Monster Energy Kawasaki Sweeps the 450 Class at Washougal
July 29, 2019
July 27, 2019 | Washougal Motocross Park | Washougal, Wash.
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (July 28, 2019) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac proved to be the only thing more captivating than the lush, green scenery in Washougal, Washington after a dominating performance once again with the overall win following pole position and a pair of moto wins at Round 9 of the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Teammate Joey Savatgy had his best finish of the season and captured both holeshots to complete Kawasaki’s dominance of the 450 class. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo continued his podium presence with a second-place overall after going 3-2 for the day.
Tomac arrived ready to go at the Washougal National as he qualified first after setting a blistering 2:15.42 lap time to open the day, almost a full two seconds faster than any other rider on the track. Unknowingly, this would be another chapter in the ‘Book of Eli’ where fans in attendance got to witness another one of his mind-blowing come from behind dominant performances.
The first 450 moto of the day had every single fan in attendance on the fence line, cheering on their favorite riders as the top-7 riders traded positions the entire moto. Finding himself in seventh at the end of Lap 1 with all of his championship competitors ahead of him, Tomac put on another one of his well-known, charge-from-behind performances that will be forever remembered. Tomac began hunting down his competition and slipped past his teammate, Savatgy, into second place setting his sights on the leader. With the three laps remaining, Tomac made a minor mistake in a corner causing a small tip-over. After quickly remounting and catching back up to the leader, with one lap remaining Tomac and his competitor’s lines came together, propelling Tomac to the front and ultimately crossing the finish line in first place.
Not to be outdone by his first race performance, Tomac once again found himself buried off the start in the second 450 moto of the day. However, there was no stopping Tomac on this day as he spent nearly the entire moto blasting past his competitors and eventually left his rivals behind in the final laps to complete the moto sweep by 11.9 seconds. Tomac’s dominant performance of 1-1 scores earned him the maximum championship points possible on the day and further extended his lead in the 450MX championship points standings to 50.
Savatgy, a 450MX class rookie has been in search of a consistent weekend showcasing his talents and he was able to do just that this weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Savatgy, who has had success in the trees in years past, let it all hang out in both motos rocketing to the Motosport.com Holeshot in each race aboard his KX™450. Savatgy was able to gain invaluable knowledge throughout both races, as he was able to learn the pace of the leaders. Savatgy’s consistent 6-6 performance was strong enough to earn him a seventh-place overall finish on the day, and his best overall performance of the season.
With Tomac’s second 1-1 sweep of the season, he has now won the Washougal national the last three out of four years running, furthermore, the victory gives him sole possession of fifth on the all-time 450 Class wins list, with 21 motocross victories, breaking a tie with James Stewart.
#3 Eli Tomac
1st (1-1)
#17 Joey Savatgy
7th (6-6)
“Today was sweet. Days like today don’t come around easily and when they do you just have to cherish them. I made it more difficult on myself than it needed to be with my starts but once I found my rhythm I was able to just start clicking guys off. I can’t thank the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki crew enough for giving me such a killer motorcycle. Today, I never felt panicked or rushed, I was confident in my KX™ and knew I could just keep moving forward. We got a weekend off, but the work doesn’t stop, we are going to keep moving towards our goal and finish the season off strong.“
– Eli Tomac
“Today was a big step in the right direction. We have had some frustrating weekends the past few weeks so to get two holeshots and finish with two sixth-place finishes for seventh overall, I am pretty pumped. The goal is to be on the podium but today we showed we have the speed. Just need to clean up a few minor things and get adjusted to running the front runners pace and we will be good. I can’t wait to get to Unadilla in two weeks.”
Cianciarulo kicked off the morning by going quickest in qualifying with a 2:17.99. Moto 1 in the 250MX class saw Cianciarulo get out to a good start but was sandwiched between his competitors. He quickly made moves forward and was able to settle into third place, where he would eventually go onto to finish the race.
As the gate dropped on 250MX Moto 2, Cianciarulo shot out of the gate aboard his KX™250, making quick work of his competitors and on the tail of leader by the end of Lap 1. Cianciarulo hounded and pressured the leader the entire race and even after a last lap, last-ditch effort Cianciarulo ultimately crossed the line in second place. Cianciarulo’s 3-2 score kept his podium streak alive of finishing on the overall podium at all nine rounds this season and the Florida native heads into the weekend off with a 28-point advantage in the 250MX class standing.
An unfortunate crash in Moto 1 on the first lap left Garrett Marchbanks with a damaged motorcycle forcing him to pull in immediately and withdraw from the race. With the 40th gate pick for Moto 2, Marchbanks had his work cut out for him and a poor start found the rider buried off the start. Marchbanks was only able to climb up into 19th place. The No. 61 machine currently sits in 14th place in the championship points standings.
#92 Adam Cianciarulo
2nd (3-2)
#61 Garrett Marchbanks
22nd (40-19)
“Although we fell short of our weekly goal which is to win, there are still positives to take away from the weekend with our second-place finish today. I was doing everything I could in that second moto to get into first, but we just couldn’t find the right place to make a pass stick. It was rad to battle like that though. We are leaving here healthy and still with the points lead, so we will make some improvements over the break and be ready to go in two weeks.”
– Adam Cianciarulo
“Moto 1 was frustrating as I felt good all day, but my crash had done too much damage to get back out there. In Moto 2, I struggled to find a rhythm and struggled to go forward after 40thgate pick. I know I am capable of much greater results and will go back to the drawing board this week during our break to make the necessary changes to get me back up where I belong. I can’t say thank you enough to the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team for sticking behind me and believing in me on these tough days like today.”
KAWASAKI CARES: Always wear a helmet, eye protection and proper apparel. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Adhere to the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual.
