To put it mildly, defending Supercross champion Eli Tomac has started the season on the right foot.
He shook the monkey off his back at the opening round in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 7 by collecting his first victory in the season opener at Angel Stadium after 10 years of trying. Though the second round was postponed due to weather concerns, there was no loss of momentum as Tomac went two-for-two in San Diego on Jan. 21.
It wasn’t until the 450cc class riders found themselves back in Anaheim for the first Triple Crown event of the season on Jan. 28 that Tomac’s season took a turn.
In the third and final race of the Triple Crown, the Star Racing Yamaha rider went off course in the rhythm section and took a tumble into the tuff blocks. He was back on his bike and on the track in less than 30 seconds, salvaging a sixth-place finish in the overall event.
Seemingly unharmed, Tomac still left California with the point lead. But when he arrived at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, the following weekend, there were a few lingering reservations about the crash.
“For one, I couldn’t believe I was fine on Tuesday riding. I was totally normal,” Tomac said. “But on Friday, when we rode press day here … I had some PTSD in my head, that’s for sure.”
Surprisingly, another crash was the least of his worries in Houston, as Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton appeared to be two steps ahead of Tomac all day. Sexton’s fastest time in qualifying was more than a second quicker than Tomac’s — 50.320 seconds to 51.431 seconds — and it only worsened during the evening program.
Within the span of their five-minute heat race, Sexton overtook Tomac for the lead and built a six-second gap over the defending champion.
“I definitely was confident in my riding, but I knew that would fire him up. I didn’t go to the line thinking I had it in the bag or anything,” Sexton said about the heat race. “The main event is where Eli [Tomac] really shined.”
Tomac was out front early in the main, but a major crash from his teammate Dylan Ferrandis brought out the red flag, resulting in a staggered restart. Once the green flag waved, Tomac was virtually untouchable and scored his third victory in four races.
“The whole day, Chase had another level on us … My goal was just to be a pest out front. After that heat race, to be honest, I was like, I can’t hang,” Tomac said. “Just ended up riding better in the main, found more lines and was able to do it for those 20 minutes there.”
The hard-fought trip to victory lane brought Tomac’s Supercross win total to 47 — one shy of Ricky Carmichael (48) for third on the all-time wins list.
Two more triumphs would give Tomac sole possession of third. James Stewart is second with 50 victories, while Jeremy McGrath owns 72 Supercross triumphs.
“It’s a cool space to be in, to be close to those guys. Either way, I’ve got to get there first,” Tomac said matter-of-factly.
While it would certainly be a nice addition to his long list of accomplishments, Tomac doesn’t feel the need to look anywhere other than last year to find a sense of pride and contentment with what he has achieved in his career.
Tomac concluded, “Last year, winning both titles was a big thing for me. It’s hard to do Supercross and then motocross. I’m satisfied with most things I’ve done.”