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CAMERON MCADOO
250 SX / MN.
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / COPELAND DESIGN / WILSON
>> Making his professional Supercross debut this weekend in Minneapolis for the
250 east season opener is Sioux City, Iowa’s Cameron McAdoo. The youngster you may remember from his win at this year’s Monster Energy Cup. Cameron showed that he had the speed to move to the next level by winning the overall against the
top amateur riders on the cusp of turning pro. Doing so on the same track that the professionals raced on and even nailing a great start on that crazy, elevated gate. The rookie was seen at the amateur spring nationals by the Alessi’s and given some support from the Smartop/MotoConcepts Honda team for the rest of the nationals and eventually landed a pro ride with the team. After scoring enough points on the Road to Supercross via the Arenacross series McAdoo was ready to make his debut for the team. In an interview on Race Day Live, he spoke about being ready to line up with the big guys and that he wasn’t intimidated by racing against veterans of the class. Qualifying didn’t go as planned for the newbie, as he was only able to log the 21st fastest time. This was enough to make the top 40 though and move him into a heat. The heat went decent if you consider that he hasn’t ever lined up on a Supercross gate before. Cameron went on to finish 8th in his heat and avoided the dreaded LCQ by one spot. He logged a 51.536 in his heat which wasn’t too far off the fastest rider’s pace and showed that if he could get a start in the main that he could possibly finish inside the top 10 or maybe even the top 5, either of which would be exceptional for a rookie. A good start in the main had the young gun right in the thick of things on the first lap. He was 7th and in a battle with Luke Renzland and fastest qualifier Zach Os- borne along with Jesse Wentland for most of the opening few laps. After running in his starting position for a few laps he lost a hard fought battle with Adam Cianciarulo. An- other rider was soon knocking at the door as Luke Renzland was back for more with
9 minutes left on the clock plus two laps. Eventually the rookie would succumb to the relentless pressure applied by every rider he met on the track and fall to his finishing position of 15th. This isn’t a bad way to start a career but I’m sure that it’s not where he had dreamed of finishing his first ever Supercross. Either way he escaped the round with some positives in a good start and ran with the top 10 for most of the race. He can take this weekend and apply it to the next round of his blossoming career.
118 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 19, 2017