Page 80 - issue28

theGRIT
IMAGES / LAKE KILPATRICK
Adam Cianciarulo has been getting holeshots and leading some laps at our last few races and has started to return to top form. His speed is right there and he proved that by qualifying third overall this weekend at Budds Creek. The one thing that is not quite there for him yet is his endurance but he
was ready to give the field his best shot. The first moto began with Cianciarulo shredding the holeshot and taking the early lead. Right behind him was the very fast Alex Martin but that did not faze him one bit. AC actually pulled away and built a comfortable lead for himself during the opening half of the moto. He looked ready to run off into the sunset with his first career moto win until he pushed his front end a little too far into corner and went down. He quickly remounted but Martin was able to get by and take the lead. Fired up from the fall, AC charged back to Martin’s rear wheel with a few laps to go but simply ran out of energy in final stages and would have to settle for a still, very strong second place. Upset with the outcome of the first moto, AC ripped yet another holeshot. This time it was his rookie teammate Austin Forkner behind him but he was still able to build up another sizable cushion earlier in the moto. Unfortunately after comfortably leading the first half of the moto, the combination of extreme heat and the rough track would suck the remaining energy out of AC. Forkner was able to catch up and pass for the lead about halfway through while Osborne would sneak around as well. AC was doing everything he could to try and stay up front for the sake of a potential overall win but he would succumb in the late stages to a pair of Yamaha’s in Cooper Webb and Alex Martin. AC would hold on to finish the moto in fifth and despite his late race struggles in both motos, his 2-5 moto scores would be enough to earn him a season best fourth overall. AC is certainly trending upward as the season comes to a close and will have one more race to see if he can secure his first top three overall of the season.
80 GRITMOTO • AUGUST.22.16
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