January 6, 2017 | Angel Stadium | Anaheim, Calif
Monster Energy Kawasaki felt strong and confident going into the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship season opener in Anaheim, California. Eli Tomac qualified out of 450SX Heat 1 with a second place finish, while teammate Josh Grant qualified seventh out of Heat 2. The sold out Angel Stadium crowd erupted as the gate dropped on the first 450SX Main Event of the season. The No. 3 of Tomac emerged with the holeshot and set a blistering pace to quickly build a five-second lead. Unfortunately, a crash on Lap 8 forced him to retire early from the competition. His teammate Grant started 13th and pushed his KX™450F forward to start the season with a Top-10 finish in ninth place.
“We started the day off great,” said Tomac. “I felt really strong on the bike all day and I had a good heat race, which put us in a great spot for the main event. The main didn’t end how we wanted it to, but this is only one race in a long season.”
“I have to give it up to the team for their hard work today,” said Grant. “We struggled a bit in qualifying today and I didn’t have the intensity in the opening laps I needed. I’m happy to get through Anaheim 1 safe and with some points, which I’m grateful for. I’m looking forward to Houston.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki came out swinging on Saturday night with both Adam Cianciarulo and Joey Savatgy qualifying second out of their respective 250SX heat races. When it came time for the gate to drop on the 250SX Main Event, Cianciarulo rounded Turn 1 inside the top-5 with Savatgy in eighth place. Cianciarulo quickly passed his way up into third on Lap 8 and he would control the position until the checkered flag, placing his KX™250F on the podium. Savatgy would also make his way forward to finish fourth behind his teammate.
“Today was great,” said Cianciarulo. “I felt the best I ever have coming into today’s race. To leave here on the box feels good. I’ve been working hard on my strength and stamina and I know I’ve got what it takes to win. Let’s keep it rolling into Houston.”
“Not a great finish today, but not horrible either,” said Savatgy. “I felt pretty good all day and I knew I had the speed. I felt the track conditions held me back tonight, but we’ll look to rebound next week.”
