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ELI TOMAC
450 SX / AZ
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Eli Tomac finally put in the performance that everyone has been expecting from Monster Energy Kawasaki’s primary rider since the commencement of the 2017 Supercross series. The Colorado native was able to put behind him the uncharac- teristic feelings that plagued him throughout the first three rounds of the season. He has not lacked the speed to contend for race wins, but has not been able to hold onto that speed for the entirety of the main events -- something he has never been known for throughout his entire professional career. Tomac has always been able
to rely on his superhuman fitness to push him to the next level late in races, but it’s something that he hasn’t been able to hang his hat on in 2017. Following Roczen’s horrendous crash a week ago in Anaheim, it’s more apparent now than ever that the series is far from over. Tomac rose to the occasion in timed practice yet again as he was one of four riders to clock a lap time under the one minute mark, earning him a solid gate pick to set him up for success in his heat race. In the first 450 heat race of the evening, he shot out of the gate with perfect timing and blasted his KX 450F out to an early lead. Tomac used the advantage that he gained down the straight away and dipped to the outside, nailing the initial triple out of the corner and therefore separating himself from the ensuing pack immediately. The two-time 250 champion rode with flawless consistency and precision as he floated across the track with little to no resistance, incessantly increasing his gap over his competition. He eventually took the checkered flag with a six second advantage over Malcolm Stewart, claiming the first gate pick for the main event in the process. It was a virtually identical rec- reation of the heat race when the gate dropped for the main event as Tomac broke the sound barrier down the start straight. He beat everyone to the first corner and immediately began to put a gap of multiple seconds per lap into the rest of the field. The Kawasaki rider was the fastest guy on the track for the majority of the twenty minutes plus one, riding his own race from the front of the field as if he was spinning laps on a weekday. The fast, flowy nature of the track and the technicality of the rhythm sections lent themselves to the characteristics of the Kawasaki as well as Tomac’s skillset; he took advantage at a time when he desperately needed to stake his claim to the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, making things very interesting heading back to California for the final time this season.
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GRITMOTO • JANUARY 29, 2017