Page 48 - ISSUE 29

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GRITMOTO • AUGUST.29.16
ELI TOMAC
Eli Tomac will be ending his 2016 outdoor championship very comfortably in second place in the points standings. It has been an up and down year for the Colorado native. It was his first season with the coveted Factory Monster Energy Kawasaki squad and the growing pains they had together were definitely visible. Tomac really struggled to get going throughout the supercross season and did not seem to have the race
pace of Dungey and Roczen. He broke through at the outdoor styled Daytona beating Dungey straight up and that sent a signal to the moto world that Tomac was going to be a big time threat this outdoor season. He had a lot of hype coming into the outdoors because of the five straight dominating moto wins he reeled off to begin the season last year before injuring both of his shoulders. Many people thought he would come right out and pick up where he left off but he ended up struggling at the first few rounds. He did not seem as comfortable as he had the season before but as the season moved forward he continued to improve. Just when it seemed Roczen looked completely unbeatable, Tomac strung together two fascinating motos at Southwick passing and beating Roczen in both. He would pick up another overall at Washougal but other than those two races, he simply had nothing for Roczen. With a year under his belt with Kawasaki, we can expect Tomac to come out more comfortable and confident for 2017.
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