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ELI TOMAC
450 MX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> Eli Tomac came into Unadilla fresh from the week off and feeling comfortable with a thirty-two- point lead over second place in the points standings, Blake Baggett. He knew with three rounds left he had plenty of breathing room but at the same time had everything to lose. One DNF or
big mistake could easily make the championship race much more interesting. With that in mind, Tomac would have to find that perfect medium of keeping it steady while maintaining a strong pace.
Usually near or directly at the front of the field in qualifying practice, Tomac was absent from that group at Unadilla. He struggled to throw down a total heater and eventually came away with the ninth fastest lap time. Despite the unusual time, not many batted an eye because Tomac normally always makes things happen for the better come race time.
When the gate dropped in moto one, the number three Factory Monster Energy Kawasaki found itself buried in the pack. He clawed up to tenth by the end of lap one and had his work cut out for him. He passed Martin Davalos and Matt Bisceglia in the opening laps to get into eighth where he seemed to settle in for a while. Around halfway, it was expected Tomac’s charge to the front would begin but the opposite happened. Some weather entered the area bringing along some heavy rain and that slowed him up. He would make a few mistakes in the second half of the moto as the track started to massively deteriorate and when track officials ended the race early, Tomac was in tenth place. Not near where we expected the points leader to finish but he had another moto to try and earn some of his points cushion back.
After a lengthy rain delay, moto two finally began and it saw Tomac get a much better start in fifth. There was still some rain coming down and the track was heavily saturated with water making things all the more difficult to make passes. Tomac would keep it steady throughout the first half of the race and he was slowly catching Cole Seely in fourth. Then with a few laps to go, Cooper Webb came in seemingly out of nowhere and hammered past both Tomac and Seely. Tomac would get Seely as well immediately after to stay in fifth. He’d hold it down all the way to the finish to take fifth for the moto. In an eventful day, Tomac would go 10-5 for ninth overall. Despite the subpar result, he only lost four points to Blake Baggett and holds a twenty-seven-point lead over him heading into the final two rounds.
52 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 13, 2017