their first turn pileup. 

Andrew Short put in another fine ride at Washoual. The Honda rider finished with 3-4 moto scores for third overall. 

The other Canadian competing at Washougal was privateer hero Howie Spencer. Unfortunately, Spencer wasn't able to qualify for Sunday's motos but did have fun and put in some good times during Sunday morning's consolation moto. Now Spencer is off on another cross country road trip as he drives coast to coast for next weekends Canadian national in Moncton, New Brunswick. 

OTSFF Suzuki's Gray Davenport, who is going to ride a 450 at Moncton next weekend was at Washougal on his own Kawasaki. The Utah rider finished with 32-29 moto scores for 32nd overall in the Lites class. 

Some guy that Steve Matthes claims to know won the overall in the Motocross class. Ok, in all seriousness, Tim Ferry's riding has been the revelation of the 2007 motocross season. Who, would have thought that with four rounds remaining he'd be only 7 points back of the championship lead?
 

2007 AMA Motocross Champion?