Page 46 - Issue43

ADAM CIANCIARULO
250 SX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Adam Cianciarulo’s 2017 SX season hit a high note when he returned to winning ways for the first time in three years at his home race in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider put himself right back in the title hunt after making a state- ment at one of the most challenging tracks of the entire series, but things went wrong for the Floridian just one week later at Lucas Oil Stadium -- Cianciarulo came together with Zach Osborne in the first timed practice session of the day and the Kawasaki rider suffered a sprained knee that has undoubtedly derailed the momentum he gained after his victory. Nonetheless, he’s only eleven points out of the championship lead heading into St. Louis and remains in contention for the title. Cianciarulo was on pace throughout both practice sessions, eventually clocking the third fastest time heading into the night show. Although he was fast in practice, the Kawasaki rider had a fairly nasty incident in the second session as well as a few major bobbles. He managed to put all of that behind him when the gate dropped on the second 250 heat race as he pulled a decent start that placed him within the top five on the opening lap. Ciancia- rulo quickly worked his way past Paul Coates and found himself in third position a couple of seconds behind Christian Craig and Joey Savatgy. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was not able to make any inroads on the two leaders as he struggled to match their lap times on a consistent basis, forcing him to settle for third position when the checkered flag came out. Cianciarulo managed to get the start that he needed in the main event as he fit his Kawasaki into the top five through the opening corner. The Floridian forced his way past Steven Clarke on the opening lap, therefore promot-
ing him to fourth position. He struggled to find his way past Gannon Audette over the course of the next couple of laps as he eventually came under pressure from Zach Osborne; Cianciarulo was forced to concede the position and ended up falling back to sixth place. He revamped his speed and began to settle into sixth position, waiting for Audette to come within striking distance. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider eventu- ally worked his way past Audette on the seventh lap, but Christian Craig followed him through. The Geico Honda rider made the move for fifth position just a couple of laps later and Cianciarulo was relegated back to sixth just as the second half of the main event began. He wasn’t able to make any impressions in the latter stages of the race, and he was forced to bring his Kawasaki home to a lonely sixth place finish, heavily damaging his championship hopes.
46 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017