Monster Energy® Kawasaki Rider Adam Cianciarulo Claims First Premier Class Win at RedBud

2020-09-09 07:43
Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo celebrated his first career AMA Pro Motocross 450 class win during the second race of the historic doubleheader at RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan. The 450 class rookie was in command all day grabbing both holeshots, leading 26 laps and winning the first moto to claim the overall victory while his teammate Eli Tomac claimed fifth overall (2-7). In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Mitchell Harrison finished fifth overall (6-4) while Cameron McAdoo earned 11th overall (19-7) and Darian Sanayei rounded out the group in 21st overall (18-19).

It was déjà vu in the paddock at RedBud as the mild temperatures and blue skies welcomed the riders to the second race of the doubleheader. During the first qualifying practice, Cianciarulo landed on a downed motorcycle and crashed, injuring his finger but in the second session, he rebounded to lay down a fast lap, qualifying third. Tomac earned the seventh gate pick with his qualifying time.

Cianciarulo took advantage of his third gate pick to rocket his KX™450 to the holeshot and the 450 class rookie never looked back as he led wire to wire to capture his first career 450 class moto win. Just behind Cianciarulo, Tomac also got out of the gate quickly and moved into third place. Never losing sight of the leader, Tomac continued to charge forward and with two laps to go the three-time defending champion made his move into second place. He continued to pressure Cianciarulo until the checkered flag with the Kawasaki duo claiming the top two spots in the moto.

The start of Moto 2 was almost a carbon copy of the first moto for Cianciarulo as he rocketed out to another holeshot and started to pull away from the field while Tomac got tangled in the field and tipped over in the second corner. Cianciarulo continued to lead the way past the halfway point of the race until he came in contact with a lapped rider and went down. He was able to remount in third and hold on for his first career 450 class overall win (1-3). Tomac wasted no time coming through the pack and quickly picked off 30 riders to reach the top-10. He pushed hard all moto and moved up to seventh place before the checkered flag flew to finish fifth overall (2-7).

With their finishes today, Cianciarulo moves into third in the championship point standings and Tomac remains in fourth.
#3 Eli Tomac
5th (2-7)
#9 Adam Cianciarulo
1st (1-3)

“This feels great, I mean two holeshots on the day, a moto win, and to get the overall. My KX450 is really good and everyone on the team has been really grinding so it feels good to get over that hump and get my first premier class win. This is a big deal for me and I’m really proud of myself and this Monster Energy Kawasaki team. I am always trying to do my best and I believed I was capable of winning, but in supercross, I put a lot of pressure on myself to win, and I finally put that mindset behind me which I think helped me get over the hump today.”

- Adam Cianciarulo

“The second moto was tough after going down in the second turn and having to play catch up the whole time. This track was really tough, and a lot of the guys were riding the same speed, so if you weren’t up front in the beginning it was really hard to get up there. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes, and we will try to rebound for the last few races.”

- Eli Tomac

Source: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.

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