Eli Tomac digs the Daytona Supecross by Honda, and for good reason.
Saturday night, the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory star backed up his 2016 victory in the race by becoming a back-to-back Daytona Supercross by Honda winner at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was Tomac’s fourth win of the year and the ninth 450cc supercross win of his career.
“This is pretty cool,” Tomac said after the race. “We’re rolling. I’ve said it a couple weeks in a row, but pretty awesome. This is pretty cool for us right now.”
The surprise was who Tomac had to pass to win the race. Filling-in for the injured Ken Roczen, Team Honda HRC’s Jeremy Martin, who normally contests the Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series, got a monster start and took the lead in the race with Tomac second and Smartop/MotoConcepts/Honda’s Justin Brayton third and three-time Daytona Supercross by Honda Champion Chad Reed fourth. Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely ran fifth. And where was reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Champion Ryan Dungey? Mired deep in the pack with a lot of work to do if he wanted to make the podium. Dungey moved up to 11th place by lap six.
Martin rode hard and put up a valiant fight through the first half of the race, building as much as a 2.1-second lead over Tomac. But, as is often the case, Tomac’s fitness came into play as the 20-lap race on the viciously rutted and sandy Ricky Carmichael-designed Daytona Supercross track.. Tomac reeled in Martin as the race reached the halfway point.
Meanwhile, Brayton was holding his own in third place while being hounded by Reed and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson. That three-rider battle suddenly became a two-rider battle when Reed hopped out of a rut and blasted the Tuff Blox on the inside of a right-hand turn on lap 10. The crash was spectacular, but Reed was quickly on his feet and back underway.
Up front, Tomac put the pressure on Martin on lap 11, and he executed a pass on the Honda rider in the left-handed sweeper after the whoop section on the granstand side of the track. Martin refused to yield the position without a fight, and he was able to briefly retake the lead in the left-hander after the next rhythm section. Tomac, however, had the inside position in the following right-hander, and he retook the lead for good in that corner. From there, Tomac began to pull away from rather quickly en route to building a 17.6-second margin of victory.
“At the beginning of the race, Jeremy was riding really good, and it was a pace [where] I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to push myself too hard.’ I knew it was long, and I tried to what I could to stay with him but not go too hard to early. Once I got in groove I was able to get by him there and went all the way home.”
Martin still had plenty of a gap over the third-place rider, which by then was Anderson. While Tomac was already out of reach, Martin was safe enough to score an impressive runner-up finish, a good sign as he is expected to switch to the 450cc class soon.
“It’s a blessing,” Martin said. “I couldn’t have done it without the man up above. My West Coast [250Sx West] season was a disaster, and the guys at Honda picked me up at the end of 2016. The GEICO Honda team gave me an opportunity. A lot of people said that I couldn’t ride supercross. I proved today that I’m maybe not scared of anyone. I respected everyone in the 450 class. I led a lot of laps, and I got a little tired–I’m not going to lie. So we’ve got some homework to do. We’re going to celebrate tonight.”
The battle between former series and Daytona Supercross Champions Reed and Dungey fell Dungey’s way as he charged past Reed to take over fifth place on lap 19, and Dungey wasn’t done, as he caught the steady-riding Seely just a few turns from the finish. Seely didn’t want to give up the spot, and the two riders banged bars in a desperate attempt to reach the finish line. Dungey prevailed to steal away fourth place just two turns from the finish. Seely was fifth, followed by Reed, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM/WPS’ Blake Baggett, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Grant, Brayton and Smartop/MotoConcepts/Honda’s Mike Alessi.
While Tomac gained some points on Dungey, Dungey’s come-from-behind performance limited the loss. Dungey still holds a 17-point edge over Tomac, 214-197, while the steady Seely is in third place with 169 as the series heads to Indianapolis for round 11.
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Results: March 11, 2017 (Round 10 of 17)
450cc Main Event
1. Eli Tomac-Kaw
2. Jeremy Martin-Hon
3. Jason Anderson-Hus
4. Ryan Dungey-KTM
5. Cole Seely-Hon
6. Chad Reed-Yam
7. Blake Baggett-KTM
8. Josh Grant-Kaw
9. Justin Brayton-Hon
10. Mike Alessi-Hon
11. Justin Barcia-Suz
12. Davi Millsaps-KTM
13. Dean Wilson-Hus
14. Broc Tickle-Suz
15. Marvin Musquin-KTM
16. Malcolm Stewart-Suz
17. Jake Weimer-Suz
18. Kyle Chisholm-Hon
19. Vince Friese-Hon
20. Nick Schmidt-Suz
21. AJ Catanzaro-Kaw
22. Scott Champion-Yam
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (after 10 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-214/2 wins
2. Eli Tomac-197/4 wins
3. Cole Seely-169
4. Marvin Musquin-163/1 win
5. Jason Anderson-143
6. Davi Millsaps-121
7. Chad Reed-116
8. Blake Baggett-113
9. Dean Wilson-105
10. Broc Tickle-103
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