“Today went well,” said Tomac. “Our lap times in qualifying were good and we got off to a great start in Moto 1, where I was able to jump into the lead early. I made a small mistake at the bottom of the hill which allowed second place to sneak by. I tried to fight back but made a few more mistakes, so I turned it down a bit to ride smoother. I didn’t get as good of a start in Moto 2 and by the time I worked my way into third, the leaders had already ran away with it. We’ll continue to work during the week and try and go for the win again next weekend.”
“This weekend was good,” said Bowers. “I’m getting more and more comfortable on the bike each week I’m on it. My fitness was better this weekend as I was able to charge harder the first few laps and then again near the end, but most importantly, I’m just really having fun racing again and can’t thank the team enough for giving me this great opportunity.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki kicked off the day on the right foot as Joey Savatgy set the fastest pace in timed practice to qualify on pole. When the gate dropped for Moto 1, Savatgy launched out of the gate on his KX™250F and swung around Turn 1 inside the top five. The battle for the lead between four riders lasted a grueling 10 minutes before they would spread out and all find their pace. Savatgy rode smooth and consistent to a fourth place finish. Coming off his career best finish last week in Southwick, teammate Austin Forkner came into Round 8 feeling more confident than ever. Forkner started Moto 1 inside the top-10 and never stopped charging as he battled his way up into fifth briefly before finishing an impressive sixth, with teammates Adam Cianciarulo and Arnaud Tonus in seventh and eighth. Cianciarulo wasted no time charging to the front in Moto 2 as he took over the lead by Turn 5 and set the pace for five laps until sliding back into third, behind teammate Savatgy. With three minutes remaining, Savatgy stalled the bike in a deep rut, losing two positions and dropping back into fourth. At the end of the long 30-minutes plus two, Savatgy finished fifth (4-5) for fourth overall, while Cianciarulo finished eighth (7-8) for sixth overall. Tonus rode smooth and consistent all weekend to finish 8-9 for seventh overall, but unfortunately after a Lap 1 tip-over, Forkner started 22nd and battled hard back to 11th until another crash on the last lap dropped him back to 17th, going 6-17 for 13th overall.
“Today didn’t quite go our way,” said Savatgy. “The first moto started off well with a good start but we couldn’t quite catch the leaders. The second moto was better as I was able to make my way up to second until I stalled the bike. We’ll go back and do our homework and come out swinging at Washougal.”
“The day started off really well after qualifying fourth,” said Forkner. “I got off to a pretty good start in Moto 1 inside the top-10 and eventually made my way briefly into fifth before getting passed back and finishing sixth. Second moto, I got off to another great start but went down on Lap 2 and fell all the way back to 22nd. I fought my way back up into 11th before crashing in the rollers on the last lap, but was able to salvage a 17th place.”
“Today was a step in the right direction,” said Cianciarulo. “I got off to a decent start in Moto 1, was able to charge the whole moto and made a few passes near the end to finish 7th. In Moto 2, I was top-5 around turn-1 and made a few quick passes to get into the lead early. I was able to charge and lead for about 10-minutes which felt awesome to be back upfront again. I’m looking forward to next week.”
“Today was good,” said Tonus. “Every week I’m feeling faster and stronger and I believe it’s showing on the race track. I had two great starts and rode strong all moto to finish seventh overall. It’s nice to see that all the work I’ve been putting in over the years is beginning to pay
