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MONSTER ENERGY® KAWASAKI RIDERS PODIUM AT DAYTONA
Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Seth Hammaker charged hard with a late race pass to secure third place at Round 8 of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross Championship at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cameron McAdoo was unable to start the 250SX Main Event after reaggravating his knee injury, while his teammate Levi Kitchen had to withdraw from the Main Event after an early crash. Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson grabbed the holeshot and led part of the Main Event, but would finish in eighth place, while Monster Energy® Kawasaki Team Green™ riders had another standout night at the second SMX Next race of the season, with Landen Gordon taking home first place and Enzo Temmerman finishing right behind in second place.
In the 250SX Class, Kitchen started the day strong with second overall in qualifying while Hammaker showed impressive speed all day, qualifying third overall and McAdoo claiming 11th. In Heat 1, Kitchen came out of the gate mid-pack and made quick work of the field moving into third, where he would ultimately finish. In Heat 2, the No. 56 of Hammaker rocketed out of the gate in second place aboard his KX™250, maintaining his speed and finishing in second. McAdoo worked his way through riders to fifth place until a late race tip-over would drop him back to seventh where he would finish the race. In the Main Event, Hammaker shot to the front out of the gate into the right-hand first turn, quickly maneuvering himself into second. Shortly after, he went off course in the whoops section and lost two spots. The No. 56 put his head down and went to work, making his charge back to the front of the pack. Kitchen started the race showing great speed and potential for a top spot as he was moving forward through the field until a crash in the rhythm section forced the end of his Main Event, triggering the red flag about a third of the way through the race and putting the field into a staggered restart. Hammaker would restart in fourth place and stay close to his competitors to make a strategic pass on the second to last lap, putting himself back on the podium at the iconic venue.
Kitchen would be transported to the hospital after his crash for further evaluation of his injuries, while teammate McAdoo did not start the Main Event due to lingering issues from his torn ACL.
In the 450SX Class, Anderson started off the day qualifying third overall. In the Heat Race, he pushed himself to the front from a far-inside gate pick, grabbing second place after the first turn. He battled with the top three all race, ultimately finishing in third place. In the Main Event, the No. 21 jumped ahead of the field and grabbed the holeshot aboard his KX™450SR, leading the race for multiple laps. Mid-way through he began to tighten up on the high-speed technical track and would drop back to eighth place where he would ultimately finish the race, keeping himself fourth in the series points standings.
Daytona also hosted the second SMX Next race of the season. After a dominant first round for Monster Energy® Kawasaki Team Green™ riders, Gordon and Temmerman, both riders came in with similar expectations for Daytona and qualified second and fifth, respectively. When the gate dropped in the Main Event, Gordon accelerated out of his gate to claim the holeshot and Temmerman put himself inside the Top 10 after the first lap. The No.18 of Gordon was instantly faced with stiff competition, which moved him back to second place, while Temmerman was charging hard from a poor start. A bike problem for the leader moved Gordon back into first where he would ultimately finish, and remains undefeated in the SMX Next Class this season. Temmerman put on an impressive showing, working through the field until the final lap to finish second once again.
“My knee has just not been strong enough today to safely race and my safety along with other riders on the track is the most important. As everyone knows I will always do everything I can to race, but it was not in the cards for us today.”
-Cameron McAdoo
“I’m happy with how my day started, I did well with second in qualifying and third in my Heat Race. In the Main Event I got the holeshot and was feeling really good, but started to get arm pump and that really affected how much I could charge and hang on. I’m frustrated, but can’t complain about the bike because the setup is great and I’m not looking for changes with it. I’ll continue to work on myself and tonight I showed I can run with the championship leaders.”
-Jason Anderson
“Feels good to be back on the podium again, back-to-back here in Daytona which is nice. I always enjoy coming here, I grew up doing amateur races here so it has a familiarity to it. This track never lets you down, it’s a fight out there and I fought hard until the and I feel really good about that one. The start of the season has been pretty good so far. Detroit was a bummer with the sickness that’s in the past just trying to chip away at points and keep trying to get on the box and click off a few wins and a couple east-west showdowns will help with trying to make up points. I feel good, just trying to keep improving every weekend but I really need to just finish all the races this season, so that’s a big goal of mine this year.”
-Seth Hammaker
“I was really nervous on the line, I wanted to execute the race like I did in Glendale but it didn't start like that. My main goal was to hit every rhythm, every lap and take what came to me. I ended up getting a little lucky with a bike malfunction from [Alexander] Fedorstsov that allowed me to take the lead. Overall, it was a good night. I'm super pumped on my bike, my team and all the work we’ve put in. It’s pretty surreal here and I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
-Landen Gordon