Eli Tomac - His Defence

Posted on February 25, 2021

Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac isn’t having the best defence of his first ever AMA supercross championship and really needs a miracle to keep with the two guys in front, Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb. Of course Daytona in 10 days time might be the right place to start, but here is how it has gone so far.

So far in 2021 the multiple AMA champion has gone 13-1-5-2-3-7-5-6 and been a long way from his best form. Often considered the fastest supercross rider in the World, he just doens't seem to be the same guy who won in 2020, and hopefully he will find his mojo for the great Outdoors.

Now 31 points behind Roczen and 25 behind Webb, it will be an uphill battle for the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. With nine rounds remaining, the champ will need to start winning and winning as soon as Daytona, one of his best rounds in the past.

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Below are his comments from each round.

Sixth place in Orlando II

"Today was just not my day. The track conditions were rough at the start, but I had no issues finding traction and qualified in fifth aboard my KX450. In my heat race, I got a terrible jump out of the gate and this track was extremely difficult to pass on, I had to settle for seventh going into the main event. In the main event, I had a decent start and was able to get into a good position inside the top-5 where I had a solid three-way battle going with (Justin) Barcia and Ken (Roczen). I fought as hard as I could tonight, but it was only good enough for sixth place. We have the next weekend off from racing, so we will regroup and come out swinging at my favourite place to race, Daytona.”

Fifth place in Orlando I

“I said this last week but starts are so important this year. I’m not going to beat myself up too much because my speed is there and, when I can get a start, my KX450 has the power to keep me up front, but it’s up to me now to make the right adjustments at the gate. I’ll be traveling back home this week to put in some extra work on my starts and better prepare myself for our next race in Orlando.”

Seventh place Indy III

“I’m definitely a bit disappointed with how tonight went. I was feeling great on my KX450 and got a great start in my heat race, which helped me stay close to the leader for the entire race. In the main, I didn’t get the best jump and that hurt me. The field this year is stacked with talent and having to work my way from the middle of the pack up to third isn’t easy. It’s unfortunate to have a podium taken away from me because of someone else’s mistake, but with a good start I can avoid all that. I know what I need to work on this week to be fully prepared for the next round.”

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Third place in Indy II

I was a little bit buried early there. I got to Justin and I was kind of stuck. We were riding the same pace, and I swear every time he made a mistake, I would make a mistake next to him and that would blow my chance of making a pass. Glad I was able to make it to the podium, just need to start a little further up next time. I felt good all day aboard my KX450. After setting the fastest time in the first qualifying session, I didn’t have to change much on the bike. I had a small mistake in my heat race while pushing for the lead but still managed to put in some solid laps and finish in fourth. In the main event, I got stuck behind a group of riders on the opening laps and knew I had to quickly cut my way through the field because I could see Ken (Roczen) was pulling away. I put my head down and started charging and made it up to fourth behind Adam (Cianciarulo) before the half-way mark. After getting past Adam, I could see second place and I eventually ran out of time before I could make a pass stick. I feel like I rode well tonight and, with a better start, could have challenged for the win.

Second in Indy I

It was great to have clean air and the pace was hot tonight. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and tucked my front end. Getting up front is so important now and you can see the top three are really fast. I am just riding better. I didn’t change anything. I haven’t changed anything since Houston, and I was riding better than Houston. I felt off the first couple of rounds and I hope we get the flow going now. It is good racing, and it is craziness, and it sucks getting second, but it is exiting racing and it makes you want to come back for more. I am still in it to fight for this thing and the championship, but it is just fun with the racing the way it is. The way the passing went down. Right now it gets knarly at the end with the knitty, gritty. It will be hard riding between the rounds, because it is snowing out. That was an eventful day of racing. We kicked off the day in pole position in qualifying and had a decent heat race working my way forward. In the main event, my KX450 rocketed me out the gate and I was able to get the holeshot which felt amazing. I began clicking off my laps, but I had a slight bobble at the end of the whoops and tucked the front end. I’m bummed that we fell short of the end goal, but really happy with my riding. I can’t thank my Monster Energy Kawasaki team enough for all their support. Let’s go get it done on Tuesday.

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Fifth in Houston III

"Overall, my day was alright. This morning I was able to find the right setting and as a result, I was able to qualify fastest heading into the night show. I didn’t get the best jump in the heat race and Adam (Cianciarulo) was riding well. I could see that I was catching him, but just ran out of time, so I knew my speed was good going into the main event. I had a decent jump out the gate in the main event, but that tricky right-handed start made some riders near me bobble and resulted in me getting shuffled back. Again, I was able to charge forward, but the track broke down and was pretty gnarly tonight, so we just had to manage for fifth. We are leaving Houston healthy and just six points down from the leader in fourth. We’ll spend the few days off we have getting ready for Indy."

Winner in Houston II

Mostly I was in my own World. I was aware and it was crazy two crashes in the same spot and that was a gift. I tried to maintain and Zach was coming on strong too. I paced myself and then tried to go harder because he was catching me. Dylan was coming on strong too. I was stressing out, and it was horrible after round one and I was pulling my hair in practice. Straight up I was pulling my hair and the start was huge for us and we needed it. It will be hard to come through the field this year with all the guys in there, it is tough. Everyone is getting faster and closer to each other and if you look at the times in practice, everyone is on the same second. As we saw tonight, a whole different podium and I think that will be the case all season.

13th in Houston I

"Man, the first race of the season is always an interesting one. To be honest, I had a really great offseason with my entire Kawasaki team, and have just been loving riding my KX450 lately, but today was just not my day. I had a good flow throughout the qualifying sessions today, but in the heat race and main event tonight I got decent starts but got shuffled back in the first turn. With the way the track broke down tonight it became very one-lined and difficult to make passes. The competition this year is deeper than ever and what we learned last year is that you have to be consistent every race to be in the hunt at the end. The good thing about this new schedule is that we get to line up again in a few days, so we will regroup and come out swinging at Round 2 on Tuesday."