Tomac and Savatgy podium at Muddy Creek

Courtesy of Kawasaki

Irvine, CA (June 26, 2016) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac arrived at Muddy Creek in Blountville, Tennessee for Round 5 of the 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship prepared to battle for the win. Tomac started off the weekend by qualifying in second and ready to take on the field. The Moto 1 gate drop saw the No. 3 KX™450F cross the line inside the top ten. Tomac quickly began working his way through the field and by the end of Lap 4 had worked his way into third. Just after the halfway point Tomac took the advantage from a heated battle and moved into second place, where he would remain until the checkers.

In Moto 2 it was more of the same, Tomac started inside the top ten but wasted no time cutting through pack. On Lap 2 he had passed his way into fourth and then third, and by Lap 3 Tomac was in second. In the remaining laps Tomac played cat and mouse with the leader, nearly taking the lead at times, however, coming up just short of the win at the finish. When the dust settled, Tomac’s 2-2 moto finishes earned him a second place overall.

“The track started off pretty soft and wet, making a pretty slick racetrack,” said Tomac. “The conditions made practice a bit difficult but the track came around quite well by the afternoon. Muddy Creek is a little tight, which makes it a bit of an effort to get past lapped riders, but overall it was a good day. In the second moto I did everything I could to push towards the end, I nailed a few more lines and was really close to the end goal. 2-2 is a good result and we’re going to continue to build off this momentum.”

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team of Joey Savatgy, Adam Cianciarulo, Arnaud Tonus and Austin Forkner came to Muddy Creek with Savatgy in control of the series point lead. Cianciarulo came out swinging with the fastest qualifying time of the 250 and 450 classes. He quickly backed that up with a holeshot followed closely by Savatgy. On Lap 3 Cianciarulo lost the front end and was relegated to third before remounting while Forkner and Tonus were 12th and 16th respectively. Near the halfway mark Savatgy would put his No. 37 KX™250F into the lead followed quickly by Cianciarulo moving into second. Unfortunately, Cianciarulo made another mistake and this time would rejoin the race in seventh. With two laps remaining Savatgy remained out front with Forkner moving his way up to 10th, Cianciarulo in 11th and Tonus in 12th where they would remain until the checkers.

In Moto 2 Savatgy came out of the gate in third, Cianciarulo 5th, Tonus sixth and Forkner in ninth. Five minutes into the moto Savatgy tucked the front end, going down and losing a few positions while Cianciarulo sat fourth, Tonus remained in sixth and Forkner moved his way into seventh. Cianciarulo was involved in a hard crash in the early stages of the race, but never one to give up, the No. 44 charged on until the finish, crossing the line in 22nd. After a charge towards the front Savatgy was involved in another tip-over, relegating the No. 37 back outside the top ten. Savatgy would continue to press forward throughout the moto, eventually bringing it home in seventh, with Tonus in eighth and the rookie Forkner in an impressive fourth. Savatgy’s 1-7 would earn a second overall and keep the series points lead, with Forkner going 10-4 for seventh, Tonus’ 12-8 earned him a 10th and the 11-22 of Cianciarulo placed him 16th overall.

“My first moto was great and I’m very happy with the result,” said Savatgy. “In the second moto I made a couple minor mistakes that ended up costing me more than I’d like. I tipped it over two times and both times I spent a lot of energy trying to make sure I didn’t stall the bike. The couple minor mistakes I made need to stop in order to keep the championship with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team, I know it’s something we can do and with a 1-7 on today a second place is good. We know what to do, now it’s time to go home and get it done so we can come out at RedBud swinging.”

“This weekend was another good race,” said Forkner. “I didn’t feel as strong as I would have liked in the first moto due to a poor start, but my lap times were pretty good. In the second moto I got off to a much better start and was able to ride my own race. I brought it home in the second moto for a fourth and I’m just going to keep building on these results. I’m looking forward to RedBud!”

“After my start it took a lot to get up through the pack in Moto 1,” said Tonus. “It took a little while to get a rhythm but I’m pretty happy with the 12th all things considered. In the second moto I had a great start and had my best moto of 2016. My speed was there, I spent some time with the leaders and I’m going to keep building off this momentum.”

“Being fastest in qualifying was great,” said Cianciarulo. “In the first moto I had the holeshot and was able to lead a few laps. The speed, the confidence and all the other pieces are coming into place and it feels good. In the second moto I was taken out pretty bad by another rider and fought as hard as I could for the rest of the race. I ended up 11-22 on the day for 16th, which isn’t what we wanted, but I didn’t give up today and I’m proud of that.”

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