Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Rider Cameron McAdoo Earns a Podium Finish at Seattle SX
March 25, 2023 | Lumen Field | Seattle, Wash.
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (March 26, 2023) – The Monster Energy® Supercross Championship traversed the United States to the reach the west coast for Round 12 from Seattle, Washington where Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Cameron McAdoo kept his closest rivals in check by securing another podium finish while Carson Mumford showed great potential en route to an eighth-place result in his season debut. In the 450SX Class, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson overtook several of the world’s elite to claim fourth place and Adam Cianciarulo settled for eighth place after challenging the leaders early in the race.
A week of steady rain showers in the pacific northwest bore out fear of a notorious mud plagued Seattle SX, but the hard work of the DirtWurx track crew, and a bit of help from mother nature, ultimately delivered a well-manicured racecourse for the best supercross racers in the world to compete on. When the 250SX riders took the track, the speed and precision of Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Carson Mumford quickly drew attention. Making his debut for the 2023 season, Mumford asserted himself as a top contender by finding his rhythm and logging the fourth fastest lap (52.286) of the 250SX Class. Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Cameron McAdoo too rivaled near the top of the leaderboard throughout qualifying and logged the fifth fastest lap (52.309).
When the gate dropped for 250SX Heat 1, Mumford rocketed his KX™250 toward the first turn and secured the official holeshot before being edged out of the lead entering Turn 2. Mumford applied pressure to the leader for the opening lap before taking control of the lead position on Lap 2. The new addition to the Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team showed promise as he led the next several laps in commanding fashion until he eventually settled for a second-place finish.
In 250SX Heat 2, McAdoo made quick moves in the opening lap to pass his way into second position. By Lap 3, however, McAdoo found himself in a hotly contested battle with the current championship points leader. McAdoo thrilled the crowd as he raced hard and refused to surrender the position. On Lap 4, the two riders came together and both crashed in spectacular fashion. After swiftly remounting and pressing on to the finish, McAdoo salvaged a fourth-place result.
The Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki duo of McAdoo and Mumford launched out of the gate in the 250SX Main Event and while McAdoo emerged from the first turn in fourth, Mumford was shuffled to outside the top-10. McAdoo moved his way into third place on the opening lap and set his sights toward the lead. Meanwhile, Mumford began a steady climb up the running order from 11th at the end of Lap 1. As the race progressed beyond the halfway mark, McAdoo overtook second and maintained pressure on the leader. The front three riders separated themselves from the rest of the class, but never split from one another by more than a few seconds. With only two laps remaining, a costly mistake from McAdoo caused him to relinquish second position and, although he challenged to take it back, he ultimately finished the race in third. All the while, the No.52 KX™250 of Mumford continued to log steady laps as he made clean passes to earn himself a respectable eighth place finish.
“As a racer you can never be too upset with a podium result but, I know I can be up there fighting for wins and I feel like we were just so close again this weekend. I had a strong Main Event battle with RJ and we kept Jett honest the whole race, but we were a small tick from really getting into the lead position. It’s a game of small gains right now and I’m not settling so the whole team will keep striving this week with the focus on taking the top step of the podium.” – Cameron McAdoo
“Overall, it was a positive first race for me with the Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team. I’ve dreamed of riding for this team since I was a kid, so there was a conscious effort for me to manage expectations throughout the day and to not try to go for too much too soon. That said, I was able to qualify fourth out of the B practice session and battled for the win in my heat race. I’m happy with where my speed was and how the bike handled on such a torn-up track. In the Main Event, I ended up riding pretty tight after mid-way, which is not ideal, but is a bit to be expected with all things considered. I focused on continuing to hit my marks and came through the checkered in eighth. The speed I had early was definitely promising and it was good to bring home a steady result inside the top-10 to get the ball rolling.” – Carson Mumford
The Monster Energy® Kawasaki duo of Cianciarulo and Anderson continued their recent tear through the morning qualifying sessions as both riders urgently mastered the rutted track. After studying the ideal lines with the team, Cianciarulo logged an impressive 51.191 lap time in the final session; the second fastest lap of the day. Anderson was only fractions of a second behind as his 51.621 lap time earned him third in qualification.
A mid-pack start in 450SX Heat 1 meant that Cianciarulo would have his work cut out for him in the short six-minute qualification race. The No.9 KX™450SR rider executed with tact and precision through the opening lap to overtake the competition in rapid succession. By the completion of the first full lap, Cianciarulo was already up to third position. The front four riders matched qualification pace as they remained in tight lockstep for the remainder of the race. When the checkered flag flew, Cianciarulo crossed the line in third.
In 450SX Heat 2, Anderson launched out to a strong start and was only narrowly edged out for the holsehot. Anderson challenged for the lead through the opening laps until he was on the receiving end of contact with another rider on Lap 4 and consequently crashed. After rushing back to his bike and regaining his pace, Anderson finished out the race in fifth place.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki riders raced out to another strong start in the 450SX Main Event with Cianciarulo running in fourth on the opening lap and Anderson pursuing in sixth. In an impressive display of speed, Cianciarulo surged forward into a multi-lap battle for third which would see him overtake the defending champion Eli Tomac and challenge Ken Roczen before a couple of minor miscues shuffled him back to fourth. Cianciarulo maintained a high pace to defend his fourth-place position, keeping the current championship leader at bay behind him until Lap 8. As Cianciarulo dropped back, Anderson charged forward to meet him on the track and the two Monster Energy Kawasaki riders rivaled over sixth and seventh for several laps in the middle of the race. Anderson prevailed in the battle and went on to track down two more positions for a fourth-place result at the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Cianciarulo settled into a consistent pace through to the finish for eighth place.
“During the Main Event, the track was really tricky with a ton of deep ruts, but I felt like my KX™450SR still gave me the ability to push the pace. While a better start would have certainly improved my race, it wasn’t a bad night as we made good progress and I kept the fight going all the way to the checkered flag. I definitely want to be finishing on the podium and, ultimately, challenging for wins again so, I’m still focusing forward on making gains in supercross.” – Jason Anderson
“I felt comfortable during qualifying and was able to attack the track to put together the second fastest time. It was nice to show that pace again and rival at the top of the board. In the heat race, I was a little back from the start but worked my way into the top-three before the finish. In the Main Event, I started up front and managed to pass my way into the top-three again. The race felt similar to last weekend with all of the top guys contending for those first few positions, so it was encouraging to move my way forward through that group in the early stages. The end result is similar to what I’ve had recently, but there are a lot of positives to take away from the weekend.” – Adam Cianciarulo
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Follow Bikernet Free Weekly Newsletter to get latest Motorcycling news, updates, reviews, tech, tips, & lot of fun. Click here & take a test ride.
