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Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo Returns to the Podium
After severe storms plagued the San Francisco Bay Area throughout January, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship returned to RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California on Saturday for the rescheduled Oakland SX. Accordingly, the elite class of supercross teams traversed the country from Tampa, Florida to the West Coast where Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Cameron McAdoo returned to the 250SX podium with a third-place finish. In the 450SX Class, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson secured a hard-fought fifth-place result while teammate Adam Cianciarulo faced adversity on his way to finishing in 15th position.
While the dirt in Oakland had thoroughly dried since the recent flooding, its notoriously soft composition promised to provide rapidly deteriorating race conditions. When riders took to the course for the opening practice sessions, they were met with a challenging track design that many heralded as the most technical thus far in the season. Never one to shy from a challenge, McAdoo was up to pace navigating the extended rhythm lanes and blasting through the two long whoop sections. McAdoo showed no signs of his crash at Anaheim 2 as the No.48 KX™250 rider ran near the top of the leaderboard. When 250SX qualification concluded, McAdoo’s pace was quick enough to secure the third fastest lap time (1:07.372).
McAdoo rocketed his KX™250 out of the gate to start 250SX Heat 2 in second position. With impressive speed through the whoops, McAdoo took command on the lead on the opening lap. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider went on to thrill the fans as he and the current 250SX Class championship points leader locked into a two-rider battle for the win. On Lap 4, McAdoo was overtaken through the same whoop section where he had previously gained the lead and settled into second place for the remainder of the race.
At the start of the 250SX Main Event, McAdoo repeated his strong start from the heat race as he snuck around the inside of Turn 1 to emerge in the top three. While the lead was hotly contested for the opening laps, McAdoo applied pressure to the rider ahead while searching for the optimal lines around the quickly changing track. On Lap 3, McAdoo settled into third position and began to find a steady rhythm to his race. As one of the only riders in the field to continue blitzing across both whoop sections, McAdoo displayed his fortitude against the demanding conditions. McAdoo closed the distance to the rider in second until a brief exchange over third position caused him to lose touch with the rider ahead. Through the final stages of the race, the front three remained in lock step and McAdoo finished out his race with an impressive third place result.
“To come away from this weekend with a podium finish is definitely a big turnaround from the injuries I sustained at Anaheim 2 and I’m proud of the whole support team I have that helped make that possible. That said, I still want to fight for this championship and that means I need to start finishing on the top step. There are a few weeks now for me to get back to 100 percent and I’ll be ready to challenge for the win in Seattle.”
- Cameron McAdoo
By the time the 450SX Class took to the track, the ruts and edges already began shaping up through the sharp rhythm lane transitions. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Anderson and Cianciarulo seized their chance to capitalize on the demanding situation by mastering the track and rivaling at the top of the qualification leaderboard. When timed qualifying concluded, Anderson logged the second fastest lap (1:06.210) while Cianciarulo had the fourth fastest lap (1:07.284).
When the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo rounded the first turn in 450SX Heat 2, Anderson was narrowly edged out for the holeshot by Ken Roczen before the No.21 KX450SR rider began his pursuit of the lead. Outpacing Roczen in the early laps, Anderson looked for a way into the lead while his teammate Cianciarulo found his rhythm in fourth place. Both Monster Energy Kawasaki riders maintained their positions while initiating several crowd-jeering attempts to overtake the competition. When the checkered flag flew, Anderson finished in second place and Cianciarulo finished fourth.
In the 450SX Main Event, Anderson and Cianciarulo charged through the opening rhythm lanes inside of the top-10. Anderson passed into fourth position on the opening lap and homed in on his pursuit of the podium. Anderson’s exceptional whoop speed and aptitude for flowing through the harsh conditions postured him as a favorite to rival for the top spots. Meanwhile, Cianciarulo proved his pace by working his way forward from ninth to seventh in the opening laps. On Lap 4, contact with another rider resulted in a crash for Cianciarulo and he was shuffled back to 14th position. Anderson’s chase after the podium persisted until he fell in tight left-hand corner on Lap 9. Anderson was able to find his pace again as he maneuvered his way forward from seventh position. When the final checkered flag flew, Anderson finished in fifth place and Cianciarulo followed in 15th position.
“We were in the battle for the podium again tonight, but a small tip-over forced me back a few positions. I think we were in a good place to have a strong result, but I’m happy with the recovery after the mistake. I need to clean up those little errors if I’m going to fight with the guys at the front end of the pack. Overall, we are definitely close and just need to link it all together here soon.”
- Jason Anderson
“The track was technical and demanding so it was great to have my best qualifying pace thus far in the season with the fourth fastest lap. I feel I carried that pace into the heat race and even into the early stages of the main. While the track was tough for everyone, my KX™450SR was working well and we were in a good spot until that crash set me back in the pack. We’ll focus on the lessons to be learned and move forward to next weekend.”
- Adam Cianciarulo
