Foothill Ranch, Calif. (July 1, 2018) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac took on Round 6 of the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship in the scorching heat at his favorite track of the series and put his KX™450F back on the podium for second overall at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts. With the Southwick National in the books, this marks the halfway point of the 12-round series as the team continues to defend their championship title with a steady 32-point lead.

After qualifying with the second fastest lap time (2.07.385), Tomac lined up for Moto 1 ready to take on the challenge of the sandy track and sweltering 90-degree temperatures. As the moto got underway, Tomac came off the line just outside of the top 10, however, with unrivaled speed, he moved through the field and into third by the fifth lap. Quickly maneuvering his way into second, Tomac began to apply pressure on the leader, strategically waiting to make his final pass as the white flag flew, and went on to capture the first moto win.

Moto 2 saw Tomac out front early as he once again blasted through the competition to take the lead on the second lap, establishing an early 5+ second gap. Just as he began to shock the crowd with his blistering lap times (2:12.736), Tomac crashed on Lap 5 while entering a corner, relinquishing his substantial lead but still remaining ahead of the field. Tomac began rebuilding his lead once again just before falling victim to yet another crash four laps later, remounting in second. Even after enduring two crashes, Tomac proved his incredible drive as he pushed hard to finish the race in second, taking second overall (1-2) and, more importantly, maintaining his 32 point lead in the championship.

“We have to be happy going 1-2 at Southwick, but I know I let this one get away,” said Tomac. “I didn’t get the start I needed in either moto but I was able to battle and put myself back in contention. Moto 1 was a real battle until the end and I was happy to be able to make the pass on the final two laps to take the win. In Moto 2, I made a couple of mistakes that put me on the ground but leaving here with a second overall and healthy after two crashes is pretty good. We’re heading to Red Bud keeping the red plate and we’ll keep things rolling.”

 

450MX Race Results
1. Marvin Musquin (2-1)
2. Eli Tomac (1-2)
3. Justin Barcia (3-3)
450MX Point Standings
1. Eli Tomac                289
2. Marvin Musquin       257
3. Justin Barcia            224
In the 250MX class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders Austin Forkner and Joey Savatgy appeared seemingly unaffected by the difficult, sandy track as they started the day qualifying third and sixth, respectively. In Moto 1, both Kawasaki riders shot out of the gate in top 10 positions with Forkner quickly advancing into third and Savatgy battled to stay in the top 10 for the majority of the race. With less than 10 minutes to go, Forkner charged to the front and took the lead, using every ounce of energy to maintain the lead and capture his first moto win of the season. Unfortunately, Savatgy crashed just before the clock expired and was unable to complete the race.

Forkner lined up for the second moto hungry for more as he shot out of the gate in third, quickly taking the lead. Despite his teammate taking a hard fall in the first moto, Savatgy lined up for Moto 2 anxious to salvage his points and wasn’t far behind off the start, in fifth, where he would ultimately finish the race for 14th overall (32-5). With only two minutes remaining on the clock and just as it seemed Forkner was on track for his second moto win, a fellow competitor collided with him coming into a corner, sending him to the ground and forcing him to surrender multiple positions to finish 20th and seventh overall (1-20).

“I’m happy with the way I’m riding right now and I expected to be on the podium today,” said Forkner. “We put in a lot of work this week and trained for the sand so I couldn’t have been more prepared. It’s really disappointing to have Moto 2 end the way it did when I was doing everything I could to run a clean race and put together two good motos. We are going to continue to work and we’ll be back at it next week at Red Bud.”
“The track was tough today and it ate a lot of guys up,” said Savatgy. “I felt good in qualifying so it was a bummer to go down in Moto 1. My team did a great job to get me back out there for Moto 2 and we ran a good race. We need to focus on some better starts to put us out front and we’ll be right back in it. I’m looking forward to turning it around next week in Michigan.”
250MX Race Results
1. Dylan Ferrandis (4-1)
2. Alex Martin (2-4)
3. Shane McElrath (6-2)
7. Austin Forkner (1-20)
14. Joey Savatgy (32-5)
250MX Point Standings
1. Aaron Plessinger          233
2. Alex Martin                   210
3. Jeremy Martin              176
6. Austin Forkner           169
10. Joey Savatgy             128
15. Garrett Marchbanks    72
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.