Page 88 - issue-36

ELI TOMAC
450 SX / TEXAS
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / COPELAND DESIGN / WILSON
>> Coming into the weekends race, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, Eli Tomac
was undeniably the hottest rider on the series. Reeling off two huge wins in back to back weeks was a huge source of momentum for the young rider. It wasn’t just the wins though, as Eli dominated in runaway fashion in Phoenix and then backed that performance up with a rather unexpected come from behind win passing the reign- ing champ for first and pulling away decisively. Tomac brought that same pace to the early sessions this weekend in Arlington by setting the fastest overall times for the 450 class in the first timed qualifying portion. His night didn’t go as planned though once the gate dropped for the first heat race. Eli got a mid-pack start and was in a battle
on the first lap with Cooper Webb when he didn’t gain enough traction to clear the
big triple and had to double in. While trying to single out of the triple into the corner,
Eli was left nowhere to land when Cooper was hung up trying to take the inside rut. This caused Tomac to land partially on Webb’s bike and crash. Leaving him in dead last by the time he was able to remount his motorcycle. Eli would cruise around for
the remainder of the heat, knowing he had no chance to make up the time he lost for a qualifying position. The semi went perfect for him though as he rocketed out to a holeshot and never looked back. He was able to show his qualifying speed from the morning and pull away from what was a very deep semi field, winning handily. Main event time and Eli was poised to have the same opportunity that he did last week. He started decently with about a 8th place start, ahead of Dungey in 13th. The number 3 then began to work his way through the pack on the slick track, using the whoops as his friend in most passes. He would go on to pass Bogle for 4th and set his sights on Webb for 3rd with Anderson hot on his heels. Eli was moving along nicely until tragedy struck the Colorado native when he lost the front in following the big triple causing him to damage the front brake rotor. He rushed into the pits only to have his mechanics eventually cut his front brake line as the only option to make his bike function for the remainder of the race. He would get back on the track in 20th place and 3 laps down. He put his head down and salvaged as many points as he could finishing the race in 15th. The night couldn’t have gone much worse for the seemingly on fire rider who had his flame put out by a mistake he would usually make. Eli will be even further behind Dungey and slipped into 3rd in the series points behind Musquin who went on to win the race. It seems as though his chance at this title have slipped away barring any big mistake from Dungey.
88 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 12, 2017