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/139559
P30 IN THE WIND CIANCIARULO HAS ARRIVED PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE COX T he Budds Creek National Motocross marked the highly anticipated pro debut of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Adam Cianciarulo. Why was it highly anticipated? Because the 16-year-old Floridian is tied for the most AMA Amateur National MX Championships, and anyone with those kinds of credentials is hard to overlook. He also has an amazing personality for a young racer. But instead of going the way of the infamous "Believe The Hype" Mike Alessi debut from 2004, Cianciarulo was trying to just do his thing as under the radar as possible at Budds Creek after missing the first four rounds with salmonella poisoning. In timed qualifying, Cianciarulo was 12th quickest, but then he nearly grabbed the holeshot in the first moto, before being squeezed out by veteran Wil Hahn. He ran near the front for the first handful of laps, but then faded as a fall and the veterans got the best of him. He eventually finished 14th. In moto two, he crashed on the opening lap and came from dead last to 17th. "I learned a lot," Cianciarulo said after the race when asked what positives he could take from the day. Team boss Mitch Payton predicted his debut would go pretty much like it did, though, since everyone has been racing for over a month now. "Truthfully, I think it was predictable, the way I look at it," Payton said. "I thought the first moto… he started up front and then I think he was a little bit shocked at how aggressive and intense they were. And then he fell down once. And the second moto, he got a bad start and fell down again, and then he was just buried in the back. Adam Cianciarulo finally got the chance to race with the pros. "Truthfully, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Now he'll be able to go home, he knows where he's at, and just learn from it. Now he knows, 'Wow, those guys are on it right off the bat.' So I think he's going to have to work on that, and I'm sure he will, and I think he'll get better." HEPLER STILL HAULS F Steve Cox ormer factory Suzuki and Yamaha motocrosser Broc Hepler might be retired, but that doesn't keep him from racing – and going real fast - every now and then. With the AMA National Enduro Series making a stop in his home state of Pennsylvania, Hepler busted out his Yamaha and showed up for the Foggy Mountain National Enduro and competed in the 250 A class and did quite well. He finished third in class and 17th overall, and anyone who has ridden a National Enduro, or any enduro for that matter, knows that just showing up out of the blue and finishing