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DYLAN FERRANDIS
250 MX / 4TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> After winning Southwick in dramatic fashion, Dylan Ferrandis has sort of taken a step back at our last two rounds. He has struggled with starts and hasn’t been able to nish the motos with that same late race speed that we have become accustomed to this sea- son. He still nished well at Red Bud with a third overall, but he was never in full conten- tion for the victories. At Millville, he struggled mightily in both motos and nished with a tenth overall. That was clearly not where he would like to be or where he should be, so he would enter Washougal ready to right his wrongs and get back to the podium where he belongs. Ferrandis looked to gel with the track in the morning qualifying practice ses- sions. Many European riders, such as Marvin Musquin, have excelled at this course over the years and Ferrandis was no exception. He clocked in with the fourth fastest lap time of the class and appeared to be ready to go out and have a good, solid pair of motos. Moto one started nicely for Ferrandis as he got a pretty good start, rounding the opening lap in fth position. He was about ready to settle into his groove for the rest of the moto when he would push the front end too hard and wash out in a corner. He was able to get back going rather quickly but the riders were still so bunched up that he fell all the way back to fteenth. Furious with his mistake, he immediately passed four riders to hop into eleventh on lap three and then he would pass Shane McElrath for tenth on the follow-
ing lap. RJ Hampshire was next in line and he picked him off as well on lap ve. He was already back inside the top ten in ninth but that is where his charge would taper off. He settled in there until the second half of the moto when he dove for a pass on Alex Martin but stalled his machine. It took him a few seconds to get the bike red back up again, but the damage was done. He slid back to eleventh and he would not be able to make any more moves. The eleventh-place nish was a bummer after he had started well up at the front.The second moto started great for Ferrandis as he settled in behind his teammate, Aaron Plessinger, in third after lap one. He kept Plessinger in his sights throughout the moto, but their gap slowly got wider. Ferrandis did a solid job solidifying his position as he put a nice cushion between him and the fourth-place rider who was Hampshire. As the moto wore on, it looked like Ferrandis would nish in a quiet third but Plessinger tipped over with a few laps to go allowing Ferrandis an opening. He passed his downed team- mate for second and would not relinquish it. He would nish the moto in second place. His 11-2 moto scores earned him fourth overall. If he didn’t suffer his bad luck in the rst moto, he possibly could have been in contention for the overall victory, not just the overall podium.
16 GRITMOTO • JULY 29, 2018