Adam Cianciarulo on his first motocross win & re-signing for Pro Circuit Kawasaki
It was a memorable day for Adam Canciarulo at Budds Creek after he won his first ever US National after years of injury and hype.
The charismatic kid came into the sport as the next big thing but injuries, illness and the intensity of outdoor racing meant Adam having to work his way back to the centre of the podium one step at time.
In the press conference after the race a very honest Cianciarulo admitted that he almost quit racing after the injuries became too much. But 2017 has made the hard work worth it and given Cianciarulo wins in both supercross and outdoor racing toot reveal a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for the man who still believes he will become the champion so many predicted he would as a junior.
On a change of attitude
“It started a few weeks before Washougal, I was just in a bad mindset, Red Bud, Southwick, I was just doing bad and getting bad starts – I was frustrated. I feel like I am capable, have the right equipment and the right team. I was getting mentally down on myself during the week. It’s tough when I know I’m capable of something and I blow it, a lot of times in the lead I’ve been washing the front end. It’s been a long time coming.
I was watching old video of Ricky Carmichael, I think it was Washoughal 2006, it just looked like to me he would rather die than lose. And that was the mentality I came in with today. That first moto I was leading, I was like, ‘ I will pass out and die before someone passes me.’ That’s probably a little bit of an exaggeration but that’s the mentality I came in with today. You can see that with him (Zach) sometimes he’s the perfect example, when he goes out there he’s laying it one the line and that’s what I did today. it worked out for me.
I rode with emotion, I rode with anger instead of trying not to fail.
After getting that first moto win, going to the line in that second moto I felt so much lighter, so much less pressure. When you have your team behind you and they know you can win, they expect you to win, which they should, it hasn’t been happening, I hadn’t even been on the podium this year – it builds up.
Having won races indoors and out now, hopefully I can take that next step and be one of the elite guys and contend for a championship.
Adam Cianciarulo won in supercross too. Pic: Kawasaki
Overcoming the injuries
I think as Zach and I at our pro debuts (both Budds Creek) could have a competition to see who was the most unfit! I got the holeshot here and went to 14th in a blink of an eye! It’s been a struggle for me with the shoulder injuries, there has been a couple of times I about called it quits – that’s just the truth. It just seemed like life wouldn’t let me win, it was just one thing after another. Just this year to be able to win supercross again and motocross, it’s a victory. It took longer than expected but it’s more rewarding.
After the crash at the Charlotte GP last year where I “bruised” my shoulder, I think everybody knew it wasn’t a bruised shoulder! for a week I was like ‘what am I doing.’ it was my fifth shoulder surgery, to be where I am, coming out of amateurs I was the hyped kid and everybody thought I would com in and do well right away and having that expectation has kind of faded away, I have done it my own way and I am proud of that.
Re-signing for Pro Circuit Kawasaki
Those guys have stuck by me, both Kawasaki and Pro Circuit. I have been with Kawasaki since I was 7 years old and Pro Circuit since I was 12 years old. Mitch, Bruce, Dan and Zach, those guys have been so supportive of me. it’s difficult to describe how bad I felt when I kept getting hurt, I felt like I was letting those guys down, they invested so much in me as an amateur. They invested in me to win and I completely understand that, they let me come around at my own pace, they are like family to me.
