Supercross

Eli Tomac Leaps Into Championship Lead With Third Win of 2020

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Sunday, February 16th, 2020

8:53 PM

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac has taken control of the championship lead after an impressive win at the seventh round of the 2020 American Supercross Championship held in Tampa.

After racing to a comfortable win in his heat race, Tomac showed patience in the main event, quickly working his way into second position early in the race and settling in behind race leader and team-mate Adam Cianciarulo.

With the race reaching the halfway point, Tomac made his move into the race lead and quickly opened up a small lead.

Behind him, Cianciarulo held down second position from Smart top Honda's Malcolm Stewart in third with Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb and Factory Honda's Ken Roczen closing in on his back wheel.

Webb and Roczen both made a move past Stewart, but Roczen quickly re-lost that position due to a small crash.

At the same time as Roczen was picking himself up, Cianciarulo surrendered second position, crashing in the whoops and falling back outside the top ten.

Out front, Tomac cruised to a comfortable win ahead of Webb, while Roczen was able to re-pass Stewart to claim the final step on the podium.

Stewart lost a further three positions late in the race as both his team-mate Justin Hill and Monster Energy Yamaha's Justin Barcia moved around him, with Barcia then moving ahead of Hill to finish 4th, with Hill in 5th and Dean Wilson in 6th, just ahead of Stewart in 7th. Rockstar Husqvarna's Jason Anderson crossed the line in 8th, ahead of Cianciarulo and Factory Honda's Justin Brayton as 4th through to 10th position finishing within a couple of seconds of each other.

It was also a great comeback ride for JGR Suzuki's Broc Tickle finishing in 12th position, just behind Zach Osborne.

Australia's Chad Reed won another LCQ on his way to finishing the night in 19th position.

Cooper Webb raced his way to a second-place finish. Photo: Align Media

"Today could not have gone much better," Tomac said. "All day I felt comfortable on Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450 and it showed. Our starts tonight were as good as they have ever been, which put us in a good position right from the start of the race. I was able to follow Adam for the first part of the race and the difference maker for me and a lot of riders out there tonight was the sand section. It could either help you or hurt you depending on the lap or if there were lapped riders in the way. I was able to get through there cleanly one time to get past my teammate and from there I was able to ride my own race. It is always nice to have the points lead, but we will not settle for anything less than wins from this point forward.‰Û

250SX East

In the Opening 250 East main event, it was Monster Energy Star Racings, Shane Mcelrath who dominated proceedings, taking control of the race early and racing away to a big win.

Defending East champion, Chase Sexton worked his way forward to finish in second position ahead of his Geiko Honda team-mate Jeremy Martin in his return to racing action.

18-year-old Garrett Marchbanks was impressive on his way to finishing in fourth position, ahead of Monster Energy Pro-Circuit team-mate Jordan Smith; while Rockstar Husqvarna's Rj Hampshire had to settle for 6th position after a late-race crash cost him a chance of a possible podium result.

‰ÛÏThis win was a big relief to be honest," Mcelrath said. "All off season we‰Ûªve been steady, we‰Ûªve been working. Anything I could improve on, we‰Ûªve worked on it. I‰Ûªve changed everything having to do with my racing, so it would be easy to question it. I had to trust in those changes and believe we could be up here. I worked as hard as I could and in the end it paid off. The track was not easy. It was technical. But that‰Ûªs what we have worked for, so I felt prepared for this."

With eleven points now separating three riders in the 450SX Class, the series heads to Arlington, Texas next weekend, February 22, where AT&T Stadium will host the second Triple Crown event of the year in which riders compete in three 10-Lap Main Events.

450SX Class Results
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
2. Cooper Webb, Clermont, Fla., KTM
3. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda
4. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
5. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Honda
6. Dean Wilson, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
7. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
8. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki
9. Justin Brayton, Charlotte, N.C., Honda
10. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna

450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (155)
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (151)
3. Cooper Webb, Clermont, Fla., KTM (144)
4. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha (135)
5. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki (128)
6. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna (118)
7. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda (106)
8. Justin Brayton, Charlotte, N.C., Honda (103)
9. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Honda (93)
10. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (91)

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
1. Shane McElrath, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
2. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
3. Jeremy Martin, Rochester, Minn., Honda
4. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki
5. Jordon Smith, Ochlocknee, Ga., Kawasaki
6. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna
7. Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda
8. Joey Crown, Metamora, Mich., Yamaha
9. James Decotis, Huntersville, N.C., Suzuki
10. Jo Shimoda, Irvine, Calif., Honda

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1. Shane McElrath, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (26)
2. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (23)
3. Jeremy Martin, Rochester, Minn., Honda (21)
4. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (19)
5. Jordon Smith, Ochlocknee, Ga., Kawasaki (18)
6. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna (17)
7. Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda (16)
8. Joey Crown, Metamora, Mich., Yamaha (15)
9. James Decotis, Huntersville, N.C., Suzuki (14)
10. Jo Shimoda, Irvine, Calif., Honda (13)