MONSTER ENERGY® KAWASAKI ELI TOMAC OTTIENE LA TOP 5 A ORLANDO
Il settimo round del Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, un campionato mondiale FIM ha visto un altro emozionante weekend di gare durante la sua prima tappa sabato a Orlando, in Florida. Il design di un tracciato replica ha reso omaggio all’ultima volta in cui il Supercross ha corso a Orlando nel 2007 questa volta salutando i migliori piloti di supercross del mondo con il pilota Monster Energy Kawasaki Eli Tomac che ha superato una metà del gruppo dall’inizio alla fine al quinto, mentre il compagno di squadra Adam Cianciarulo ha concluso al 10 ° posto. Nella classe 250SX, il pilota Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki Jo Shimoda ha ottenuto un altro quarto posto.
Nonostante gli acquazzoni mattutini abbiano causato problemi a vari piloti durante le prove libere, il residente della Florida Cianciarulo ha iniziato la giornata con una nota positiva conquistando la pole position durante le sessioni di qualifica finali della giornata, con la KX ™ 450 numero 1 di Tomac che si qualificava al quarto posto.
All’inizio della prima gara delle heat 450SX, il campione in carica ha utilizzato una partenza al secondo posto per seguire da vicino il leader e studiare le sue linee veloci durante la maggior parte della gara. Tomac ha alzato il ritmo a un minuto dalla fine e ha completato un passaggio per il comando prima di raggiungere la sua prima vittoria in una gara di quali del 2021. Quando il cancello è calato per la seconda gara della heat 450SX, il numero 9 ha lanciato la sua macchina KX450 al quarto posto prima di passare velocemente al secondo posto durante il primo giro. Da lì, Cianciarulo avrebbe percorso giri costanti per finire al terzo posto.
Non appena il cancello è caduto per il 450SX Main Event, è stato Cianciarulo ad avere la migliore partenza dei due piloti Monster Energy Kawasaki, doppiando la prima curva con i leader. Un determinato Cianciarulo ha deciso di andare avanti prima che un corridore abbattuto costringesse il numero 9 a rallentare, riportando Cianciarulo al 10 ° posto. Dopo aver tagliato il traguardo in 11 ° posizione nel primo giro, Tomac è rapidamente avanzato all’interno della top-10 e ha approfittato dei piloti che rallentavano per fare il passaggio di Cianciarulo e salire al settimo al giro 5. Nonostante il traffico pesante e la registrazione dei tempi sul giro coerentemente con i leader, Tomac non è riuscito a chiudere il gap al quarto posto e ha concluso la gara al quinto posto. Dopo aver evitato per un pelo una grande caduta durante i primi giri, Cianciarulo ha lavorato per trovare il suo flusso per il resto dell’evento principale e ha recuperato per finire al 10 ° posto.
“L’ho detto la scorsa settimana, le partenze sono così importanti quest’anno. Non mi batterò troppo perché la mia velocità c’è e, quando posso partire, il mio KX450 ha la potenza di tenermi davanti, ma ora sta a me fare le giuste regolazioni al cancello . Tornerò a casa questa settimana per lavorare di più sulle mie partenze e prepararmi meglio per la nostra prossima gara a Orlando “. – Eli Tomac
“La mia giornata è iniziata bene. Sono stato il più veloce in qualifica a bordo della mia KX450 e mi sentivo pronto per una buona notte. Ho preso lo slancio dalle qualifiche alla mia gara di qualifica e sono arrivato con un solido terzo posto, ma al momento dell’evento principale mi sentivo piatto. So di avere di più in me, ma ci restano ancora molte gare. Ho una grande squadra che mi sostiene e lo capiremo; E ‘solo questione di tempo.” – Adam Cianciarulo
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MONSTER ENERGY® KAWASAKI RIDER ELI TOMAC SCORES TOP-5 FINISH IN ORLANDO
Round 7 of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship saw another thrilling weekend of racing during its first stop in Orlando, Florida on Saturday. A replica track design paid homage to the last time Supercross raced in Orlando back in 2007 this time greeting the world’s best supercross racers with Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac overcoming a mid-pack start to finish in fifth, while teammate Adam Cianciarulo finished in 10th place. In the 250SX class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Jo Shimoda earned another fourth place finish.
