After the first two rounds of Pro Motocross Adam Cianciarulo has found himself in an interesting situation. He started the series as the sixth best guy, and with Chase Sexton sitting out with an injury he is now the fifth best guy. Lightyears ahead of the guys in sixth but not quite able to hang with the guys out front. Our Kellen Brauer caught up with a frustrated Adam after Hangtown to hear about his plans going forward and how to get closer to the lead pack.
Racer X: Alright Adam, 5-4 scores on the day so not too shabby, but just take me through it?
Adam Cianciarulo: Yeah, I have been doing a lot of riding by myself. Kind of better than the other guys but not as good as the guys in front of me. So, it's a bit of a frustrating situation because I think typically, I am a guy who has the speed to battle for podiums and wins so it's mentally pretty challenging for me. Not exactly where I want to be, but like I talked about last week it's all about me sticking with it and finding ways to get better instead of focusing on stuff I can’t control. So, I’m pretty pissed off about it. I can’t say, even this has kind of been a trend this year dealing with this stuff, I am not like a good loser. I don’t sit there on the gate thinking, “Oh yeah, we are just going to roll around and get fifth this time.” Even though it may not look like it I am having to put in a lot of effort. And I think I made steps today. I was a little bit closer to the front pack for a little bit longer both motos and didn’t get beat by two minutes so that’s something. But at the end of the day, all I can do is what I can do. We are making good steps with the bike and with myself. I think we can get closer I just have to learn how to do it again and learn how to do it a different way.
Going back to qualifying, just by the eye test it looked like you were feeling a little bit froggier today. Is it fair to say you were looking more comfortable on the bike?
Umm I think so. I like Hangtown. Fox Raceway really isn’t my favorite track. I always seem to do pretty well here. But yeah, I’ve still got the speed. I can go around the track as good as anyone else. But I’ve got to be able to do it for 30.
So, is there anything with the bike or is it more just trying to get yourself there?
Yeah, we are making little changes with the bike. I guess it's pretty experimental at this point. Kind of trying different stuff every time, experimenting a bit. But with myself the big thing is I can’t really do what I do, which is at the beginning of the moto I am fast those first few laps I can really lay it down. If I do that now I put my hand situation in a compromised spot. I could go really fast for a while and then I am screwed the rest of the moto basically. So, I am having to be smoother right away, but I know I can do it better than I am doing it. I know there’s more out there even with what I am dealing with. So, yeah, I think I can get closer.
What did you think of this track today. I heard people say it was one lined and kind of tight. I know you rode by yourself for a little bit of it, but what did you think?
Yeah, I thought it was challenging for sure. But I wasn’t a huge fan of the layout changes. I feel like it made it really one lined. The off-camber section after the start it's just follow the leader and some of the stuff in the back. I don’t like it when they make big singles on the insides too, it makes one rut. So, it wasn’t my favorite Hangtown layout but everybody had to race it.
Excited to go east?
Absolutely. It's not quite east but I love Colorado, I’ve always loved going there.
