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SUPERCROSS ROUND 13 / APRIL 7, 2018 CENTURY LINK FIELD / SEATTLE, WASHINGTON P56 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS iii My Own Race: 92 ADAM CIANCIARULO 3RD 250SX WEST Adam Cianciarulo had a tricky night in Seattle. He was leading his heat race when he fried his clutch, sending him to the LCQ, which he won. Then, in the main, he started midpack and worked his way forward to eventu- ally finish on the box, taking over second place in the points in the process. "It was tough for me because the heat race was going well and then I had my bike quit on me," Cianciarulo said. "It was unfortunate. There's nothing you can do—tough conditions. The team had to rush back and change the clutches because those were really burning up out there today. You're on the clutch a lot. So, to salvage a third, I felt like I did the absolute best that I could today every lap on the track. Of course it's not what I wanted. I wanted to win. Aaron [Pless- inger] rode great. He's kind of taking control of the championship. We have 17 points down with two races to go. That's going to be tough." 68 JUSTIN STARLING 5TH 250SX WEST Florida's Justin Starling fought his way through the mud to grab his first-ever top-five finish in a super- cross main event; this after he grabbed second place in his heat race to start the night. "Confidence is key, that's all I can say," Starling said. "My team has been amazing. I've been working hard all year and I've been trying to really make it go forward, and man, it took a start. I was up front. I got taken out. I think I went to somewhere around last and I just put my head down and charged and made a pass for fifth I think two cor- ners to go. I can't believe I just top-fived! I'm unbelievably excited. Honestly, it was the gnarliest mud race I've ever done in my life, outdoors or indoors. It was the hardest thing. I didn't even know how many laps we were doing or anything. I just remember all of a sudden I heard the fireworks go and I just knew I just had to keep going. That was a gnarly race." 21 JASON ANDERSON 2ND 450SX Jason Anderson was on a ripper early in the 450SX main, but crashes cost him. He put on a charge at the end of the race, but still came up about 10 seconds short of winner Tomac. Still, Anderson extended his points lead to 37 with just four rounds left to run. "That track was treach- erous out there," Anderson said. "It had been raining all day and honestly, from the heat race to the main, I really was pumped that I was able to switch up a few things with my riding a little bit. I really wanted to get that win, but holy smokes, it was a tough one." 22 CHAD REED 7TH 450SX Chad Reed, who just turned 36 a few weeks ago, solidified his legend even more with his gutsy performance in the Seattle rain. Reed was running fifth on the final lap, but his clutch was going out, and just as he got to the finish line, it quit working. Reed then physically pushed his bike as far as he could. "I was too hard on the clutch," Reed said. "I build some strength and I'm back riding SX now. I've been road biking, mountain biking and running—my normal training that I always do—and in my free time, I've started building a new outdoor track to keep my mind busy. I'm really shooting to race Salt Lake City—that's the goal— but we'll see how the next week goes and how I progress." TOP 10 Hayden Mellross (51Fifty Energy Drink Yamaha) had a strong outing despite re- cently suffering a dislocated shoulder. "After everything that happened today I'm glad to come out with a top 10," said Mellross who finished 10th in the 250SX main. "I dislocated my shoulder a week ago and have been working really hard to get the mobility back in it. Tonight was a good test on it; these conditions really work your physical and mental fitness. The bike held up well all night and despite the muddy track [I] was able to hang with some of the fac- tory guys. I'm ready for another week of training and hopefully better conditions at the next one." DOWNTIME The wet weather forced the AMA to alter the day's schedule. The amended schedule provided riders with plenty of downtime considering that after the 11 a.m. mandatory riders meeting, the next real activity was a 3:20 p.m. track walk. "We had so much time between everything that it seemed like today just dragged on forever," Honda HRC's Christian Craig said, "but we managed to stay busy. I signed autographs for an hour instead of 30 minutes, and I went on Race Day Live. Other than that, I just hung out in the truck and watched golf on my phone." We're guessing he was cheering on MX fan Rickie Fowler, who Briefly...

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