Adam Cianciarulo led a Kawasaki sweep of the Eastern Regional 250SX Monster Energy AMA Supercross podium in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, claiming a spectacular victory tonight in his first-ever AMA Supercross race.
The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was impressive from the start, turning the second-fastest time in qualifying behind teammate and 250-class veteran Martin Davalos. In his heat race, Cianciarulo took surprising win over another teammate, Blake Baggett, an indication of what was to come.
In the main event, Cianciarulo grabbed the holeshot to start the race, leading a stacked field of riders to start the 15-lap race before Davalos took the lead near the end of the lap. Davalos would lead the first three laps before making a mistake and going down on lap four, handing the lead to Cianciarulo.
Baggett pushed Cianciarulo for the remainder of the race, and took the lead at one point on lap seven, however, Cianciarulo held tough and retook the lead in the next turn.
At the finish, Cianciarulo was just over five seconds ahead of Baggett, with Davalos rebounding from his crash to finish third.
With the win, Cianciarulo became the first rider since Trey Canard in 2008 to win in his first career Monster Energy Supercross start.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m so excited,” said Cianciarulo, who became the 93rd different 250SX Class winner in Monster Energy Supercross history. “This is for everyone who has stuck behind me through all the good times and bad. It’s taken a lot of good days and a lot of bad days to get to this point. I cannot believe it, all these fans cheering for me and giving me the support. I just can’t believe it. We did it.”
Vince Friese rode a privateer Honda to fourth place, taking advantage of a good start and crashes by Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Anthony Rodriguez and TiLUBE/Storm Lake Honda’s Gavin Faith.
In the meantime, GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle came from 16th on the opening, methodically working his way up to fifth by the end of the race. Bogle was a surprise entry in the race after spending the last few months recovering from a back injury.
Round two of the 250SX East Regional Series takes place next weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 22.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
1. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw)
2. Blake Baggett (Kaw)
3. Martin Davalos (Kaw)
4. Vince Friese (Hon)
5. Justin Bogle (Hon)
6. Cole Thompson (KTM)
7. Blake Wharton (Hon)
8. Kyle Cunningham (Hon)
9. Alex Martin (Yam)
10. Mitchell Oldenburg (Hon)
