By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
SAN DIEGO — Eli Tomac showcased that when he’s the man to beat, every rider must bring their A-game. It had been a while since Tomac was able to put on a masterclass performance, but he certainly did at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego for his 34th career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory Saturday.
Tomac’s win streak extends to 11 consecutive years as it was his third win in San Diego and the first 450SX victory since St. Louis last March.
The two-time Supercross 450 class champion worked his way towards the front by setting fast laps and putting tremendous pressure on the competition. Especially, when Tomac had passed Ken Roczen for second on Lap 10 with only one guy to pass and that was his Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb.
Three laps later, Webb was double-teamed by Tomac and Jett Lawrence as the former went low to pass Webb entering the final corner to complete the lap. While Tomac took command of the race, the fight was still on behind him as Lawrence made sure he wasn’t going to make his race lead a waltz, it had to be earned.
As the minutes were winding down, so was the opportunity for Lawrence to win. With one lap remaining, Lawrence was within striking distance of Tomac, but it wasn’t meant to be. Tomac bested the defending series champion by 1.518 seconds and will head into Anaheim 2 with a one-point lead over Chase Sexton, who tangled with Aaron Plessinger on the opening lap. Sexton ended up rallying back to finish sixth.
The triumph of Tomac comes a week after he briefly held the lead at Anaheim 1 before crashing just as the crowd were roaring at him leading the race.
“It’s up there on the list for wins. It’s been a while since I’ve won a 20-minute main. I didn’t get one last year, so that’s a big thing for me,” said Tomac. “This was a huge deal and just coming back to prove that I’m at a better position and better shape. Just regrouping from last week, putting myself in that position and then tipping it over on the third turn was so frustrating. It was nice to get it done all the way.”
Like Tomac, Lawerence had a rough opener at Anaheim 1 as he was involved in an incident where he wound up last before Tomac crashed. The defending 450SX champion will return to Anaheim next Saturday with some work to do as he’s currently fifth in points, 10 markers behind Tomac.
“Eli got me at the start, and we went back-and-forth…
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