Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1139968
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 7 / JULY 6, 2019 BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN / REDBUD RACEWAY P52 iii My Own Race: 92 ADAM CIANCIARULO 2ND 250MX (5-2) After winning five of the first six 250cc Nationals of the year, Adam Cianciarulo had to settle for second overall at RedBud. But he still extended his points lead, despite be- ing docked two spots in the first moto. "Overall, I hate saying this—I never say this—but the first moto was my fault," Cianciarulo said. "I just missed the setting a little bit, and honestly it made me super-tired out there. I was pretty cooked at halfway. And then the second one, we went back to the Southwick setup, and it was a lot better. But I had to dig deep, and Alex Martin was riding great, so props to Dylan [Ferrandis] here, riding two great motos—a 1-1 for him, that's awesome. So, I'm excited for the challenge that lies ahead, and stoked to get a podium at RedBud." 32 JUSTIN COOPER 3RD 250MX (3-6) Justin Cooper suffered from poor starts at RedBud, but a late-race charge in moto two still landed him third overall, even though he was continually asked for more as RJ Hampshire was also moving up through the field. "I was getting the pit board every lap, and I had [Cameron] McAdoo, [Shane] McElrath and [Michael] Mosiman in front of me, and they [Cooper's mechanic] told me I just had to get one of them for third overall, and then I got third overall, and then they were like, 'You need another one,'" Cooper said. "Then I got another one, then they were like, 'You need one more!' So I made that last-lap pass and was able to get up here. My starts weren't good today, and I got bumped around in the first couple turns and was buried. My boot actually came undone in the first couple turns because I was getting bumped around. It was chaotic. Those starts, I just made it hard on myself. But it's good to salvage third and be up on the box again." 31 RJ HAMPSHIRE 4TH 250MX (2-8) RJ Hampshire had a strong day at RedBud, but it was thwarted by a first-turn fall in moto two. Despite that, he tied on points with Cooper for third overall, but Cooper got the position on the moto-two tiebreaker. "I qualified 16th out of practice, and that was a good 16th!" Hampshire said. "I felt great! And then I had that good first moto, and I found the flow, then, sure enough, second moto, same thing as last year. I had a first- turn crash, then got hung up in another crash later on. Man, 2-8 on the day, I'm pretty bummed. I thought I had a podium there. I lost it the last lap [when Cooper passed Michael Mosiman]." 26 ALEX MARTIN 250MX (19-3) Alex Martin ran second for most of the first moto despite his motorcycle puffing white smoke, indicating a coolant leak. His motorcycle quit with three turns left in the race. He made up for it in moto two, though. "There was definitely some redemption," Martin said. "I don't think I ever wanted a holeshot that bad in my life. It was pure heartbreak in that first moto. I felt it going with like three or four laps to go, and I was trying to take it easy, but it ended up it was a radiator hose—just a freak deal, it just came off, so the bike overheated with two laps to go. I'm definitely bummed about that, but I came out swinging in the second moto, got the holeshot. That's what we've been going for all year long, and we finally got it done. But, man, I was getting a lot of heat from Hunter Lawrence with I think a lap to go there, and I was like, 'There's no way I'm going to lose this podium right now.' At least we got one moto podium today. It would've been a 3-3 day, but oh well, that's all we can do is move on." 21 JASON ANDERSON 2ND 450MX (2-4) Jason Anderson had another strong day at RedBud, but his first-ever outdoor overall win still eludes him. "I feel like I'm just a tick off speed-wise, and I'm on the limiter going that pace, so you can see it at the end of the motos, but we're progressing," Anderson said. "We're getting better every weekend. Last weekend was a rough one; Southwick got the best of me. But we're here on the podium at RedBud, and it's awe- some."