Page 28 - GRIT_76

ADAM CIANCIARULO
250 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> What a whirlwind of a season it has been for Adam Cianciarulo. Nine main events, six podiums, zero wins. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki product has been painfully close to wins all year long and was closer than ever a weekend ago in Salt Lake City. He got passed by Shane McElrath in the earlier stages of the main event, but he did not back down and shadowed him the remainder of the race. Cianciarulo gave it one last, ditch effort in the nal corner but nished just short. That had to sting quite a bit as he saw that another win slip by, but he could not be too displeased because he clawed a few points closer to championship points leader Aaron Plessinger. The points de cit sat at thirteen points heading into the nal round of the series in Las Vegas.
Cianciarulo’s day in the hot, Vegas sun did not get off to the great start he was looking for. He got out of sync in the qualifying practice sessions and went down in a big heap, spraining his ankle. He was miraculously unfazed and responded by going back out and throwing down a heater of a lap time. He would qualify as the fastest rider out of both East and West coast 250 divisions and he was more determined than ever to embrace the top step of the podium.
The momentum from this fast-qualifying session transferred right into the night of racing as he stormed into the rst
turn rst to steal the holeshot away from his teammate Joey Savatgy. Cianciarulo was not allowed to get comfortable early because of Savatgy’s high intensity and would actually get passed back by Savatgy at the end of lap one. The two teammates endured an all-out war in that opening lap, but it was Cianciarulo who would slide to second. This didn’t faze him as he would go right back after Savatgy and apply some pressure. The two were blanketed together seemingly the entire race but Savatgy would prevail with Cianciarulo right in tow. Cianciarulo just could not nd the proper place to pass and would settle with second place heading into the main event.
Needing fourteen points to steal the championship from Plessinger, a holeshot was very much on the agenda for Cianciarulo heading into the main but he would fail to get one. He would start the nal race of the season banging bars in fth place. The rst few laps were extremely hectic, and it would take him a few laps to settle in, but once he did, he began riding awlessly. On lap three he worked around East coast rider, Jordon Smith, and then immediately began closing the gap on the two leaders, Shane McElrath and Jeremy Martin. Cianciarulo would close up tight on them in just a matter of a few laps and just looked to be on another level. The aggression and con dence he was riding with would be unmatched as he would slingshot by both leaders on lap eight and never look back. He executed the rest of the race with perfection and did not deal with pressure from anyone down the stretch. He would take the checkered ag for his rst win of the season, but it would be too late in terms of the championship because, for the second year in a row, he would nish just TWO points behind the champion. Cianciarulo did not let that bother him too much as his emotions poured out after winning the race and he was pumped up and ecstatic. On the podium, he let the world know that he has been riding with a torn ACL for over a year now and will opt for surgery before the start of the outdoor motocross series effectively sidelining him for its entirety. A seemingly wild end to a wild season for Adam Cianciarulo.
28 GRITMOTO • MAY 6, 2018