Foothill Ranch, Calif. (July 11, 2021) – The 2021 AMA Pro Motocross Championship hosted Round 5 of the 2021 season at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts where Monster Energy® Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac dominated the second moto en route to securing his third moto win in three races. Tomac’s 8-1 moto results placed him fourth overall on the day and moved him into third in the 450 Class Championship standings. Fellow Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo showed impressive speed from the first qualifying session and carried that form throughout the day, finishing sixth overall after 5-6 moto results. In the 250 class, Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda proved he’s a threat to the front runners, scoring his first-ever overall podium result in second with 3-4 moto scores. Teammate Austin Forkner finished 17th overall after mistakes forced him to fight back in both motos, resulting in 14-25 moto finishes.
Rain from Tropical Storm Elsa covered “America’s Sandbox” with moisture in the days before Round 5, creating a challenging racetrack that called for an afternoon of close, physical racing. Once morning qualifying sessions were completed, Cianciarulo proved to have the best feel for the track, clocking in the fastest lap time at 2:12.659. Heavy traffic prevented Tomac from reaching his potential in qualifying, placing him 12th fastest overall with a 2:17.214 lap time.
When the gate dropped on the 40-rider field, both Cianciarulo and Tomac rocketed out the gate to top 10 starts aboard their KX™450 machines. Sitting fourth, Cianciarulo matched the pace of the top three riders and was catching the front pack halfway through the moto. Despite his best efforts, Cianciarulo couldn’t catch the lead riders but still finished in fifth after dropping one position late in the moto. Tomac, who was in eighth out the gate, was pushed wide in the first corner, dropping him back to 13th. However, the No. 3 made quick work of the first three riders in front of him and advanced into 10th within the opening laps. As the race progressed, Tomac continued picking off those in front of him, eventually finishing in eighth.
Eli Tomac: “First, I want to thank the Monster Energy Kawasaki team for all their hard work. We’ve tried a few different setups this year, but today was the most comfortable I’ve felt on the bike, as you can tell by my second moto performance. We didn’t change much from last week, other than slightly dropping the forks, but that seemed to make all the difference and I felt like a completely different rider during Moto 2. We’re in a good spot and will look to carry this momentum forward to be upfront in both motos moving forward.”
Adam Cianciarulo: “I have a lot of positives to take away from today. I was first in 450 qualifying, I got good starts in both motos and I rode with the top three guys for as long as I could. The track was a bit rougher than I excepted, which meant some bike changes were needed. Thankfully, I have an amazing crew at Monster Energy Kawasaki looking out for me, and the bike was dialed. I’m going to spend some extra time this week training in rough conditions similar to Southwick so that I can adapt to these conditions a lot quicker next time.”