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/842139
VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P63 My Own Race: 32 WESTON PEICK 4TH 450MX (4-4) AutoTrader/JGR/Toyota Suzuki's Weston Peick has been battling back from a wrist injury all year, but he had a breakthrough in Tennessee, riding solid races, which included tough battles. "It's been one of the longest injuries I've ever had, and it's been a hard injury to come back from," Peick said. "To ride each week, week-in and week-out, and have the pain, and crashing on it and injuring it while trying to recover, it's been a huge struggle, but I was able to get out to good starts and I'm stoked to be in fourth place in this one." 21 JASON ANDERSON 2ND 450MX (1-2) Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Jason Anderson got away early in the opening moto of the day at Muddy Creek, and by the time Eli Tomac got into second, Anderson was so far in front that Tomac thought he was leading. Anderson won the moto—his second so far this year—but he couldn't match Tomac's pace in moto two. "At the beginning, I was right behind him, and my start was good, but I got a little messed up in the first corner and it took me a little while to get around Trey [Canard], but he was riding good, and once Eli got away, I felt like I was trying too hard to catch him," Anderson said. "I mean, the dude's hard to catch; he's the fastest dude out there. So I'm trying my butt off, and I feel like I'm getting closer and closer every weekend. I'm pumped on the moto win, pumped on the podium, and on the team." 36 ADAM CIANCIARULO 4TH 250MX (2-5) Adam Cianciarulo has been having a really consistent season, and he had a solid day in Tennessee, finishing second to Aaron Plessinger in the opening moto. "Yeah, it was a good race for me," Cianciarulo said. "The last couple weekends; I had that mechanical at Colorado, unfortunately, that put us back a little bit, and since then I've been struggling to find momentum. This weekend was a good place to start. I was able to get a good start, and Aaron made a mistake right off the bat here on the first lap, and I wish I would've gotten him there, because we were pretty similar in speed. I just made a couple mistakes and he got away from me. But I felt good about my speed." In moto two, Cianciarulo started pretty well, passed a couple guys to get to fifth. 24 AUSTIN FORKNER 3RD 250MX (3-3) Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's young speedster Austin Forkner had a consistent 3-3 day, but he had Alex Martin all over him in both motos, so he had no time to breathe. "It was gnarly!" Forkner said. "He was on me both motos. I just had to focus ahead. I was focused on trying to catch Aaron and Zach [in the second moto] and just tried not to think about who was behind me, because if I do that I start making mistakes. The track was pretty gnarly, and I'm happy to be up on the box." 26 ALEX MARTIN 5TH 250MX (4-4) TLD/Red Bull KTM's Alex Martin gave Forkner everything he had in both motos, but couldn't find a way by the youngster. And with the 5-1 of Zach Osborne and the 2-5 of Cianciarulo, the 4-4 only gave Martin fifth overall on the day. "I've been glad to have the consistency throughout the season," Martin said. "If something happens to the leader in the championship, I know we can be right there. It would be nice to get better overall finishes with my moto scores, but the class is so competitive and the points are close." 16 ZACH OSBORNE 2ND 250MX (5-1) At a track Osborne grew up racing on, he was excited to display his red number plate for his local fans and friends at Muddy Creek. Unfortunately, in the first moto, Osborne had to charge through the field and he ran out of tear-offs and had to settle for fifth. He came back to dominate moto two, though. "I got a 12th-place start in the first one and used up my tear- offs pretty quick, so I just settled for fifth at the end," Osborne said. "I couldn't see a whole lot. The second moto, I knew I could get out to a better start because the gates were a little drier. It's been a great day at my home race, and I feel great to be on the podium and win a moto in front of the local people." cont. on page 64