Despite morning showers causing problems for various riders during practice, Florida resident Cianciarulo started the day on a high note by taking pole position during the final qualifying sessions of the day with the No. 1 KX™450 of Tomac qualifying in fourth.
At the start of the first 450SX heat race, the defending champion utilized a second place start to follow close behind the leader and study his fast lines during the majority of the race. Tomac turned up the pace with one minute left and completed a pass for the lead before cruising to his first heat race win of 2021. As the gate dropped for the second 450SX heat race, the No. 9 launched his KX450 machine to a fourth place start before quickly moving into second place during the opening lap. From there, Cianciarulo would ride consistent laps to eventually finish in third.
As soon as the gate dropped for the 450SX Main Event, it was Cianciarulo who got the better start of the two Monster Energy Kawasaki riders, rounding the first turn with the leaders. A determined Cianciarulo set his sights on moving forward before a downed rider forced the No. 9 to slow up, dropping Cianciarulo back to 10th. After crossing the line in 11th place on the opening lap, Tomac quickly advanced inside the top-10 and took advantage of riders slowing up to make the pass by Cianciarulo and move up to seventh by Lap 5. Despite heavy lapped traffic and recording lap times consistent with the leaders, Tomac could not close the gap to fourth and finished the race in fifth place. After narrowly avoiding a big crash during the opening laps, Cianciarulo worked to find his flow the remainder of the main event and recovered to finish in 10th place.
“I said this last week but starts are so important this year. I’m not going to beat myself up too much because my speed is there and, when I can get a start, my KX450 has the power to keep me up front, but it’s up to me now to make the right adjustments at the gate. I’ll be traveling back home this week to put in some extra work on my starts and better prepare myself for our next race in Orlando.” – Eli Tomac
“My day started well. I was fastest in qualifying aboard my KX450 and was feeling ready for a good night. I took the momentum from qualifying into my heat race and came away with a solid third place finish but come main event time I was feeling flat. I know I have more in me, but we have a lot of racing left. I have a great team supporting me and we’re going to figure this out; it’s only a matter of time.” – Adam Cianciarulo
In the 250SX class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Shimoda proved he can remain consistent despite challenging track conditions, clocking the fourth-fastest time in overall qualifying aboard his KX™250.
Once the gate dropped for the first 250SX heat race, Shimoda found himself in second place behind the current 250SX Eastern Regional points leader. Shimoda rode to a second place finish and was the first 250SX rider to triple out of the final rhythm section before the finish line jump.
As the field lined up for the 250SX Main Event, the stage was set for Shimoda to have another solid night. When the gate dropped, the No. 30 machine launched out to a sixth place start before moving into fifth during the opening laps. As the main event progressed, the rider from Japan engaged in a three-way battle for fourth position. Determined to make the pass, Shimoda uncorked an impressive triple at the end of the rhythm section before Turn 3 to move into fourth. From there, Shimoda charged towards third, but ran out of time finishing the race in fourth.
Saturday’s fourth place result is Shimoda’s seventh top-5 finish this season and keeps the No. 30 KX250 rider third in points for the 250SX Eastern Regional Championship. Shimoda passes the torch to his 250SX teammates of Cameron McAdoo, Jordon Smith, and Seth Hammaker who will all look to make their 2021 season debut next weekend in Florida as the series shifts to the 250SX Western Regional Championship.
“We had another solid day today as a team. Track conditions were rough at the start, but I had no issues finding traction and qualified in fourth aboard my KX250. I finished my heat race in second, which I’m happy about. The main event didn’t go as planned as I started in sixth, and by the time I made the pass for fourth, the gap to third was too much for me to overcome. We will take the next few weeks to continue improving on the little things that will help put us at the top step of the podium when we return to racing in late April. I want to wish all of my Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammates the best of luck next weekend. I will be cheering them on from home!” – Jo Shimoda
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