VOLUME 56 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2019 P145
for the month of November so I
can go back East and let the real
training begin for Anaheim.
"And to now ride the 450 for
Kawasaki, it's one of the things
that in racing you accomplish a
goal, and that's great, and it's
cool to be proud of it, and to
really look back on your journey.
However, at the same time, you
want to win again, and you kind
of automatically go to the next
goal, and that's definitely where
my head has been at. You know
me, I love riding dirt bikes. Even
though it is technically my job, I
still enjoy doing it, so I was really
anxious to get on the new bike
and start making improvements,
and I was totally prepared to get
to work.
"In what was my first race on
the 450, I tried to come into the
Monster Cup with an open mind
and not too much temptation. I
felt pretty good at the practice
track beforehand. I think when
I initially got on the 450 that I
wanted to be smart and ease
into it, and that's exactly what I
did. I started ramping it up a little
bit in the week leading up to the
race. I felt like we had a good
shot to be battling and maybe
be in contention to win the race.
I certainly didn't close my mind
to that option. I mean, I think it
worked out perfectly just being
up there. You know, even getting
a bad start in the second race
and having to come through
and race those guys and make
some passes, I felt like I got a
really good experience out of it.
I got some good laps, and we
got some good stuff that we can
definitely lean on going on into
the regular season. Man, what a
special night for me.
"In retrospect, it was kind
of funny how the Monster Cup
worked out."
CHAMPIONSHIP-COSTING CRASH
"I don't really look at how Ve-
gas ended last May and with me
crashing out of that Supercross
I don't really
look at how
Vegas ended
last May and
with me crashing out
of that Supercross
championship. It's all
too much in a negative
light now, to be honest
with you. It's just a part
of my story, and I use it
for motivation.
Cianciarulo won't get the
chance to defend his number-
one plate, but that's okay,
because he's moving up
to join the big boys of the
450cc class in 2020.
