Eli Tomac came to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, seeking his third consecutive Monster Energy AMA Supercross main even win on Saturday night, and the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider did not disappoint the 60,000 strong crowd.
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-WPS-KTM’s Blake Baggett pulled the holeshot when the feature race of the evening left the starting gate. Tomac and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey both got off to good starts, however, as did Dungey’s teammate, Marvin Musquin. Dungey tried to establish his dominance early by passing Tomac, for second place on the opening lap, but Tomac just as quickly repassed Dungey and set off after Baggett.
Tomac, who had made it two wins in a row when he won the 2017 Daytona Supercross, shot past Baggett for the lead on lap two, and Dungey also made a move to take over second place, leaving the two main combatants for the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship a clear shot at one another at the head of the field. Dungey appeared to be matching Tomac’s pace, but then he made a mistake in the whoop section, allowing Tomac to escape.
That gave Tomac a two-second lead at the halfway mark of the Indianapolis main event. Worse yet for Dungey, Musquin was clearly on the move, claiming third place after Baggett crashed on lap 11. Musquin continued to eat into Dungey’s advantage, and he began to pressure Dungey with just a few laps remaining. Musquin then put a pass on Dungey for second place on lap 19.
Out front, however, Tomac had settled into an unflappable rhythm, and he went on to cruise to victory with 5.8 seconds in hand over Musquin.
“This [season] is everything you could ever dream of, other than winning the championship,” Tomac said. “Right now we’re winning races, so it’s pretty cool. I don’t know what to say, we’re rolling right now. This is good for us. We’re doing what we need to do, but we’ve got to keep doing it.”
Musquin, who was the fastest qualifier and won his heat race, was posting the fastest laps in the main event late in the race, but he was unable to get close enough to Tomac to make a move, and the Frenchman settled for second place. It was his sixth podium finish of the season.
“I got a decent start, and that’s what I need to run in the top three, four at the beginning,” Musquin said. “And then I can fight with those guys. I didn’t have the good lines at the beginning, and I was losing time and fighting with bike. And then I got into my groove. I was behind Baggett, and he went down. As soon as I got third, I tried really hard to catch Ryan [Dungey], and I passed Ryan, so I am really happy. Eli was gone. It was too late.”
Dungey, who had won the previous three Indianapolis Supercross main events, finished third, another 6.4 seconds behind Musquin.
“It was a little rough for us today. It’s just how it goes, and I can’t really explain why other times are harder than not,” said Dungey, who secured his ninth podium finish of the season. “We did our best tonight. In the Main Event we had the insight gate, and I was able to get out good and be right up front with [the leaders]. I was able to put pressure on Eli [Tomac] for a bit, and then I just fell off the pace. It’s plain and simple. I gave it my all.”
Tomac is now just 12 points behind series leader and defending champion Dungey with six races remaining. Musquin’s second-place finish moved him back into a tie with Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely for third place; Seely finished fifth. Seely and Musquin are now 49 points behind Dungey as the series heads to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, for round 12 of the series on March 25.
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana
Results: March 18, 2017 (Round 11 of 17)
450 Main Event
1. Eli Tomac-Kaw
2. Marvin Musquin-KTM
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. Blake Baggett-KTM
5. Cole Seely-Hon
6. Davi Millsaps-KTM
7. Chad Reed-Yam
8. Broc Tickle-Suz
9. Jason Anderson-Hus
10. Justin Barcia-Suz
11. Dean Wilson-Hus
12. Justin Brayton-Hon
13. Josh Grant-Kaw
14. Trey Canard-KTM
15. Justin Bogle-Suz
16. Jake Weimer-Suz
17. Vince Friese-Hon
18. Malcolm Stewart-Suz
19. Mike Alessi-Hon
20. Kyle Chisholm-Hon
21. Nick Schmidt-Suz
22. Adam Enticknap-Hon
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (after 11 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-234/2 wins
2. Eli Tomac-222/6 wins
3. Marvin Musquin-185/1 win
4. Cole Seely-185
5. Jason Anderson-155
6. Davi Millsaps-136
7. Blake Baggett-131
8. Chad Reed-130
9. Broc Tickle-116
10. Dean Wilson-115
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