Eli Tomac
Eli Tomac (born November 14, 1992) is an American professional motocross racer competing in the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships.
| Eli Tomac | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | November 14, 1992 Cortez, Colorado, US |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2010 – Present |
| Teams | Geico Honda, Monster Energy Kawasaki |
| Championships | 2012 Monster Energy Supercross 250cc West———2013 AMA 250cc Motocross———2017 AMA 450cc Motocross——-2018 AMA 450cc Motocross——-2019 AMA 450cc Motocross——-2020 Monster Energy Supercross 450cc |
| Wins | 73 |
Tomac began his professional career in 2010. He made his 450cc debut part way into the 2013 Supercross schedule, and moved to the class full-time the following year.
He won his first outdoor 450cc event at the 2014 Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota, US. His first 450cc Supercross win came in 2015 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Eli has been riding for the Kawasaki factory racing team since the 2016 season.[1]
Personal life
Tomac is the younger of two sons of former competitive BMX and mountain bike racer John Tomac and wife Kathy.[1]
250cc Career
In 2010, Eli Tomac became the first rider in the history of the sport to win his professional debut, winning the 250cc AMA 2010 Hangtown Motocross season opener in Rancho Cordova, California. At that time he was riding for Team Geico Honda.
For 2011, Eli ended the 250cc Supercross season with two wins and six podium finishes. Finishing 2nd To Broc Tickle by 6 points in the 250SX West Championship.
For 2012, Eli won the 250cc Supercross championship with seven podium finishes and five first place main event wins.
For 2013, Eli finishes 2 points behind Ken Roczen in the 250cc Supercross championship with five first place main event wins. He won the AMA Motocross 250cc title with 7 overall wins and 12 out of 12 podium finishes.[2]
2015 Season
Despite injuries in 2014 & 2015, Eli finished second to Ryan Dungey in the 450cc Supercross championship with eleven podium finishes. He started the outdoor motocross season with two overall wins, two overall podiums with five straight moto wins before being sidelined by an injury.[2]
2017 Season
Because of poor results, including a mechanical failure, Eli found himself 29 points behind Supercross points leader Ryan Dungey. Tomac went on to win 8 of the first 14 races finding himself tied for the lead with Dungey at the start of round 15. During race 15 Tomac showed the fans he was the dominant force in 2017 Supercross as he started near the back of the pack and went on to pass almost the entire field, taking the lead and the win from Dungey in the final laps. At the next race, with a 3-point lead over Dungey, Tomac took the lead early but crashed when he lost control of his front wheel on the first lap and fell behind. He made another error later in the race while tying to catch the leaders on the tough and technical track. On the last lap it looked like Tomac would lose the points lead to Dungey but be within five points. In the last lap, Marvin Musquin, KTM Team Member, allegedly pulled over and allowed Dungey to take the win and score an additional three points. Tomac was then facing an eight-point deficit with only one race to go.
At round 17 in Las Vegas Eli Tomac was in first place but repeatedly slowed and allowed the slower riders including Ryan Dungey to catch up. Dungey passed Tomac numerous times, and each time Tomac re-passed Dungey. In the end Tomac finished 2nd to Dungey's 4th place leaving Tomac 5 points short in the points race for the season.[3]
Tomac began his 2017 outdoor campaign with 5 consecutive moto wins and 5 consecutive overall wins. Tomac was a clear favorite to win each week and only finished off of the podium at two of the 12 rounds. Tomac experienced bike issues while leading the first moto at Red Bud which forced him to retire from the moto early. Tomac would eventually come back to win both Spring Creek and Washougal Nationals with a couple of late-race charges in the second motos. Tomac won the 2017 outdoor Motocross title with 470 points over second place Marvin Musquin with 453 points and third place Blake Baggett with 451 points.
AMA Supercross/Motocross results
| Year | Rnd 1 |
Rnd 2 |
Rnd 3 |
Rnd 4 |
Rnd 5 |
Rnd 6 |
Rnd 7 |
Rnd 8 |
Rnd 9 |
Rnd 10 |
Rnd 11 |
Rnd 12 |
Rnd 13 |
Rnd 14 |
Rnd 15 |
Rnd 16 |
Rnd 17 |
Average Finish |
Podium Percent |
Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 250 SX-W | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.00 | 88% | 2nd |
| 2013 250 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.50 | 100% | 1st |
| 2015 450 SX | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4.65 | 65% | 2nd |
| 2016 450 SX | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5.00 | 29% | 4th |
| 2016 450 MX | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 SX | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3.35 | 71% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 MX | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | 4.25 | 58% | 1st |
| 2018 450 SX | 22 | DNS | 1 | 1 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5.56 | 75% | 3rd |
| 2018 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 1st |
| 2019 450 SX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.41 | 59% | 2nd |
| 2019 450 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| 2020 450 SX | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2.47 | 71% | 1st |
Note: The Motocross season is 12 rounds, rounds 13–17 are only in supercross.
References
- "Eli Tomac". November 2019.
- "Eli Tomac Bio | Official Kawasaki Racing Site". www.kawasaki.com.
- "The Greatest Supercross That Ever Happened". Red Bull.
- "Eli Tomac - The Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results". vault.racerxonline.com.