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Eli Tomac excels on the rougher tracks on the circuit so he was probably excited to see the rain come down early Saturday morning. He wanted nothing more than to deny Ken Roczen from putting the cherry on top of his season by stealing one more win. He qualified modestly in fifth place and was ready for the final two
gate drops of the season. Tomac got a decent start in the first moto coming out of the first turn in sixth place. He struggled finding his pace early in the moto taking his time passing Nicoletti and Bloss. By the time he passed them ten minutes had already ticked off the clock. However he started to find his stride mid-moto showing off some very impressive corner speed when he caught and passed Marvin Musquin for third. He then set his sights on Justin Barcia for second but would end up going down in the process. That allowed Musquin back by but he was able to pass him once again and finish third in the moto. Tomac mirrored his start from the first moto in
the second rounding lap one in sixth place. He also mirrored his early race performance as it took him awhile to get rolling. He got by Nicoletti a few laps in before charging towards Anderson and Musquin near the halfway point. Once he caught the pair of riders he made quick work of them to move into third and continued on with his moto. There was a huge gap between him and Barcia in second so it looked like he was going to finish in third again but he regained hope when he saw Barcia hopping on his bike after a crash. Tomac pulled right up behind him in the late stages of the moto but would make a few mistakes allowing Barcia to pull back ahead. He would have to settle with another third place finish. 3-3 was not the way he wanted to end the season but there are still some positives to
take away. He finished the season second in points, completed his first full 450 outdoor season and he was able to beat the seemingly unbeatable champion Ken Roczen on two occasions. Expect great things from Tomac in 2017 now that he and his team Monster Energy
Kawasaki have had a year working together under their belts.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
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