| Foothill Ranch, Calif. (July 29, 2018) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac proved to be the only thing more captivating than the lush, green scenery in Washougal, Washington after a dominating performance once again with a pair of moto wins at Round 9 of the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Joey Savatgy captured his first moto win and overall podium position of the season in third after going 1-9 for the day.
Tomac arrived ready to go at the Washougal National as he qualified first after setting a blistering 2:10.2 lap time to open the day. As the gate dropped for Moto 1, Tomac kept the momentum rolling as he positioned himself in third out of the gate. By Lap 4, Tomac took over the lead and began creating his gap from the rest of the field. Tomac went on to lead the remaining 13 laps and cross the finish line to win with a commanding 11.68 seconds over second place. Tomac’s teammate Josh Grant made his first appearance of the series and his first race in six months after recovering from injury and rode his KX™450F impressively as he shot off the gate in fifth. Unfortunately, the technical and hard-packed clay track turned out to be too rough on Grant’s newly recuperated ankle injury, causing him to lose positions and withdraw from the second moto due to the pain but managed to finish 10th in the race.
Moto 2 provided the most epic race of the day as the crowd lined the fence cheering Tomac on as he looked to turn a middling start from ninth place into a victory. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Tomac muscled his way around six of his competitors in just five laps. Just as he made his move into third, Tomac made a minor error and tipped over on his KX™ but was able to remount quickly in fourth. While the other riders were running 2:16 lap times, Tomac continued at untouchable speeds of 2:14 lap times, allowing him to move in on the leaders and close the gap. By Lap 12, Tomac made his late-race charge to pass for second with the leader in his sight. With only two laps to go, Tomac made his final pass to go on and capture his second moto win and overall victory (1-1) to extend his championship points lead to 15.
The defending champion and the rest of the Monster Energy Kawasaki team will take a week off as Round 10 of the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship will pick up on August 11th in New Berlin, New York for the Unadilla National. |
