ELI TOMAC

Returning to the venue that caused extensive devastation to he and the Yamaha camp last year, Eli Tomac’s fortitude was applauded by all in his home state as he made his way onto the racetrack for practice on Saturday. Though undergoing a few mistakes, including a brutal casing of the “SX” triple, Tomac managed to regain his flow prior to embarking on the opening segment of the 450cc SX classification. Once clicking into gear, Eli raced to a fifth-place standing behind Shane McElrath. The move on the Suzuki rider was made shortly thereafter, where the two were wheel to wheel when entering into the finish line jump with four minutes remaining on the clock. However as more time began to transpire, Tomac would pull away a bit...hoping to track down Malcolm Stewart by the end of the moto (for third). However, the Floridian was riding extremely well and was able to keep Tomac at bay as the checkered flag was thrown for the conclusion of this eight-lap contest — and as Eli garnered fourth over the final double, he then set his sights on the main event. Once there, he secured a fourth place standing in the early going. Tomac then made the move on Justin Cooper after just a few minutes of action to claim third — before tucking the front-end, in the left-handed corner just before the mechanics area. Rebounding in the eighth-place standing (and then quickly passing Justin Hill for seventh), Tomac was forced to work his way through the field as quickly as possible...but the fight within the persona of the Colorado native seemed a bit tamed, or diminished if you will. His urgency wasn’t there as in races past, and it appeared as if his flow, due to a multitude of circumstances wasn’t like those at the pinnacle of the field. Therefore he would be overtaken by opponents like Dylan Ferrandis, Chase Sexton, and Malcolm Stewart. The path to the checkered flag was less than desired, but Eli still strove to retain as many points as possible with he and Chase Sexton now within a points battle for third overall in the championship. The twenty-three lap main was tiresome for the home state hero, but Tomac managed to garner as much speed as he could before crossing over the final double — earning tenth overall, at the legendary Mile High Stadium venue.