One of the greatest riders to represent Team USA, Eli Tomac secured second overall and second in his class at the 2025 FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN), helping secure a runner-up overall finish for Team USA. Tomac, who was the Team USA Captain and MXGP representative, earned 4-2 scores.

“Well, we got on the podium. It’s so hard to beat Team Australia when they get all of those first and second-place finishes. That’s all I can say. I’m proud of Justin for stepping up and proud of RJ (Hampshire) for also stepping up to the plate here. We gave it our best effort. Australia is just very good right now, and they are hard to beat. Today, personally, I went for it too. I felt like I improved my riding every time on the track this weekend. To be totally honest, I was struggling a little bit yesterday on the qualifying day, but today, I was much better in the motos and was pretty happy with my riding.”

The 78th running of the iconic international event made its debut at Ironman Raceway, with both Hampshire and Cooper joining Team USA on short notice after injuries sidelined members of the original roster. Despite an unlucky draw in the MXoN Qualifying Races Ballot that gave them the 35th gate pick, Team USA qualified fifth for Sunday’s title-deciding races, with Tomac finishing ninth in MXGP.

In Race 1, which combined MXGP and MX2 classes, Tomac had a good start in fifth and advanced to fourth after a rider ahead went down early. He continued to push on the technical track, but ultimately finished fourth.

The third and final race of the day — an all-450 showdown, featuring the MXGP and the Open classes — Tomac put in an inspired ride for Team USA. Once again fifth after the start, the eight-time AMA Supercross/Motocross Champion charged his way to second around the halfway mark and held strong to the finish, securing a hard-earned runner-up result. His efforts sealed Team USA’s second overall finish and earned a personal second-overall finish in the MXGP class.

"It is tough, when you have Jett and Hunter going 1-1 all day. Everything was kind of a crazy week for this event. I felt I improved every time on the track. Saturday I wasn't good and I lacked sleep because of that, I was nervous. This track is good for being creative and I rode better in the second moto. The track was rough, but I wouldn't say it was rougher than a national . The mini bikes packed the base in and the track turned into a nice race track."

Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager was excited for his riders performances and said so after the event.

“Overall, I think we did what we could. I’m really proud of Justin for dropping down from a 450 to a 250 with limited time and delivering the result he did. He was fastest in Free Practice and ran with those top two guys in the MX2 class – yesterday in the qualifying race, and again today as the second overall MX2 finisher. So I’m really proud of his efforts, and Eli, the way he rode in that second moto was inspiring. It’s a lot of work behind the scenes for this race, and for the riders to tack it on to an already long season isn’t easy. So I’m proud of the whole team.”

Tomac will now take a break, before entering in selected rounds of the World supercross championship and then prepare for the opening round of the 2026 AMA supercross championship. Will he be back for Team USA in 2026, at the Ernee circuit in France, it is anyones guess.