Joe Gibbs Racing’s Josh Grant put in another strong pair of motos at the eighth round of the 2009 AMA Motocross championship to come away with second place overall in Washougal, WA. on Saturday, July 25. The solid performance vaulted the YZ450F rider from third into second in the standings with four rounds remaining. Not to be outdone, Boost Mobile’s Jason Lawrence put in 10-3 moto finishes to claim third overall. Rival Chad Reed took the overall with 1-1 finishes. Unfortunately for Yamaha Factory Racing though, Josh Hill was forced to sit out the Washougal round with a back injury.
Motocross... In the first moto, Grant got only an average start in sixth place but was able to improve the position to fifth by the end of the long 30 minutes plus two laps, with Lawrence rounding out the top 10. However the second moto was a different story for the Yamaha flyers. They both got terrific starts, with Grant taking the holeshot and Lawrence close behind in second. Grant and Lawrence led most of the moto until slowly but surely Reed reeled the pair in, finally passing for the win with only three laps remaining. Grant has now led a half dozen motos in his first season in the premier 450 class.
“Josh Grant is putting in some great rides in his rookie season,” commented Yamaha motocross team manager Jim Perry. “Now that he has moved into second in the standings, hopefully he can chip away at Chad’s points lead.” As things turned out, Hill’s injury added an interesting dimension to the Washougal weekend. With Hill temporarily on the sidelines, his factory YZ450F ride went to privateer Scott Champion, who posted respectable 33-18 finishes while researching a dream “factory rider for a day” article for the website vitalmx.com. Watch for it soon!
Motocross Results |
| 1 |
Chad Reed |
(1,1) |
| 2 |
Josh Grant - YAM |
(5,2) |
| 3 |
Jason Lawrence - YAM |
(10,3) |
| 4 |
Justin Brayton |
(9,8) |
| 5 |
Michael Byrne |
(15,4) |
| 6 |
Jimmy Albertson - YAM |
(8,10) |
| 7 |
Nick Wey - YAM |
(13,6) |
| 8 |
Thomas Hahn |
(2,38) |
| 9 |
Ivan Tedesco |
(11,11) |
| 10 |
Clem Desalle |
(3,25) |
|
 |
Standing after round 8 of 12 |
| 1 |
Chad Reed |
337 |
| 2 |
Josh Grant - YAM |
272 |
| 3 |
Andrew Short |
267 |
| 4 |
Ivan Tedesco |
258 |
| 5 |
Michael Byrne |
207 |
| 6 |
Thomas Hahn |
171 |
| 7 |
Cody Cooper - YAM |
157 |
| 8 |
Justin Brayton |
152 |
| 9 |
Nick Wey - YAM |
149 |
| 10 |
Mike Alessi |
142 |
|
Motocross Lites Results |
| 1 |
Ryan Dungey |
(1,5) |
| 2 |
Blake Wharton |
(3,3) |
| 3 |
Christophe Pourcel |
(8,1) |
| 4 |
Brett Metcalfe |
(4,4) |
| 5 |
Jake Weimer |
(10,2) |
| 6 |
Tommy Searle |
(6,6) |
| 7 |
Broc Tickle - YAM |
(7,8) |
| 8 |
Darryn Durham - YAM |
(5,10) |
| 9 |
Max Anstie |
(9,9) |
| 10 |
Kyle Cunningham |
(2,34) |
|
|
Standing after round 8 of 12 |
| 1 |
Ryan Dungey |
337 |
| 2 |
Christophe Pourcel |
337 |
| 3 |
Brett Metcalfe |
251 |
| 4 |
Tommy Searle |
243 |
| 5 |
Jake Weimer |
215 |
| 6 |
Justin Barcia |
210 |
| 7 |
Broc Tickle - YAM |
199 |
| 8 |
Blake Wharton |
198 |
| 9 |
Tyla Rattray |
175 |
| 10 |
Trey Canard |
139 |
|
|