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MONSTER ENERGY® KAWASAKI RIDERS SCORE A WIN, PODIUM AND MULTIPLE TOP 5 FINISHES AT IRONMAN
Monster Energy® Kawasaki riders lined the Top 5 at Round 9 of the Pro Motocross Championship at Ironman Raceway just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana with Monster Energy® Kawasaki Team Green™ rider Enzo Temmerman kicking off the weekend with a win in the SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine on Friday. On Saturday, Monster Energy® Kawasaki’s Jorge Prado hit his stride with a strong performance all day from qualifying to motos, claiming fifth overall (5-6). Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Garrett Marchbanks battled through the field and the humid Indiana heat to secure an impressive fourth overall (4-6). Teammate Drew Adams snagged a new career-best finish with fifth overall (8-5). Levi Kitchen bounced back in Moto 2 and captured eighth overall (14-4), while Seth Hammaker rounded out the Top 10 for 10th overall (12-9). In WMX, Team Green’s Kyleigh Stallings took home a podium in third overall.
Ironman hosted the final round of the SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine and Round 4 of the Women's Motocross Championship. In the SMX Next Class, Team Green™ rider Enzo Temmerman's winning momentum continued from Loretta Lynn’s as he went 2-2 for first overall. Teammate Vincent Wey put in a strong effort, locking in 10th overall on the day (13-9). In the WMX Class, Kyleigh Stallings stayed consistent and let the race come to her, securing a podium finish with third overall (4-3).
In the 250 Class, the Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders brought the heat in qualifying. Throughout both qualifying sessions, the riders’ lap times were stacked tightly together. In the second session, Hammaker put down a blazing fast lap to claim fastest qualifier. His time was nearly half a second faster than his teammate Marchbanks, who laid down a fast lap with a minute left in the session to move himself into second overall. Adams and Kitchen also showcased their raw speed, taking fourth and sixth overall, respectively. In the 450 Class, Prado posted a respectable time in the first session, and becoming more familiar with the track he clocked in a new fast lap time in the second session for fourth overall in qualifying.
In 250 Moto 1, Kitchen and Hammaker pulled strong starts, grabbing eighth and 12th out of the gate, respectively. Kitchen quickly moved himself into the Top 5 on the opening lap, while Hammaker went down on the first lap, dropping him back to 25th. Adams and Marchbanks got less-than-ideal starts as they were pushed back to mid-pack on the start straight. Kitchen worked his way to fourth place and was running strong until a crash in Turn 5 dropped him back to 10th. Feeling the effects of the crash and coming into Ironman under the weather, Kitchen slipped back to 14th to finish the moto. Meanwhile, Marchbanks and Adams were charging hard to the front of the field. Marchbanks powered from 22nd to fourth to finish the moto. Adams secured himself the hard charger title for Moto 1, passing 22 riders and recorded the fastest time through Sector 5, the rollers before the finish line. Adams would ride from 30th to eighth to finish the moto. Hammaker put in his best effort after going down and charged up to ninth place to finish the moto.
In 450 Moto 1, Prado displayed his well-known starting ability by launching out of the gate and into fourth place through the first turn. After being shuffled back slightly on the opening lap, Prado locked in and was determined to move forward. He engaged in tight battles through most of the moto and he would hold his position to come out sixth in the moto.
In 250 Moto 2, the Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders collectively pulled much better starts. Early in the moto, all four riders positioned themselves in a row, with Hammaker leading the way, followed by Marchbanks, Kitchen and Adams in sixth through ninth place, respectively. True to form, Marchbanks charged from behind and passed his teammate to take over fourth place. He held the position all moto until the effects of the humid heat started to set in, holding onto sixth to cross the finish line. Kitchen would rebound from his first moto with a much stronger performance, clicking off consistent laps to move himself from eighth to fourth to finish the moto. Adams kept his competition close as he moved up from ninth to sixth and on the second-to-last lap made the pass on his teammate Marchbanks to capture fifth in the moto. Hammaker started the race running up front with his teammates, holding strong in the opening laps, but as the race wore on, he slipped back to 12th to cross the finish line.
In 450 Moto 2, Prado nearly claimed the holeshot, leading the field through the first turn in second place. Throughout the first lap, he began slipping back, ultimately landing in fourth. He held off pressure from the field and found himself in tight side-by-side battles and dealt with lapped traffic throughout the moto. Prado defied the challenges from the field and finished the moto in sixth to take fifth overall, tying his career best finish at Southwick.
In the final SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine, the day started with Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green™ riders Temmerman and Wey securing fourth and 20th overall in qualifying, respectively. In Moto 1, both Team Green riders launched out of the gate aboard their KX™250s to capture Top 5 starts. Temmerman quickly charged from fourth to second place. With 10 minutes left in the moto, Temmerman was pressuring for the lead, swapping positions throughout the final laps. The soft style track led to poor visibility and left Temmerman settling for a strong second place in the first moto. Wey would hold fifth place through the first lap, but pressure from the field behind him would drop him back to 13th to finish the moto. In Moto 2, Temmerman and Wey pulled strong starts again in fourth and ninth, respectively. Temmerman quickly battled forward to take the lead. He opened up a large gap between him and the field, but a couple of mistakes in the turn after the start straight allowed the gap to close back down. Temmerman fought to hold onto first but slipped to second, aware that he would still keep the overall win he settled into second place to cross the finish line. Wey held a more consistent pace in Moto 2 to finish ninth and take 10th overall on the day.
The WMX Class held a two-day race format, with Moto 1 being held on Friday and Moto 2 being held between the Pro races on Saturday. As the gate dropped for the first moto, Stallings launched out of the gate and nearly grabbed the holeshot. She maintained a consistent pace throughout the moto to claim fourth. In Moto 2, she rocketed out of the gate aboard her KX™250 and claimed a commanding holeshot. Before Lap 1 was finished, a red flag would put the field back in the starting gate for a full restart. Due to the red flag, the moto was shortened to five minutes plus one lap to stay on schedule. The gate dropped for the restart, and once again, Stallings would gap the field to grab the holeshot. Stallings would slip back to fourth, but on the final lap, the rider in front of her would go down, giving her third place in the moto and putting her on the podium in third overall.