Monster Energy Kawasaki press release:

Image: Supplied.

After a weekend off from the AMA Pro Motocross series, the Monster Energy® Kawasaki riders were ready to spring back into action for Round 6 at Spring Creek Motocross Park in Millville, Minnesota.

he 450 class rookie, Adam Cianciarulo, picked up right where he left off with a nearly perfect weekend after grabbing both holeshots and leading every lap to the overall victory with 1-1 moto scores, while teammate Eli Tomac pieced together two consistent motos for a respectable top-5 overall finish (6-5). In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Mitchell Harrison finished ninth overall (11-9), while Cameron McAdoo earned 14th overall (6-38).

The Land of 10,000 Lakes featured much different weather than what the typical motocross series is accustomed to as the early morning qualifying sessions began at a brisk 50 degrees and called for more layers. The Kawasaki duo didn’t let that stop them from laying down hot laps as Cianciarulo qualified second (2:02.616) and Tomac third (2:03.394).

Cianciarulo repeated his pattern from RedBud and soared out of the gate aboard his KX™450 in Moto 1. Cianciarulo felt the pressure of his competition lurking behind him but was strong and confident, leading every lap to take the checkers. Tomac found himself mid-pack at the first turn but made quick work on a track that’s notoriously difficult to make passes on and made his way up to 10th by Lap 2. The three-time defending champion didn’t stop there as he continued to charge and stay consistent, where he was able to capitalize on other riders’ mistakes and move into sixth to cross the finish line.

As the gate dropped on Moto 2, it was the No. 9 of Cianciarulo who launched out first to grab his fifth holeshot of the season. Once again, Cianciarulo led wire to wire to capture his first 450 class double moto win, exactly where Tomac grabbed his first 1-1 450 class win his rookie year six years prior. Similar to the first moto though, Tomac found himself in 10th at the first turn but was able to push forward before time ran out and finish fifth. The 450 class veteran pieced together two motos at a persistent pace for fifth overall (6-5).

With their finishes today, Cianciarulo moves into second in the championship point standings, just 15 points down from the series leader, and Tomac remains in fourth.

“For the first time, I’m almost at a loss of words! Going 1-1 was huge for me. It’s a great accomplishment that I’m really proud of and something I wasn’t even able to do last year in the 250 class when I won the championship. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and even though I had a rough start to the season, all the hard work is paying off. My Monster Energy Kawasaki team sets me up in a position to win every week, so it feels good to bring home a win for them.” – Adam Cianciarulo

“A fifth overall should feel good, but it’s definitely not where we want to be and not where we need to be if we want to be in this title fight. I felt good today but didn’t get the starts I needed to run up front and on this track, you really need to be out front early. The team and I will just keep grinding and work to improve on this for the remaining rounds. Overall, it was a consistent weekend of riding and we’ll look forward to Florida next weekend.” – Eli Tomac

In the 250 class, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki duo of McAdoo and Harrison started the day off a bit slower as they took their time to learn the track and qualified 12th and 16th, respectively.

Picking up the pace for Moto 1, McAdoo rocketed out of the gate with the leaders where he ran in sixth and remained there for the remainder of the race. Just behind McAdoo, Harrison also got out of the gate quickly and moved into seventh for the first few laps of the moto before ultimately finishing just outside of the top-10 in 11th.

In similar fashion, McAdoo once again got out to a good start in sixth but suffered a hard crash only two laps into Moto 2 and was unable to finish, warranting him 6-38 scores for 14th overall. Meanwhile, Harrison was running in 10th out of the gate before moving into ninth where he would finish for ninth overall (11-9).

“To be honest, it wasn’t the best day for me overall. I just struggled to feel comfortable and like myself on the bike. The positive is that we know what we need to fix heading into WW Ranch next weekend. We’ve only got a couple more rounds left to go, so I am going to continue to make the most of this incredible opportunity to ride the best 250 motorcycle in the paddock and aim to run up front next weekend where I belong.” – Mitchell Harrison

“Millville was an up and down day for me. I had a pretty good start in the first moto and finished sixth. In the second moto, I felt really good for the first few laps. I was riding around fifth or sixth and was pushing towards the front, but I ended up crashing pretty hard and getting a handlebar to my stomach, which made me sick and forced me to pull in and unable to finish the moto. It definitely wasn’t the day we wanted but it was nice to get good starts. We’ll take that to Florida next week and give it our all.” – Cameron McAdoo