Maico...What a shame to lose

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Is the Beast Back

Has Tomac brought 'Beast Mode' back into 450SX?

Competition Post: Jeremy Hammer

Two-time champion shows signs of his former self in Arlington runner-up.

It’s the phrase that Eli Tomac has stopped short of saying himself, and following a stellar performance in Arlington on Saturday night, there’s one question everyone is asking: Is ‘Beast Mode’ back in Monster Energy Supercross?

Tomac’s 2024 campaign has served up varied results so far, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider returning from an achilles injury that cruelly denied him of a third 450SX crown last season, which at the time, increased suggestions he would call time on his illustrious career.

Ultimately signing a contract extension with the factory Yamaha squad in July 2023, Tomac only returned to Supercross training in November, limiting him to just two months of preparation ahead of Anaheim’s season-opener in January.

Image: Octopi Media.

At 31 years of age, and with an extended stint on the sidelines, many questioned whether we’d still see the Tomac we’ve become accustomed to – the rider who can seemingly flick a switch and charge his way through the field for wins and podiums.

“You find the right flow, so for whatever that is – if you have a couple of good turns on whatever track you’re riding, and you have that flow – that feeling – it’s almost like things come easy, and they come [at you] slower,” described Tomac, speaking on his state of mind when charging through the field.

“So it’s when everything is working right and you can go in the places you want to go, and you’ve got the flow. In that situation, I can just keep pushing the whole moto.”

The season-opening round only fuelled questions about Tomac’s form, finishing a disappointing – by his standards – P9. He rebounded to finish second at San Francisco’s round two, although considering the difficult and muddy conditions, it still wasn’t a clear indicator that he was ‘back’.

Since then, it’s been a mixed bag of finishes for the two-time 450SX champion, going 9-2-10-4, and most recently, another runner-up result at the weekend’s seventh round.

While not a victory, it was a performance that has the return of Tomac – or ‘Beast Mode’ – in conversation, after the number three overcame an early mistake before flipping the switch and making 14 passes, going from P16 on lap two to second at checkers.

Image: Octopi Media.

“This was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win – I’ll tell you that,” Tomac recalled. “I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend, so I feel like I’m a lot better now. I was bummed to make the mistake early on… it was all on me, I overshot a triple and tucked the front end and went over the berm.

“I’ve heard it all season, and I know I’m not there yet. I dunno, maybe some people are right – I haven’t won an overall yet. One thing is for sure, I have improved, I’m getting better, so yeah, I’m ready to put up the fight in this last half and maybe show some of the young guys that they’re still young.”

The uptick in form has been timely for Tomac, who is now in the frame for a late championship charge as Monster Energy Supercross heads to Daytona this weekend. It’s a place that has been a playground of sorts for the Colorado native, winning the last five 450SX main events – for a total of seven – at the unique venue. He currently sits fifth in the championship standings, just 13 points shy of series leader Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC).

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With Jett Lawrence’s late race crash and Eli Tomac’s inspired ride to second after his early race crash, the momentum felt like it changed for the two-time champ. Not only did he find “beast mode” for the first time, he unexpectedly made points on Jett Lawrence heading into Eli’s favourite race of the year, Daytona, in the best form so far this season.

If Eli is going to make a run at the championship, Arlington is where it started. Get his thoughts on the ride, the early season problems and his thoughts on Daytona from the press conference.

The difference between Detroit and when he is in his flow…

Detroit I just had really bad arm pump, and when that happens, your hands are tied behind your back and you’re hanging on for survival, you know. And you drop multiple seconds per lap and that’s it, you know, if you get an arm pump around like lap six or seven, it’s over and I was struggling in that specific condition with the dirt being tacky clay, the way it was, was pulling down my bike and I think I have fixed some of that with that being said, can’t, you know, blame it all on the bike because look how long I’ve been doing this, I should know for that situation, you know, what’s gonna make me race more comfortable and get me out of the arm pump situation. So, that was that specifically for this year at Detroit, you know, that race that, that’s what caused, you know, me riding around and getting lapped. That’s the difference. And, tonight was just being comfortable, you know, riding like I should, I guess.

On being told he’s the old guy

Yeah, they creep in. I’ve kind of just heard it the whole season, and I just know I’m not like there yet…but I don’t know, maybe some people are right. I haven’t won an overall yet, but one thing for sure is I have improved and I’m getting better. So, yeah, I’m ready to put up the fight in this last half and, you know, maybe show some of the young guys that they’re still young.

I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.

It’s just…you find the right flow. So, for whatever that is, you have a couple of good turns, you know, on whatever track you’re riding and you have that flow, that feeling, it’s almost like things come easy and they come slower, you know? So, it’s when everything’s working, right? And you can go in the places you wanna go and you got the flow. So in that situation I can just keep pushing the whole moto.

Daytona next – his favourite track!

I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.

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Wiley Webb Takes Arlington!

Late drama sees Webb take Arlington 450SX victory

Image: Octopi Media.

A dramatic 450SX main event saw Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb snatch a late AMA Supercross victory inside Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, as leader Jett Lawrence stumbled twice in the dying laps.

A near-perfect jump off the gate saw Team Honda HRC’s Lawrence grab the holeshot from Cooper Webb and his brother Hunter Lawrence and steadily build a lead, that at one point, nudged five seconds.

Behind the leading group carnage unfolded early, with Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Malcolm Stewart and Jason Anderson all crashing in separate incidents on the opening laps.

Tomac (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) then put in one of his signature aggressive performances to work his way forward from 16^th to take over third from Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger as the main event entered its final stages.

Further up front, Lawrence drifted wide off a jump and crashed, handing the lead to Webb with just a handful of laps left to run.

Lawrence desperately tried to close the gap, but on the last lap tangled with lapper Vince Friese (SmarTop MotoConcepts Honda) and again went down, allowing Tomac and Plessinger to claim the remaining podium places.

Jett and Hunter finished fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha). Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki), Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Racing) and Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) completed the top 10 positions.

Lawrence still leads the 450SX points standings, but his margin has been trimmed to three points over Webb (135 to 132), with Plessinger just four points further back.

Round eight of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will be held next Saturday at Daytona.