For the second week in a row, Frenchman Marvin Musquin ruled the roost in the United States, this time at round nine of the AMA motocross nationals at Washougal, Washington.

This ninth round of the season featured picture perfect weather conditions, in which KTM rider Musquin was able to continue his recent run of dominance, posting a 1-1 sweep in the 450 class for the second straight week to capture his third overall victory of the season.

In the 250 class, Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy put himself back atop the podium for the second straight week, emerging triumphant following a wild and dramatic battle for victory amongst four riders.

Musquin picked up where he left off from the week prior by grabbing the holeshot to start the opening 450 Class moto, ahead of Husqvarna’s Martine Davalos, Suzuki’s Justin Bogle, and Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac.

Bogle would experience a bobble on the opening lap that caused him to lose several positions, allowing Tomac to move into third and set his sights on Davalos. The top three stayed close to one another for a couple laps before Tomac was able to take over second on lap two. He then made a charge onto Musquin’s rear fender, beginning a thrilling battle for the lead.

On lap four, Tomac looked to make a pass in several areas and successfully got to Musquin’s inside in one of the track’s fastest corners. Musquin held the outside line to keep alongside Tomac, but lost traction with his rear tire, which resulted in contact between the two. Musquin came out ahead, but Tomac continued pursuit. From there the top two continued to set a torrid pace, with Musquin inching away slightly.

As the laps continued, Musquin’s gap increased and soon he sat in full control of the moto, leaving Tomac to settle into second. Behind them, Davalos gave up third position to Honda’s Cole Seely, who was able to pull away and ultimately run unchallenged for the position throughout the entirety of the moto.

The lead trio was able to maintain their pace and assert themselves in their respective positions, with Musquin racing to his third straight moto win, 10.6 seconds ahead of Tomac. Seely followed in a distant third, with Davalos fourth and his Husqvarna team-mate Dean Wilson fifth.

When the gate dropped on Moto 2 it was Davalos who emerged with his second Motosport.com Holeshot of the season over Bogle and KTM’s Blake Baggett. Musquin slotted into fourth, with Tomac just a couple spots behind him. Davalos was able to keep his Husqvarna out front for a couple laps, but Musquin was on a march to the front. The Frenchman jumped from fourth to second on lap one and set his sights on Davalos, seizing control of the lead on lap three.

Behind him, Tomac was fighting to keep pace, patiently making passes and eventually moving into third on lap two. Just a couple laps later Tomac made the pass on Davalos for second. By the time the Kawasaki rider slotted into the runner-up spot Musquin had already established a multiple-second lead. The distance between the two would continue to grow, with Tomac choosing to settle for second and take valuable championship points. Davalos asserted himself into third, keeping Baggett at bay.

Musquin capped off another dominant outing by taking the win 11.7 seconds ahead of Tomac. Davalos earned the first moto podium result of his career in third.

One week after he broke through for his first 1-1 sweep in the premier division, Musquin duplicated that effort in Washougal to secure his third overall victory of the season, and the third of his career.

“I didn’t expect to win it that way [today]. We had a great start in the first moto, but Eli [Tomac] was right there and quicker than me. We struggled a little bit and I was fighting with the bike and didn’t have flow,” said Musquin. “For some reason I got a little bit better and got [more] confident, and got the win. For the second moto we made some changes to the bike and it helped, so we were better. It feels good to get another win.”

Tomac took home a solid runner-up finish (2-2), while Davalos’ career-best moto vaulted him onto the overall podium for the very first time. He’s the eighth different rider to land on the overall podium this season.

“[Musquin] was going fast. I was doing what I could,” said Tomac. “We had that little bump [in Moto 1] and I tried to settle into a pace, but he kept going faster. At that point I just settled in [to second]. That was all we got. Today we were just the second-best guy.”

Tomac’s second-place finish helped him add to his lead in the championship standings, moving out to 32 points ahead of Baggett, who finished fifth overall (7-4). Musquin sits third, 54 points out of the lead and 22 points behind Baggett.

Photo courtesy Simon Cudby

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450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM (1-1)
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-2)
3. Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Husqvarna (4-3)
4. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (3-5)
5. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (7-4)
6. Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna (5-6)
7. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki (6-8)
8. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (9-9)
9. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki (8-10)
10. Dakota Alix, Jay, Vt., KTM (12-12)

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 373 Points
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 341 Points
3. Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM – 319 Points
4. Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna – 269 Points
5. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 228 Points
6. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 216 Points
7. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki – 212 Points
8. Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Husqvarna – 208 Points
9. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki – 197 Points
10. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 177 Points

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (7-1)
2. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-3)
3. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (3-4)
4. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (2-5)
5. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (6-2)
6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (1-9)
7. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (9-6)
8. Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (10-7)
9. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (11-8)
10. Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha (5-15)

250 Class Championship Standings

1. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 377 Points
2. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 303 Points
3. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM – 296 Points
4. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 281 Points
5. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 264 Points
6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 256 Points
7. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 254 Points
8. Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 213 Points
9. Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha – 212 Points
10. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 192 Points