Page 12 - ISSUE42

ELI TOMAC
450 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>>The keys on the piano begin to tap, the melody starts to harmonize. The crowd reluctantly stares amongst one another, reluctant, but they begin to bob their head. You can feel the pulse of the beat, as everyone is forced to groove and
be captivated by the audio pouring out of the speaker system. “Till I collapse I’m Spilling these raps long as you feel ‘em...” That’s right, they are most certainly feeling the confident nature of the tune, Detroit’s own musical legend, Eminem, and of course, the pilot who has chosen to walk out to it, Eli Tomac. He’s coming into Motown packing one helluva punch, a solid left jab, straight combo; willing
to knock the teeth off the sprocket of anyone who comes within the length of his swingarm. The stance of the Southpaw was radiant when he stepped foot onto the cold, concrete floor of Detroit on this late weekend in March. The mouthpiece was in, his mechanics and corner men had prepared him thoroughly on this late weekend in March. He was off the stool and ready to dance in the middle of the cage. His practice and qualifying efforts were beyond exceptional. The amount of speed he was carrying into the infamous “GrandStand Left” that elevated above the surface was incredible, potentially even cracking into the fourth gear range on the monster of a 450. It was now time for the main event. His position had been cemented onto the launch pad, and the calm before the storm had risen from an eerie silence, into a grotesque roar of piercing thunder. The 30-second girl made her way off the straight stretch, and vision loomed in on that ever so slight pin just near the front wheel, it crashed and the field was off. Darting into turn num- ber one he trailed Musquin, but knew he had to stalk him closely if he wanted to inherit the lead. He would sniff the KTM feverishly, a bloodhound on the trail of the orange KTM Fender. Finally, after being an arms reach of the tail, he would grab the pumpkin and throw it to the side, right beside the mechanics area, leav- ing the Frenchman in the dust and forcing him to ante up. And once the pass was made, it was smooth sailing for the Cortez, CO native. He would put in consistent lap after lap, rallying his way to yet another win, pushing Dungey deeper into the trenches as the series ways on.
12 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017