Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen charged to a podium finish as the Western Division returned for Round 16 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Denver. Kitchen’s impressive podium result comes after a brief stint off the bike to manage a lingering back injury.
The Kawasaki rider resumed riding earlier in the week in preparation for his return to racing in the Mile High City. Teammate Cameron McAdoo made his return to racing after sustaining an injury at Round 6 in Seattle, with the No. 142 Kawasaki battling through a challenging night to claim 13th. Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Chase Sexton and Garrett Marchbanks delivered consistent performances throughout the day, earning fifth and seventh, respectively.
Sexton: “I had a good start to the day with fastest qualifier in the first session. I didn’t expect to go to the top in the final lap, but it felt good to back up there. The track having two sets of whoops played into my favor a bit. I felt good in the heat race, but played it safe to finish in second place. I had a bad start in the main event. I had to work my way through the field and struggled to feel comfortable. The last few laps, I was able to capitalize on a few guys that went down, putting me fifth on the night.”
Marchbanks: ““I had a good day here in Denver. Qualifying went well, and the bike felt good. I didn’t have to make any changes throughout the day. I qualified ninth overall and felt good going into the heat race. It took me a little bit of time in the heat race to get comfortable. I had to adapt to how much the track had changed since qualifying. I got another solid start in the main event and just focused on putting in some good laps. Once Chase [Sexton] got around me, I just latched on and knew if I could stay with him, we’d make some passes, and that’s what we did. We got helped out a bit with some guys tipping over at the end, but that’s part of it. Another seventh-place finish, which I’m pretty pumped on.”
Kitchen: ““I’m actually really happy with this result. I took quite a bit of time off the bike to recover and rode for the first time on Monday this week. I felt good, so Mitch [Payton] and I had a conversation and decided to race Denver. This was a pretty last-minute decision, so to come in and have a good weekend like this feels great. In the main event, I got into second and just focused on putting in solid laps. The track was really difficult and could catch you pretty quick, so it was all about staying consistent. Overall, after a full race day, my back finally feels good again, and I’m relieved, especially with outdoors just a few weeks away. I really appreciate everyone sticking behind me through it. I’m looking forward to finishing strong next weekend in Salt Lake and moving on to outdoors.”
McAdoo: ““It wasn’t the day I was looking for, but it felt good to be back racing. We had some things go wrong early that put me behind right away, and from there it was just damage control all day. Going through the LCQ and having to fight from the back in the main definitely made it tough, but I just kept putting my head down and getting laps in. There are a few positives to take from it, especially just being back behind the gate and getting a full day in. We’ll keep working and focus on getting better.”
