Eli Tomac scored the fourth win of his young 450SX career in Daytona. Photo by: Andrea Barnett
After an injury-riddled rookie year in 2014 rookie year on the 450, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac came out in the 2015 450SX Championship, scored eleven podiums and won three main events on his was to second overall in the Championship. The #3 followed that by winning the first five motos of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 450MX Championship, but on moto six he suffered a severe shoulder injury which was followed by double shoulder reconstruction surgery and six months off the bike. You combine that with Eli switching from the Honda to the Kawasaki in the off season and you have a myriad of questions that need answering.
After eight rounds of the 2016 Supercross season were in the books and Eli had only located the podium one time with no wins, the question marks were turning into panic for some Tomac fans. Eli had some definite flashes of brilliance over the first eight rounds, but his bad starts and his lack of consistency had everyone wondering if he was 100% healthy or if he was having issues getting acclimated to his new Kawasaki 450. Well, at the 2016 Daytona SX on Saturday night, the former National Motocross Champ answered some of the queries and no doubt let everyone know his skills are still alive and well.
In Daytona, Eli reminded everyone why Kawasaki hired him to replace Ryan Villopoto, and he did that by dominating from start to finish of the event—the #3 pulled the trifecta. Eli was the fastest qualifier, a heat race winner, and the trifecta was completed with the main event win. Not only did he win the main event, he did so with the #1 breathing down his neck for all twenty laps on the roughest and longest circuit of the year. It was the type of performance that could completely change the dynamics through the remainder of the season.
After Eli’s win, Chase Yocom caught up with Eli to talk about his win, his injury and quieting the doubters.
Eli, you looked unbeatable all day today. You finally got it done tonight with the win. How does it feel?
It’s huge for us. We’ve been kind of searching all season. For a guy like me, having only one podium leading up to this event is unacceptable. I’m a winner at heart, and I just kept an open mind coming in here. This track so unique and different, and I just came in here like it was a new season and laid her down.
To start the day, practice was good, and qualifying was super important to get that gate pick on the inside. That led to getting a good start in the heat race, laying it down in the heat race and kind of the same thing in the main event.
With your struggles to start the year, a lot of people coming into Daytona were talking about Eli’s shoulder injuries, but you came in today on one of the gnarliest and laid it down. (laughs) How gnarly was that track tonight?
This track is the roughest Supercross, by far. It wasn’t the roughest Daytona I’ve ridden, but it was still technical. You had to get over breaking bumps, jump over stuff and, yeah, I was able to hold on for twenty laps, so it was good.
Did you hear Ryan [Dungey] coming back up on you out there in the main? In the heat race, you checked out on him and you were gone, but in the main, he came back and gave you a run for the money. Were you feeling the pressure?
Honestly, I knew he was close. The one spot I could see him was in the switchbacks before the step-on-step-off—that was the only time I saw him, but I wasn’t too worried. I felt really good. I felt like I was the guy and I wasn’t going to let anyone beat me tonight. That’s just how I felt.
The start looked a lot more important tonight than normal. It looked really tight and one-lined, but what were your thoughts on the track tonight?
It was great if you got the start. I don’t know, because I holeshotted the heat race and pretty much led the main from the beginning of it; I don’t know what to say. I was fine with it, but it’s the way it is. In Supercross, it’s tight racing anyways. The starts are important. It’s not like any track is a great track for passing.
Heading into the season and the shoulder recovery making it tougher, how hard was it for you to get the Kawasaki set up for the year? It looked like you started the season with softer settings on the suspension and have been stiffening it up as the season moved on. How difficult has it been to get the new bike set up for you?
Yeah, it was a major shoulder reconstruction, so you can only expect so much. It’s tough to expect win right away. Yeah, they’re not as strong as they used to be. They’re getting close to what they were, but it’s definitely been a building process. I try not to get too far ahead of myself.
How hard is it to be Eli Tomac in a situation like this—a situation where people are expecting you to win, but you know you’ve had a major injury and need to take your time? How hard is that when people are talking?
I don’t know, I’ve just been trying to better myself every weekend. I try not to listen to other people’s opinions either.
In one ear and out the other?
Exactly.
