Cover photo courtesy of Feld Entertainment, Inc.
After a rough start to the season, Eli Tomac kept his focus to rebound and put his Kawasaki on the center step at Houston 2 in the 450SX Monster Energy AMA Supercross race.
“I was mostly in my own world,” Tomac said after the race. “It was tough up front. It was wild to see two crashes in the same spot. That sand, it was almost as if there was a little edge that was coming up out of the sand that was hiding under there and I think it bit both Chase and Adam.
“So that was a bit of a gift that way, but after that it was a matter of maintaining.”
Tomac had two separate incidents in Saturday night’s main event which relegated him to a 13th place finish. Tuesday night showed luck was now on his side.
“Saturday was pretty scary for the points chase there, so tonight there was no choice but to rebound to stay in this fight,” Tomac said. “The start there was huge for us. I moved outside for the main and it paid off. I was able to sweep around the outside.
“The two guys in front of me, Chase and Adam were laying down the laps – burner pace. I knew it would be a long race.”
Rookie Chase Sexton grabbed the holeshot and led the opening six laps, with Adam Cianciarulo hunting him down from second. The sand pit just past the mechanics proved brutal to both. Cianciarulo went down early, and a few laps later, Sexton washed out just past the sand with a hard fall into the following jump. He would retire from the race holding his hand.
“Went from a dream night to a disaster in a split second,” Sexton posted online to update everyone on his condition. “I felt so good last night and especially in the main, I was locked in and was very comfortable with the track until the crash. Thanks for everyone checking in and seeing how I am but, as of right now, my right shoulder is pretty banged up. Just waiting for further evaluations but hoping it’s just deep bruising!
“I’ll keep everyone updated as soon as I know more!”
Those two crashes handed the lead over to Tomac, who held on for the remaining 23 laps to put himself back on track to defending his title.
Dylan Ferrandis would climb his way through the field to finish second, and Justin Brayton stood on the last step of the podium. After post-race penalties for four riders, including Ken Roczen, opening round winner Justin Barcia would hold on to the championship lead after two races.
“I can’t believe I’m here,” Ferrandis said. “I’m not supposed to be here. I never expected that.”
Round 3 takes place this Saturday, January 23 in Houston for one last time before Supercross heads out to Indianapolis.