Foothill Ranch, Calif. (January 20, 2019) – The third round of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship resumed action in Anaheim, California at Angel Stadium, with a triple crown racing format with combined scoring from three main events on the night replacing the typical single main event format. It was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac who continued to find success in the format finishing the night on the podium in third place overall in the 450SX class and closing in to only two points back from the series points leader. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo finished the night in fifth overall, and only sits eight points back of the leader in the 250SX West Region Point Standings.
Coming into the night, Tomac had never finished outside of the top five in any of the nine Triple Crown main events and on Saturday evening he kept that streak alive by going 4-4-1 for third place overall. Grabbing the holeshot and leading every lap on his way to the win in the third main event marks the third race win for the Cortez, Colorado rider in this racing format. Since the inception of the Triple Crown format in 2018, Tomac has earned 94 out of a possible 104 maximum championship points available in the Triple Crown series, making him currently the most successful Triple Crown racer.
Consistency was the key coming into the weekend for the No. 17 Monster Energy Kawasaki of Joey Savatgy. After an up and down start to the season, Savatgy, who is known as a good starter, looked to use the Triple Crown format to his benefit to achieve the results he has been looking for. In the three main event format, Savatgy was able to surge out front in nearly all three races, which helped him score 8-13-8 results to capture eighth overall.
Tomac: “In the first two main events I didn’t do myself any favors off the start but I was happy that we were able to charge forward both times into fourth place. The third race was awesome because I was able to get out in clean air and just ride. The track tonight was technical and even sketchy in some parts, but I am happy to be leaving here healthy and only two points back in the championship.”
Savatgy: “It has been a shaky past two weeks for me, so to bounce back from last weekend and land inside the top 10 tonight is something we’ll take. We set out to be consistent today and we did that for the most part, so overall I am happy with where we are. We will clean up a few things this week and come out swinging in Oakland.“
Cianciarulo Pic: Kawasaki
Cianciarulo: Nights like tonight are frustrating as a racer because we did everything right, but ultimately some small mistakes cost us. We qualified fastest again and in the first race we got out to an early lead but unfortunately, I tucked the front end. In Main Event 2, I had a big get off which really hurt my overall score, but I was happy I was able to bounce back in the third race and come away with a second place. Overall, we are healthy and only eight points back in the championship. We’ve got work to do, but this Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is coming for you Oakland.” – Adam Cianciarulo
Marchbanks: “Round 3 is done and over with. Tonight is a night that I am just going to put behind me and focus on being prepared for Oakland.” – Garrett Marchbanks
