Racing News

Monster Energy® Kawasaki Riders Take on 2021 AMA Pro Motocross Season Opener at Fox Raceway

The opening round of the 2021 AMA Pro Motocross Championship kicked off Saturday at Fox Raceway in Pala, California as Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider and three-time defending 450 class champion, Eli Tomac, finished ninth overall on the day after earning 9-8 moto scores, while teammate Adam Cianciarulo earned 11th overall in his 450 class sophomore year. In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki had a stacked four-rider team featuring Austin Forkner, Jo Shimoda, Seth Hammaker, and Cameron McAdoo who finished the day in eighth, 10th, 16th and 20th overall, respectively.

Round 1 featured clear skies, mild temperatures and sunshine along with the energy of fans lined up alongside the fences, making it the ideal setting for the opening round of the 12-round series. Cianciarulo didn’t disappoint as he set the tone early in the day after setting the fastest qualifying time with a 2:18.793, while Tomac paced himself for the motos and qualified 11th.

The first 450 class moto saw Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Cianciarulo shoot off the line to a third-place start, making quick work of his opponents to take the lead on the first lap. After building almost an eight second advantage over the 40-rider field, Cianciarulo lost control of his motorcycle causing him to tumble down of one the steep downhill sections and had to quickly regroup, remounting in third place. Despite his best efforts, Cianciarulo would ultimately cross the line in seventh place. Teammate Tomac maintained his speed and smooth riding for the duration of the moto. He started the race in 14th position and was able to battle through the field and gain five positions by the end of the moto finishing in ninth place.

Moto 2 got off to a similar start, with both Cianciarulo and Tomac charging hard as they rounded the first few turns. Cianciarulo completed Lap 1 in fourth place and settled into a rhythm that would carry him to a 12th-place finish and 11th place overall on the day (7-12). Tomac started his moto outside the top-10 but quickly found his pace, running faster lap times as time went on and reeled in his rivals one-by-one. In Tomac fashion, a late-moto charge gave him the edge he needed to break inside the top-10, working his KX™450 up to eighth place by the time he crossed the checkered flag for a ninth-place overall result (9-8).

“Overall, it was an alright day. It wasn’t my best result, but we managed to put together two consistent motos and deal with the difficult track. I’m looking forward to Thunder Valley next week, especially since it’s my home track. We’ll take the week to get everything dialed and plan to be back on the top step where we belong.”

– Eli Tomac

“Even though the result wasn’t what we hoped for today, there were a lot of things we can build on for the season. I’m staying positive and I’m glad we can shake off those first-round jitters. We can now focus on getting back up on that podium where we belong. We know what we need to work on, and I can’t wait to get back out there next week.”

– Adam Cianciarulo

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki crew of Forkner, Hammaker, Shimoda, and McAdoo kicked off the first round with solid performances as they qualified second, sixth, seventh, and 18th, respectively.

The 250 class Moto 1 saw Hammaker launch his KX™250 into fourth by the end of the first lap, where he stayed for the first half of the race until finishing 11th. Forkner and Shimoda, after having issues early on and running as far back as 16th and 19th on the second lap, had to race the challenging course and several contenders to finish seventh and 14th. Unfortunately, McAdoo found himself cut off shortly after the gate dropped, but unwilling to give up, he managed to pass 18 other riders before crossing the finish line in 15th.

McAdoo led the charge for the team in Moto 2 as he was running in 10th for multiple laps before a crash forced him to end the race early, resulting in a 37th-place finish for 20th overall (15-37). Both Hammaker and Shimoda had comparable speeds throughout the race until Hammaker began to fall back and finished 23rd for 16th overall (11-23), while Shimoda remained consistent to earn a top-10 overall finish with 14-11 scores. The No. 38 of Forkner attacked the rugged track to put together another solid and consistent moto, pushing forward from a 12th-place start to finish eighth, edging out his teammates for the highest overall finish on the day with an eighth-place overall score (7-8).

“Today didn’t go exactly as planned, but we got a great qualifying position and were feeling good going into the motos. My KX250 felt great and honestly, it just felt good to be back out here racing again. I know we’re capable of better results, but we were able to shake off those first-round jitters and can now focus on rebounding so we can get back up there where we belong.”

– Austin Forkner

“I rode well today and felt good about this first outdoor race, but we couldn’t quite make it stick for two motos. Thankfully the season is long, and this was the first of 12, so you’ll see us up on the podium before you know it. I can’t thank the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team enough for having my bike dialed and all their hard work these past few weeks leading up to today’s race.”

– Jo Shimoda

“Today was tough. I felt strong all day and confident heading into both motos, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me today. We’ll take the week to regroup and will be ready for the next one at Thunder Valley.”

– Seth Hammaker

“I’m disappointed with how things went today. I was really looking forward to starting the season strong and felt prepared after the extra few weeks following supercross, so this was a hard pill to swallow. I hurt my leg and it started giving me problems early into Moto 2, so I will need to get it checked out before we head to Colorado.”

– Cameron McAdoo