If you watched the Monster Energy Cup on television in anticipation of seeing the world's best amateurs do battle on a supercross(ish) track, then you were probably disappointed. The coverage of the amateurs on SPEED was cut short and only the leader of each class was given any TV time whatsoever. Lucky for you we were on scene to give you a complete breakdown of the nights racing or you may be lost in translation forever. You can thank us later. For now, let's get on with the show.
All Star Amateur Breakdown
The Amateur All Star class is made up of the top Intermediate riders in the country who will be entering into the pro am class in 2012. Chances are you will see many of these riders take on the 2012 AMA Outdoor National series and if not, then you will definitely see them under the Supercross lights in 2013. They are the stars in waiting, if you will.
Heading into the weekend all eyes were on Cairo, Georgia's, Zach Bell. Bell is a long time Kawasaki Team Green rider who recently received an offer to be a development rider for the esteemed Amsoil/Geico Honda/Factory Connection team. Factory Connection has pulled the likes of Blake Wharton, Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia and most recently Justin Bogle from the amateur ranks with great success, and Bell is the next rider on their list.
While all eyes were on Bell, there were plenty of hungry amateurs who looked to steal his spotlight. With the chance to perform in front of the entire industry, everyone lucky enough to be on the line was fully focused on making an impression.
In the first moto Bell made it look easy. He pulled the holeshot and set down lap times that Ziggy and the boys at Factory Connection were proud of. He went uncontested in his first ever race on the bike and looked to be set up for an easy sweep. Honda's Cole Thompson and Austin Politelli, however, weren't far behind and were both looking poised to give Bell a run for his money. Justin Hill was able to muster a fourth after a difficult start to the race and Jessy Nelson rounded out the top five after a poor start on his Troy Lee Designs backed Honda. After the first moto Honda held four of the top five finishing positions and was already breaking out the champagne for a potential podium sweep.
The second moto, however, brought about quite a bit of controversy. A bad jump off the line for Bell left him fighting for positions mid-pack while Kawasaki's, Justin Hill grabbed the holeshot and took off to a sizeable lead early. Austin Politelli was able to keep him in check throughout the moto, but would never find the speed to reel him in.
Cole Thompson was able to stay consistent in third while Bell finally worked his way into fourth after trying to pass on a track that, for lack of better words, was nearly impossible to pass on.
With the top four switching positions in the second moto, the overall was up for grabs. When all was said and done there was a four-way tie for the win. Zach Bell (1-4), Cole Thompson (2-3), Austin Politelli (3-2) and Justin Hill (4-1) all received a total of five points given their finishes. But as we all know, the second moto counts more than the first and Justin Hill was awarded the win in the Amateur All Star class with Politelli, Thompson, Bell and Thomas Covington rounding out the top five, respectively.
Full List of Results:
1. Justin Hill
2. Austin Politelli
3. Cole Thompson
4. Zach Bell
5. Thomas Covington
6. Dillan Epstein
7. Jessy Nelson
8. Vann Martin
9. Zack Williams
10. Chris Alldredge
11. James Gardiner
12. Blake Savage
13. Steven Tokarski
14. Josh Mosiman
15. Clay Chapiewski
16. Brady Kiesel
17. Grant Ransdell
18. Alyas Wardius
Supermini Breakdown
Adam Cianciarulo has been pinned as the next big thing to hit professional motocross/supercross, and he may have proven why yet again in Las Vegas over the weekend. Representing the group of top amateurs that will earn their professional license in 2013 and 2014, Cianciarulo has won 52 Amateur National Championships including seven AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn's. At 14 years of age he has been a member of Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green since 2005 and has already inked a deal with Pro Circuit Kawasaki for the next five years.
In case you are wondering, yes, he is that legit. However, he's not unbeatable. AC (as many people refer to him) and Cooper Webb have been trading titles since their days in the 50cc class and with Webb recently making the switch from Honda to KTM the hype coming into the Monster Energy Cup race was at an all time high.
While the hype was big, the spotlight belonged to AC. He stretched a big lead early in the first moto, and while Webb managed to pick up the pace and keep AC in his sights in the second moto, his lack of testing on the new bike showed. The two, however, were heads and tales above the rest, but they are also the oldest in the class, which is an important note to take into consideration, especially in the Supermini class.
Webb will go onto race big bikes full time in 2012, and while AC will remain in the Supermini class for another year, he has already begun testing on the KX 125.
As for the rest of the field, California's Blake Green looked superb in third. He put in two solid podium performances and rounded out the number three spot for the night. Blake is a promising talent from the west coast. When he's healthy he's top in his class, which he proved in Vegas.
Rounding out the top five was Bradford Young out of Delray Beach, Florida and the super talented Mark Worth out of Queens Creek, AZ. Young put in solid 5-4 moto scores for fourth overall while the young Worth was able to keep consistency on his side with 6-6 scores for fifth overall.
Full List of Results
1. Adam Cianciarulo
2. Cooper Webb
3. Blake Green
4. Bradford Young
5. Mark Worth
6. Ashton Hayes
7. Justin Hoeft
8. Shelby Peterson
9. Chase Marquier
10. Andrew Pierce
11. Tristan Miller
12. Chad Scogins
13. Jeremy Byrne
14. Austen Wiser
15. Troy Graffunder
16. Rookie White
17. Robbie Wageman
18. Sam Redman
19. Jon Ames
20. Andy Kost
21. Jantz Grodzieki
22. Cole Barbien
23. Chase Bell
24. Darian Sanayei
