Image: Octopi Media.

A crash in the closing laps of the Tampa 450SX main event denied Adam Cianciarulo of a third podium in his rookie season, remounting to eventually finish in eighth position.

Cianciarulo led the opening 10 laps in his home race on the Monster Energy Supercross calendar before Kawasaki teammate Eli Tomac took over at the front.

It was looking likely to be a Monster Energy Kawasaki 1-2 finish until Cianciarulo’s mistake, taking time to get back on track and losing a number of positions in the process. He crossed the line in ninth, but benefited from a penalty applied to Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) post-race.

“Man, I wanted that 1-2 Kawasaki finish so bad,” he reflected, becoming increasingly motivated to eliminate errors. “I felt great all day long and obviously with it being somewhat of a hometown race for me I wanted to put on a show for my friends and family.

“Finishing in eighth is tough pill to swallow because we had that podium finish in our hands. My team and I have already made a plan on how to clean up these errors and will be ready to get our sprint on next week in Dallas for the next Triple Crown event.”

Cianciarulo has had a remarkable season to date aboard the factory KX450, taking second at Anaheim 1 and San Diego. A string of top 10 results currently have him sitting fifth in the standings after seven rounds.