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Monster Energy® Kawasaki Earns Podium and Multiple Top 5 Finishes at RedBud
Monster Energy® Kawasaki displayed consistent speed and determination Saturday at the iconic RedBud National as the series celebrated America’s 250th birthday. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green™ rider Kade Johnson kicked off the weekend with a podium finish in the opening round of the SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine, earning third overall (3-4). Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Garrett Marchbanks continued his impressive run with his third Top 5 overall finish of the season, placing fifth overall (5-6). Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen secured fifth overall (4-5) after two hard-fought moto battles. Drew Adams and Nick Romano overcame adversity throughout the day for 13th (12-16) and 14th overall (7-25), respectively. Seth Hammaker and Enzo Temmerman were not present for RedBud, as Hammaker sustained a shoulder injury from his crash at High Point that will leave him sidelined for the remainder of the year, and Temmerman continues to recover from his crash at High Point.
Severe thunderstorms abruptly rolled in Friday afternoon and continued overnight, causing the track to take on a large amount of water, creating very muddy conditions. As the track developed throughout qualifying, Kitchen and Adams capitalized on the improving conditions to significantly lower their lap times in the second session. Kitchen qualified third overall, Adams was sixth, and Romano battled the challenging track conditions to take 18th overall.
In 250 Moto 1, Romano and Kitchen launched out of the gate on their KX™250 machines, rounding the first turn fourth and sixth, respectively, while Adams sat slightly further back in 16th. Romano quickly moved into third on the opening lap as Kitchen steadily worked through the field behind him. Both riders continued to battle inside the Top 5 until Romano slipped back to seventh as the moto unfolded. Meanwhile, Adams mounted an impressive charge on the opening lap from 16th to 11th and continued to battle his way through the field. The No. 35 Kawasaki momentarily ran in 10th until slipping back to 12th to finish the moto. Kitchen held on to fourth place while Romano crossed the line in seventh.
In 250 Moto 2, Romano once again pulled a strong start in seventh, with Kitchen in 13th and Adams in 16th. In the second turn, Adams got caught up with another rider and ended up going down, dropping him back to 28th. Kitchen wasted little time moving forward, climbing to fourth by Lap 5 before making the pass for third. Shortly after, however, he crashed in the rollers and went off the track into the mud, falling back to sixth place. Kitchen attempted to push back to the front but, feeling the effects of his crash, settled for fifth in the moto and fifth overall on the day. Romano fought through the challenging conditions before severe cramping set in late in the moto, limiting his charge and resulting in a 25th-place finish for 14th overall. Adams rebounded from the opening-lap incident with an impressive ride through the pack, passing 12 riders to finish 16th and claim 13th overall.
Redbud hosted the first round of the SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine of the Pro Motocross season, with all racing scheduled for Friday ahead of the professional program. In qualifying, Johnson posted two consistent sessions to place himself inside the Top 10 for seventh overall.
In Moto 1, Johnson quickly put himself into podium contention as he rounded the first turn in third. After being slightly shuffled back to fourth through the chaos of the first lap, Johnson battled back to third by the halfway mark and maintained his position through the checkered flag. Severe thunderstorms moved through Buchanan, Michigan before Moto 2, forcing organizers to postpone the race until Saturday and shorten it from 25 minutes plus two laps to 15 minutes plus one lap. In Moto 2, Johnson rocketed out of the gate, putting himself in a similar strong starting position as the first moto. The No. 177 Kawasaki charged his way from fourth to third through the moto, holding strong until he narrowly lost the position on the final lap after contact with another rider knocked him off the track. His consistent 3-4 moto score earned him an impressive third overall on the difficult course. Johnson will face his next Scouting Moto Combine at the final round of the season at Ironman Raceway.
In 450 qualifying, Marchbanks posted consistently fast laps through the deep track to qualify sixth overall and set him up for a good gate pick on the tricky right-hand first turn.
In 450 Moto 1, Marchbanks navigated the crowded first turn as he made light contact with other riders, emerging just outside the Top 10. He steadily worked his way through the field, making passes throughout the moto to climb into fifth. Despite continuing to push in the closing laps, the gap to fourth proved too much to overcome, and he crossed the line in fifth place.
In 450 Moto 2, another solid start placed Marchbanks 12th through the first turn. The No. 36 Kawasaki KX™450SR was on the gas in the opening laps, making quick work of the field as he moved into sixth by Lap 2. He continued to dig, making it up to fifth until a battle with the points leader dropped him back to sixth to finish the moto. His 5-6 moto scores secured fifth overall, marking his third Top 5 overall finish of the season.
“It was a solid day today. I was Top 6 in qualifying, which was solid. That’s my second-best qualifying result I’ve had this year. I got off to a solid start in Moto 1. I got shuffled back a little bit and had some chaos happen, but I made some really good passes in the first four laps and got into fifth. I just put my head down and rode a good race. I couldn't quite catch RJ [Hampshire] at that point, so I just kind of rode my own race and got fifth in Moto 1. Moto 2, I had a similar issue where I couldn't quite get into the front pack in the first two turns, so I have to work on being a bit better through there. I thought my race craft was a little better today on the opening laps. I got into fifth again pretty quick and just rode my own race. I tried to push for RJ, but he was riding really well today. With about four laps to go, sadly Jett [Lawrence] got around me. I stayed with him for a little bit, but didn't quite have the speed towards the end. A 5-6 score on the day is still solid for fifth overall. We’ll keep the momentum going into next weekend.”
- Garrett Marchbanks
“The day was kind of tough. I crashed a couple times in the first qualifying session, and then the second session was a little better, but both the motos were OK for me. The first moto wasn’t great. We went back on some bike settings after the first moto. The second moto I felt more comfortable, and I felt a lot more like myself. The race was going better until I ended up going over the bars, and that one kind of hurt a bit. It wasn't a horrible day, but it wasn't my best, so we’ll get ready for Southwick.”
- Levi Kitchen
"It's frustrating because I know we're capable of more. We had good speed all day, but little mistakes and getting caught up at the start of Moto 2 made for a tough afternoon. We'll learn from it, keep working, and be ready to bounce back at Southwick."
- Drew Adams
“Moto 1, I got off to a good start, ran in the Top 5 for a while, and ended up P7. So I was OK with that result. There were a couple of things I needed to be better at, and then in Moto 2, I had around a P5 start and then just started cramping pretty badly, which caused me to fade. We’re going to go back and dial in my program this week to keep that from happening again and get ready for Southwick.”
- Nick Romano
