Words by: Dan Lamb – Interview by: Chase Yocom – Photo by: Hoppenworld
With three rounds of the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross’ 250SX Eastern Regional Championship in the books, the rookie phenom, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo has two wins, a second and a five-point lead in the Championship over his teammate Martin Davalos. Usually it’s the rookie making rookie mistakes, but so far in the East, the veteran Davalos has crashed out of the lead twice, and it’s been the rookie capitalizing on the veteran’s mistakes.
In Indianapolis, the gnarly conditions were ripe for mistakes, but not only was Cianciarulo the most consistent, he was also the only 250SX rider pulling the trigger on a quad through the rhythm section. Later, James Stewart on the 450 would also started doing it, but Cianciarulo used the quad section in the 250SX main to give himself a cushion to relax everywhere else. On lap seven, Davalos crashed and surrendered the lead to Cianciarulo, and on lap eight, Cianciarulo repaid the favor with a tip-over of his own. After things were evened up, though, Cianciarulo used the quad and solid laps to build himself a comfy lead en route to win number two.
After Cianciarulo’s win, Chase Yocom caught up with the red plate holder for an interview. You can read what Cianaciarulo had to say below.
Win number two, A.C. You have to be stoked on that?
Yeah, definitely. Happy to get the win here. I wasn’t really gelling with the track today, even though I was fastest in qualifying. I really wasn’t feeling too good. I just tried to ride a smart race. I had that quad that I was doing—that nobody else was—and that really helped me out there. I just tried to stay as close as I could to Martin; the guy’s just going so fast right now. I just tried to stay very close and put the pressure on, and he ended up going down. I got by, then I had a big lead and I ended up making a mistake and going down. I just had to get up, regroup, ride smart and take it on for the win.
What was going through your mind when you saw Martin down again?
Yeah, it’s crazy. You’re leading a supercross race, and it’s crazy. You realize you can win it, and I just had to keep my head on straight and finish the laps.
Can you talk a little about what was going through your mind when you crashed? You got up fairly quick which was good.
Yeah, it was definitely crazy. I just came into the corner and slid out a little bit. I don’t even know what happened, but thank God I didn’t get trapped under the bike. I got up super quick and just tried to ride smooth from there. There were so many mistakes, so many ruts; I’m just happy to get out of here and go on to Daytona.
Yeah, you mentioned mistakes, and I noticed you made quite a few on the last lap. Were you getting a little tight closing down on your second win?
No, I wasn’t getting tight at all. It was just the track reaching up and trying to take me down. Actually, my fitness felt unbelievable tonight, and it has this whole season so far. So I’m really pumped on that, and I definitely think it will help me out at Daytona.
If there was ever a great track to prepare you for the gnarly conditions of Daytona, this was it. Are you looking forward to your first Daytona SX now?
Absolutely. We’re actually having Jason Baker from “Dream Tracks” make us a Daytona section back at the farm, so I’m happy to get on that and to get some good practice for the race.
Nice, I was going to ask if you guys were having a Daytona replica built. After tonight, I’m sure you guys are ready for some warmer weather too.
Yeah, absolutely, and it’s only ten miles from my house, so it will be nice to wake up in my own bed.
Alright, thanks for talking to us, and congrats again on the win.
Thanks you.
