Cameron McAdoo enjoyed a solid day at the 2023 Supercross Opener at Angel Stadium where he collected his first podium finish of the season with third.
The Iowan also kicked things off with a heat race win. Teammate Austin Forkner started the day as the fastest qualifier and finished third in his heat race, but a crash off the start in the main event kept him from finishing the evening.
It had been three years since McAdoo lined up on the floor of Angel Stadium and he looked happy to be back. He got things going with several good qualifying practices, finishing fifth. As the lights turned on for the night show, McAdoo nearly grabbed the holeshot of this heat race and quickly took over the lead to notch his first heat-race win of the season.
With the second gate pick for the main, he put himself in a great position off the start and found himself second around the first turn. He maintained top speed throughout the first half of the race, but a slight bobble halfway through forced him to dial it back slightly. McAdoo nearly held onto second until the end but surrendered the position with a few laps to go, coming across the finish in third.
“I’m not completely satisfied with my ride,” said McAdoo. “All-in-all, I’m looking at the big picture, so it’s definitely a solid way to start the season. I had a little mishap that hurt my hand halfway through the race, so that made it more difficult to hit all my lines. I’m going to keep working to be better and in the grand scheme of things, it was a good day. It’s been a while since I’ve raced Anaheim and it’s been fun.”
Like McAdoo, it had been three years since Austin Forkner lined up for a race in Anaheim and showed his excitement with a great qualifying lap that put him on top of the board. The pole position had him in the same heat as his teammate, but Forkner had to work through the pack after a small mistake in the opening laps. He would regain the positions to finish third in the heat race.
Forkner was lined up to the inside of his teammate, but didn’t get the jump at the gate drop and trailed McAdoo down the start straight. His wheel ended up getting tangled with another rider and the impact caused a crash that forced Forkner to sit out the main event. He will be getting further evaluation from his doctors this week to determine if he can line up for Oakland.
