When the checkered flag fell on round four of the Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series round at Daytona International Speedway, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo pumped his fist and shouted, “I’m back.”
Indeed, after three frustrating years wracked with injury, Cianciarulo once again stood atop the victory podium, collecting his fourth career 250SX win in front of his home state fans. And it was a fairly dominant performance on the rough and sandy Ricky Carmichael-designed track to boot.
Cianciarulo didn’t lead the entire distance, but it didn’t take him long to get to the front. When the gate fell on the 22-rider, 15-lap main event, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy took the lead with Cianciarulo in second place. However, it only took Cianciarulo two turns to take over the lead, and he quickly put over 1 second on Savatgy by lap three.
Meanwhile 250SX East Series points leader Zach Osborne was fourth, behind Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha’s Lorenzo Locurcio. Osborne quickly got by Locurcio in a whoop section to take over third place on lap three. Yamalube/Thor/Yamaha/Rockstar/Parts Unlimited Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis ran fifth. Osborne then fell victim to the deep and rutty Daytona sand. He crashed and quickly remounted, but the miscue cost him two spots as Autotrader/JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Kyle Cunningham and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM teammates Alex Martin and Jordon Smith passed him.
As Ferrandis began to pressure Locurcio for third place just before the halfway point of the main event, Cunningham, Smith and Osborne battled for control of fifth place, with both Smith and Osborne passing Cunningham. Out front, Cianciarulo was able to maintain about the same advantage over Savatgy as the race hit the 10-lap mark.
Ferrandis was able move past Locurcio and into third place on lap, setting the podium. Smith also advanced, moving up to fourth place. Osborne was also by Locurcio one lap later.
But there was just no catching the flying Cianciarulo, who only added to his advantage late in the race and crossed the finish line with over 4 seconds in hand over Savatgy.
“Getting hurt a few times in a row, you know, you start to sometimes have those doubts, like, ‘Am I ever going to get there again.’ It’s hard to come from the bottom and get back to the top. I mean this is just a culmination of so many people, so many hours of work and there was times I was putting in the work and, you know, you’re not sure what you’re putting it in for. It just seems like life keeps knocking you down. My family and friends, they lifted me up and, man, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
Savtagy wasn’t too disappointed with his second-place run either.
“We rode good,” Savatgy said. “We managed to take away some points, and that was the main goal. It would have been nice to get a win, but Adam was riding good. You can’t take anything away from him. It’s good to be back up here, though. The last couple weekends haven’t been so good. I’m a hard worker, and that’s all I’ve been taught. We’ve been going back and making some adjustments, and trying to get better each weekend, and it was a better weekend. It was a step in the right direction.”
Ferrandis, meanwhile, had his hands full with Smith, but he was able to escape and land the third spot ahead of Smith and Osborne came after Smith with two laps to go. It was the Frenchman’s best result in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and his first career supercross podium.
“For me, from where I came from, it’s really a dream come true,” Ferrandis said. “It’s like 22 years that I’ve been dreaming of making a podium in supercross, and especially in Daytona. What a crazy race here. It was not easy, honestly, to be on the podium tonight. I really had to work a lot to. I was getting tired all the day, and it was really hard to make a good setup with the bike on that kind of the track, because it is so special.”
Cianciarulo’s win, combined with Osborne’s fourth place, tightened up the points race as the series heads to Indianapolis. Osborne now has 86 points. Savatgy has 80, and Cianciarulo has 77.
Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Results: March 11, 2017 (Round 4 of 9)
250SX East Main Event
1. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
2. Joey Savatgy-Kaw
3. Dylan Ferrandis-Yam
4. Jordon Smith-KTM
5. Zach Osborne-Hus
6. Lorenzo Locurcio-Yam
7. Kyle Cunningham-Suz
8. Alex Martin-KTM
9. Luke Renzland-Yam
10. Dakota Alix-KTM
11. Gannon Audette-Kaw
12. Anthony Rodriguez-Yam
13. Cole Thompson-KTM
14. Christian Craig-Hon
15. Jesse Wentland-Hon
16. Fredrik Noren-Hon
17. Josh Cartwright-Yam
18. Tony Archer-Hon
19. Jerry Robin-Yam
20. Dylan Merriman-Yam
21. Kyle Swanson-Kaw
22. Mitchell Harrison-Yam
Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 4 of 9 rounds)
1. Zach Osborne-86/2 wins
2. Joey Savatgy-80/1 win
3. Adam Cianciarulo-77/1 win
4. Jordon Smith-70
5. Dylan Ferrandis-54
6. Colt Nichols-49
7. Luke Renzland-43
8. Alex Martin-42
9. Kyle Peters-37
10. Christian Craig-36
RJ Hampshire-36
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