2020 Anaheim One Supercross | Adam Cianciarulo GoPro Onboard
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2020 ANAHEIM ONE SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
Adam Cianciarulo’s true 450 Supercross debut was one to remember. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was talked about by everyone ahead of the 2020 Anaheim One Supercross, but he did his best to downplay the expectations in case things went awry the way they tend to do in racing. The sense of modesty seemed to make his riding at Anaheim One even more impressive, as he was the fastest rider in all three of the daytime practice sessions, was in the mix and scored a second-place result in his race, and then battled with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia for the win in the 450 Main Event. Thanks to AC’s ties to GoPro, we get to see footage of the night’s exciting finale from his perspective. Press play on the video and watch how the race unfolded.
The second-place finish in his Heat Race gave Cianciarulo a good gate pick and he entered the first turn in the thick of the pack, around ninth place. While that’s not necessarily the best spot to start, he tucked in tight through the flat sweeping turn and set up a good, clear line down the first lane of track, which allowed him to pass up to fifth place by turn two.
Much has been made about the contact between Cianciarulo and Justin Hill on lap two, when the SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts/Honda rider ran it in on AC in the tight left turn, but seeing it from this perspective Cianciarulo clearly cut down in the turn and below all of the normal ruts, so maybe that was a factor in this instance. Either way, Cianciarulo brushed off the block passes when asked about it in the press conference as a non-issue, so don’t expect it to turn into something more.
But hey, AC did his share of bumping too! His close move on Vince Friese for third place just before the finish line was enough for him to take a glance back over the next jump, just to see if Friese was going for a retaliatory move. He wasn’t close enough, though, and Cianciarulo then turned his attention to Justin Brayton.
GoPro’s editors do a good job of getting all the highlights in a short timeframe, so the video jumps ahead to Cianciarulo’s pursuit of Justin Barcia. You can see the leader ahead as they go down the third-base line, how the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider shot to the right after a small mistake, and then his sudden effort to get back on track and block for the lead in the next turn, which Cianciarulo narrowly avoided.
AC’s big mistake came later in the race, as he got a little out of sorts in an attempt to triple into a rhythm lane and came up short. This was the opening Barcia needed to reclaim the lead and he hopped by Cianciarulo with inches to spare at the entrance of the next turn. Cianciarulo tried his own block to hold the spot, but he too just missed the move.
The last moments of the video show how close rookie Cianciarulo was to the experienced winner Barcia because you see the stadium light up from the pyrotechnics when the Yamaha rider crossed the finish line and the last from a massive fireball. He’ll win one soon enough…
