Expert Class champion Ellery Cruz, middle, shares the podium with runner-up Dave Celis, left, and Cuki Alvarez during the Marianas Racing Association’s 2022 Monster Energy Point Series awards banquet last Saturday at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan. (MARK RABAGO)

After finishing dead last in 2021, Ellery Cruz buckled down to work and his perseverance paid off after he was awarded the No. 1 plate in the Expert Class of the 2022 Monster Energy Point Series during the Marianas Racing Association awards banquet last Saturday at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan.

The 36-year-old CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management staff beat Dave Celis and Cuki Alvarez for the division championship after finishing with 279 points. Celis came in second with his 254 points, while last year’s winner, Alvarez, wound up third with 251 points. Celis also was runner-up in the Veterans Class.

“This year’s success in the Expert Class is attributed to my practice sessions where I did my best to sharpen my riding skills. It was challenging because I have three kids who also ride, with my fourth (and oldest child) just recently expressing interest in riding. A lot of my focus was on them and helping them during practice days. I had to squeeze in the most time I could for myself, which was often very little. But I made it work,” said Cruz. 

Changing bikes may also have something to do with Cruz winning it all this year, as during the March points race that he won, Cruz actually was forced to use his friend Jared Lizama’s 2022 Yamaha yz250f after his own Yamaha 2020 yz450f conked out.

“From getting last place last year to No. 1 this year was really surprising. I really wasn’t expecting to get that coveted red plate in my class, but it was always in the back of my mind that the competition was real. The guys in the Expert Class put a lot of pressure on the track, so I just kept going to the best of my abilities.”

Cruz dedicated his 2022 Expert Class championships to his family and parents Eric and Bernice, Ericco Racing Team, sponsors Guy Pudney of MarPac (Michelob Ultra and Pokka), and Oma Fejeran of Marianas Native, and of course Lizama.

As for next year, the newly minted Expert Class champion said he will just have to work extra hard to again take home the checkered flag in the division.

“To defend my title next year I’m going to focus on putting in more practice time, perfecting my craft as much as possible. I just want to be better than I was yesterday. Motocross has always been about having fun and staying active in both the body and mind—winning is always a bonus!” he said.

As for his ride next season, Cruz said he will have to return the loner to Lizama and fix his old ride.

“I cracked the crankcase causing oil to spill out and not knowing I kept riding. I got parts for the bike already so I’ll be working on it,” he said. 

Winners of the other classes of the 2022 Monster Energy Point Series will be published in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

The Saipan Tribune gives its readers timely, accurate, balanced, and wide-ranging coverage of what is happening in the Northern Mariana Islands and around the globe.

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