Monster Energy® Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac Leads Kawasaki to 14th AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a Sweep at Budds Creek

2019-08-19 06:27
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac dominated Round 11 of the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross Championship winning both motos and scored enough points to capture his third straight AMA Pro Motocross title. Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo continued his season-long podium streak with a second overall (2-5) adding two markers to his points lead in the 250 class standings, bringing it 30 points over his nearest competitor with one round remaining.


After perfecting his race craft over the past two weeks of training, Tomac knew that the starts at Budds Creek were going to be extremely important. With a unique 180-degree left-handed first corner start, getting through cleanly is difficult. In both motos Tomac launched his KX™450 out the gate, tucked inside the first corner and was able to put himself inside the top-3. Making quick work of his competitors in each moto, he began to check out as he went on to sweep the day with a perfect 1-1 score. For Tomac, the 1-1 sweep was his third of this season and 15th of his career.


Tomac cemented his name in the record books this weekend, becoming only the fourth rider in motocross history to win three-consecutive titles joining him with legends Gary Jones, Tony DiStefano, and Ricky Carmichael. The Cortez native now has 22 career overall wins in the 450 class and 44 career moto wins tying him in fourth place in both categories with Rick Johnson.


Teammate Joey Savatgy stayed home from the races this weekend as he and his wife welcomed the birth of their first child on Saturday evening.


#3 Eli Tomac
1st (1-1)

“Well we can check off that season goal of ours a week early. After losing some points last weekend, I really didn’t think there was a chance to capture the title this weekend. I knew I had to go out and do my work and not worry about the things out of my control. My family and I tried doing the math in the rig between the motos, and with how well Kenny and Marv were riding I really didn’t think it would happen, but the cards fell in our favor today. Each championship is extremely special to me and none of this would have been possible without the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki team. Everyone on that team has contributed to this title and our team’s success. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the best possible platform to compete on with my KX™450. This is one of the most difficult tracks for starts, and we were up front each moto out of the gate, which put us in the position to go 1-1 on the day. I look forward to finishing up the season next weekend in Indiana.”

- Eli Tomac




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Moto 1 in the 250 class saw Cianciarulo jump out to a second-place start aboard his KX™250. While stalking the leader, Cianciarulo made a mistake sending him on an off course excursion. After losing a few positions, Cianciarulo knew he would need to fight for every championship point available and was able to climb back into the second place position for the moto.


As the gate dropped on Moto 2, Cianciarulo would have another great start in second place. Once again, untimely mistakes would hamper his overall results as Cianciarulo went on to finish in fifth, earning a 2-5 score for second overall. Cianciarulo added two points to his lead in the championship points standings, increasing the margin to 30 as they head into the last round of racing next weekend in Crawfordsville, Indiana.


Veteran Martin Davalos appeared to return to form this weekend, but a string of bad luck would change his overall outcome. A solid Moto 1 performance saw the crafty veteran dicing it out in the top-10 throughout the first 20 minutes of the race, and as the riders began to settle into their positions, Davalos would cross the line ninth place. As the gate dropped for Moto 2, Davalos snuck in right behind the leader heading into the first turn, however the leader immediately tucked the front end of his machine, launching the bike into the air, leaving Davalos with nowhere to go. The carnage collected several riders and as the riders began to get going, it was the No. 73 machine that received the short end of the stick and was forced to retire. The 9-40 scores ultimately resulted in a 16th overall for the day.

Source: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.

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