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Kawasaki Podiums in Both Supercross Classes in Seattle
Round 12 of Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship featured a slick race track and clear skies over CenturyLink Field as Kawasaki landed on the podium in both classes with Eli Tomac capturing third in the 450SX class, while Adam Cianciarulo grabbed second in the 250SX class.
As the gate dropped on the 450SX Heat 2 race, Tomac battled for the lead from start to finish as he got off to a great start and challenged the leader for the entirety of the race. As the checkers flew, Tomac secured the second position, while teammate Joey Savatgy had his own battle going on to finish in fourth.
The 450SX Main Event saw both Monster Energy Kawasaki KX™450 motorcycles running up front, quickly maneuvering around their competitors into fourth and fifth with Tomac just ahead of Savatgy. Halfway into the race, Savatgy made a minor error causing him to have a small tip over but quickly recovered to power back and finish fifth. Tomac pushed forward, eventually making a pass to put him on the podium in third place.
Following a penalty to the race winner, Tomac was able to make up ground on both of the competitors he trails in the points standings. Tomac sits in third, five points out of second and 19 points down to the leader. After another impressive top-5 finish from the 450SX class rookie, Savatgy moves up to seventh in the 450SX Points Standings.
While springtime in Seattle usually means a lot of rain and a race that is sure to be a "mudder", this year's Seattle supercross brought warm weather and a stadium filled with roaring fans.
"I would have loved to be able to take the win tonight, but landing on the podium is always a good place to be. The entire Monster Energy Kawasaki team and I have been working each week to improve on the bike and myself. Tonight's track had a great layout and I was just feeling good all day; there were a lot of fun battles from the heat to the main. We'll build from what we've learned here and apply it to Houston next weekend."
- Eli Tomac
"I'm feeling good. It's great to place in the top-5 and I hope to just continue on this upward trend we're on. I felt I had the speed and I've had so many learning experiences in the past few weeks that I feel I was able to apply tonight. I'm still shooting for my goal to land on the podium before the season ends and I'll just keep grinding until I get there."
- Joey Savatgy
In the 250SX class it was Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider, Cianciarulo kicking the day off with the second fastest qualifying lap time. Cianciarulo took that speed into the 250SX Heat 1 by grabbing the holshot and running away with the victory while teammate Garrett Marchbanks following in fifth.
As the gate dropped on the 250SX Main Event, Cianciarulo shot out of the gate in a top-5 position making his way up to second by Lap 4. He would battle for the lead for the entire race but rode smart to ensure his points lead crossing the finish line in second.
Marchbanks had a seesaw type of night starting the 250SX Main Event outside of the top-10. He maneuvered his KX™250 forward to pass six riders before making minor mistake and dropping back to finish 12th. Cianciarulo still holds the top spot in the 250SX Western Region Rider Points Standings as well as keeps his red plate with Marchbanks now sitting 10th.
"Wow, the crowd was amazing tonight! They were cheering so loud, I felt I was carrying that energy with me on the track; it's such a special feeling that never gets old. Overall, I would say this was a decent track layout. It's hard not to feel a little disappointed with not winning, although second is a good position to be in. Once you get that feeling on the top step, it's hard not to want to get there every week. We'll get back to it this week and prepare for Houston."
- Adam Cianciarulo
"I wasn't sure what to expect here in Seattle since all of these tracks are new to me and I've always heard about the gnarly mudders created from the rain. I felt really good in my heat race and pushed as hard as I could in the main. I made a few errors, which cost me but we're still in the top-10 of the standings. I'll get to work with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and make a plan on how to use this experience and apply them to the next few rounds that we have left."
- Garrett Marchbanks