Eli Tomac Tops Specialty Awards at Muddy Creek Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Round

After a long layoff due to injury, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac is back on the attack.

After a long hiatus due to injury, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac finally got the chance to make waves in his 450cc Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship debut, and during last weekend’s round in Tennessee, he served notice that he is ready to run at the front of the pack in the premier class.

The reigning 250cc Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion asserted himself immediately by posting the quickest lap in the 450cc class with a time of 1:57.344 to claim the Oakley Bomb Award. The Oakley Bomb Award is earned by the riders who post the fastest qualifying lap in the 450cc class and in the 250cc class. Each rider receives a special Oakley Bomb trophy, and the total number of Oakley Bomb awards a rider receives will be tallied into a final season total. The competitor with the most awards at season’s end will be presented with an Elite Oakley Time Bomb II Swiss Automatic Watch.

In the 250cc Class, former World MX2 Motocross Champion Christophe Pourcel once again topped the lap charts aboard his Valli Motorsports Yamaha. Pourcel’s time of 1:58.809 was nearly two seconds quicker than fellow Frenchman and MX2 World Champion Marvin Musquin, who continues to show improvement with each week of action for Red Bull KTM.

Tomac rode the momentum of his fast qualifying lap off the starting line in the first 450cc moto to claim the first Motosport.com Holeshot Award, which awards $500 to the rider who gets the holeshot in each of the four motos held at every Lucas Oil round. A total of $1000 per class is up for grabs at each event.

Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey collected the $500 Motosport.com Holeshot Award in the 450cc class when he got away first in the second moto. In the 250cc class, Pourcel used his first gate selection to his advantage to pull the holeshot in the first moto and collect his third straight Motosport.com Holeshot Award. However, Pourcel’s holeshot streak ended at three when GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle edged out Pourcel to earn his first Motosport.com Holeshot bonus of the season.

The RC Hard Charger Award is entering its sixth season in 2014 and recognizes the one competitor at each of the 12 rounds of the championship who overtakes the highest number of his fellow racers in any of the four championship motos between the 250 and 450 classes. After first-turn incidents marred the beginning of both opening motos in the 450cc class and 250cc class, many of the championship’s most prominent competitors were forced to fight their way through the field. In the 450cc class, Toyota/Yamaha/N-FAB/JGRMX’s Josh Grant was one of them, and he overcame a dead-last start to claw his way past 29 competitors and finish just outside the top 10, in 11th place.

2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Specialty Award Winners (Through round 5 of 12)

Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program

450cc
Glen Helen-Ryan Dungey
Hangtown-Ken Roczen
Thunder Valley-Trey Canard
High Point-Ken Roczen
Tennessee-Eli Tomac

250cc
Glen Helen-Christophe Pourcel
Hangtown-Christophe Pourcel
Thunder Valley-Christophe Pourcel
High Point-Jeremy Martin
Tennessee-Christophe Pourcel

Motosport.com Holeshot Award

450cc
Glen Helen
Moto 1-Josh Grant
Moto 2-Ken Roczen

Hangtown
Moto 1-Ryan Dungey
Moto 2-Jake Weimer

Thunder Valley
Moto 1-Josh Grant
Moto 2-Trey Canard

High Point
Moto 1-Chad Reed
Moto 2-Chad Reed

Tennessee
Moto 1-Eli Tomac
Moto 2-Ryan Dungey

250cc
Glen Helen
Moto 1-Jeremy Martin
Moto 2-Jeremy Martin

Hangtown
Moto 1-Zach Bell
Moto 2-Jeremy Martin

Thunder Valley
Moto 1-Jessy Nelson
Moto 2-Zach Bell

High Point
Moto 1-Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2-Christophe Pourcel

Tennessee
Moto 1-Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2-Justin Bogle

RC Hard Charger Award
Glen Helen-Josh Grant (+22)
Hangtown-Andrew Short (+24)
Thunder Valley-Fredrik Noren (+21)
High Point-Shane Sewell & Zack Williams (+14)
Tennessee-Josh Grant (+29)