Larry Lawrence | September 4, 2019
Archives: MX Stats 2019
It was a good year for Monster Energy Kawasaki in what old school fans like to call the “outdoor nationals”. Team Green won both the 450cc and 250cc MX Championships this year with Eli Tomac doing the honors in the 450 class and Adam Cianciarulo finally getting it done in the 250 class. It marked the fifth time in history that Kawasaki swept both classes and the first time since 2011 when Ryan Villopoto and Dean Wilson managed the feat.
Archives: MX Stats 2019
Tomac’s win was also important in that it now makes Kawasaki the all-time championship leader in AMA 450/250 Motocross history. Since the launch of the AMA Motocross National Championship in 1972 Kawasaki riders have won 14 AMA 450/250 class championships. It moved them out of a tie with Honda, which is now second among manufacturers with its riders winning 13 450/250 MX titles. Call it the Carmichael Curse, but Honda hasn’t won the AMA 450MX Championship since 2004 when Carmichael won it for them and then they inexplicably somehow let him get away. That’s 15 years folks – by far the longest championship drought in the class for Big Red. We all know that after Honda lost him, RC went on and wrapped up his MX career winning two more MX championships with Suzuki.
Amazingly Cianciarulo’s 250MX title also make Kawasaki the all-time leader in the AMA 250/125 class with Kawasaki riders winning that championship a total of 15 times. That breaks a tie with – you guessed it – Honda, which has 14 titles in the smaller category.
Cianciarulo is the 31st rider to win the AMA 250/125 MX Championship. The journey to his first title is an especially compelling one. One of the most highly decorated amateur riders in the history of motocross, Cianciarulo was expected to be a championship contender from the start of his pro career. Instead the Floridian battle with one injury after another until it all came together for him this season.
“The road to this championship has been a journey,” Cianciarulo said. “I grew up in the Team Green program and many people had such high expectations but because of injuries, I’ve been unable to fulfill those expectations until now. I wouldn’t change a thing though. I have learned so much, grown as a person and appreciate this moment more than I could have imagined. I’m just so emotional thinking about this accomplishment my entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and I have achieved; we have worked so hard for this and I really put my mind to it. I wanted this title so badly, now it’s time to celebrate!”
Back the 450 class, Tomac becomes only the fourth rider in series history to win three years in a row. It’s the first time in 13 years that the feat’s been accomplished. The only other riders to win at least three times consecutively are Gary Jones, Tony DiStefano and Ricky Carmichael. Not bad company.
Tomac scored a series-leading six overall wins in 2019. That moved him up from eighth to fourth on the all-time AMA 450/250MX Wins List with 23. He moved past legends Kent Howerton, James Stewart, Jr., Rick Johnson. Think about that stat for a second – only three riders in the history of the sport have scored more premier class wins than Tomac. Another season like he had this year could move Tomac past Bob Hannah, who currently sits third on the all-time 450/250 wins list with 27. Hannah is behind only Carmichael (76 wins) and Ryan Dungey (39 wins). Ken Roczen, with his three national wins this year, also moved up the all-time list going past Jeremy McGrath and Jeff Emig into a tie for seventh with Kent Howerton on the all-time wins list at 18.
Tomac was amazingly consistent this season, finishing on the podium at 11 of the 12 rounds.
Cianciarulo’s six 250 national wins this season topped the series and moved him into a 10-way tie for 22nd on the all-time AMA 250/125 MX wins list. Four riders each won overalls this year in both the 450 and 250 classes, which is historically a fairly average number.
Laps led during the season often tells the story of the championship, but not this year. In the 450 class, Honda’s Ken Roczen, who finished runner up in the series, led 151 laps this season as compared to 105 by champ Tomac. Marvin Musquin, who was third in the final standings, was third in the lap leader category as well with 58 laps led. In the 250s again it was second-place finisher Dylan Ferrandis who led the most laps on the season with 112, overtaking Cianciarulo (97 laps) for that honor on the final weekend.
In terms of moto wins Tomac led the way in the 450 class with 11. Ferrandis, with nine to Cianciarulo’s seven, copped the most moto wins in the 250 class. Cooper Webb used the power of his Red Bull KTM to win the most holeshots in the 450 class this season with six, this despite missing the final two rounds. Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper took the honors in the 250 class with seven holeshots.
The 2019 season will be remembered for Tomac moving into the truly elite category in AMA Pro Motocross history. He’s still only 26, so if he continues for another four or five years at this pace, he potentially might threaten Carmichael’s record of seven AMA 450/250 MX Championships. It might be a longshot, but one more title puts him second for the most championships in the series. And if form continues in the 250 class there very likely will be a new champ in that class in 2020, especially considering Cianciarulo is moving up. In the last 10 years only one rider, Jeremy Martin, has managed to repeat in that championship.
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