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ELI TOMAC
450 MX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> There are a certain crop of fans that disregard the likes of Supercross; core, long-time, whatever you may call them, those in attendance of an Outdoor national, seem to be a tad different breed than those who fill the chair backs of se- lected stadiums across the country. No A/C, elongated walkways, and an absence of a roof over their head, the fans are here are truly around the course because
of their love for the sport; not just to browse an activity downtown on a given Sat- urday night. Eli Tomac feeds off of this, as every amateur grew up blistering the outdoor raceway’s around the globe, each passing lap is an echo of his childhood, and the fans push him to his fullest potential with every round. For the first moto, his lines seemed to falter a bit at first, a dab of the foot here and there would cost milliseconds in particular sections; the haybales acting a gigantic leach, reaching up and attacking the spear of his footpeg. However, he would remount his compo- sure, and keep the bike afloat for a good portion of the moto, hearing the screams of both team and supporters through the shell of his helmet. It would motivate him, to hold on to the number five ride by the end of the moto, battling with the likes of Cooper Webb and Cole Seely all the way to the finish; doing just what he had to do to claim the title. The second round saw the track beginning to dete- riorate just a tad, the ruts now beginning to form small potholes throughout the majority, and the chassis of his 450 beginning to earthquake from fork to sprocket. It was nothing that he hadn’t faced before, however, and he quickly began to dig into his memory bank, replaying his movement of days at the practice track. He’d conquered this territory in the past, and he knew he could do it again today. It was helping, each passing lap, was just a bit more confidence, and the meter was beginning to rise, as he would soar back into the gulley on the mammoth-type tabletop. Inbounding into clear view, the laptimes remained solid, and he would
be jousting with the likes of Webb until the finish. His moto result of sixth would go on to cumulate a sixth overall, and being crowned champion of the 450 division! Although many were disappointed in the fact of him playing it safe, he did what he had to do in order to lock down the plate, and came away as ecstatic as ever.
22 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 27, 2017