Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac scores first AMA Supercross win of 2016 at Daytona International Speedway.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac went a long way toward reversing a difficult supercross season by winning one of the most prestigious races on the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series schedule, the Daytona Supercross by Honda, at Daytona International Speedway, tonight.
Tomac looked much like the same rider who had dominated the early part of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in 2015 as he hardly put a wheel wrong all night on the tight and rutty Daytona track that was designed by five-time Daytona Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael. On a night where the start was crucial, the Colorado rider shot to the head of the pack, battled briefly with reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey and then pulled away to score his fourth career 450ccc AMA Supercross win. It was also the first in 25 races for Kawasaki, which had endured a longer dry spell than Tomac. Ryan Villopoto was the last Kawasaki rider to see the checkered flag first on a green machine at the 2014 Las Vegas Supercross.
“This is huge,” Tomac said. “Even though this event is so unique to itself, and part of our supercross series, this is the spirit the team needed to lift us up, because honestly we’ve been down in the dumps a little bit. Expectations were high at the beginning of the season, and, I don’t know, it’s been tough. But, you know, that time I was able to get out early with the start and just lay it down. I was having fun all day on my motorcycle, and that’s what counts, and it paid off in that main event. There’s still more work to do, but to click off that win is huge.”
But while Tomac’s performance may indicate that he can be expected to battle for more wins as the series heads down the stretch, Dungey hardly had any cause for concern as he cruised to his 25th consecutive podium finish and the 20th consecutive race in which he has finished second or better. That’s a hell of streak, and Dungey’s runner-up finish still got the job done in the title battle as he once again stretched his Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series lead over closest rival Ken Roczen, who finished fifth in the Daytona main event.
“I kind of didn’t realize it [the streak] was building up until people kind of started point it out, and even then I need to focus on the racing and apply myself,” Dungey said. “It didn’t happen overnight. It happened each and every day, one day at a time, just trying to perform my best on each and every given moment. The track was tough. We got into decent start. Eli was on it, and I just tried to keep the pressure on him. He was riding really good today, and we were pushing the pace good. I just tried to fall in line and keep the pressure on, but he rode good tonight. We had a couple changes out of the heat race that helped us. Second on the night…you know the big picture is there, but tonight, for how it felt in the heat race and in practice, I was happy with the performance of the bike and the riding. You can’t win ‘em all.”
And Daytona was, perhaps, a measure of vindication for Dungey’s Red Bull KTM teammate, Marvin Musquin, who took his fair share of heat for comments made at the previous round in Atlanta, when he blamed Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart for costing him that main event win when video evidence of the incident clearly shows otherwise. With his third-place finish at Daytona, Musquin showed that last weekend’s runner-up finish was no fluke, and it appears that he is clearly stepping up his own performance.
“It feels good,” Musquin said. “To win the heat race was good for me, and having the second gate pick was huge. I didn’t get a good jump off the gate, but I was inside, so I made up ground and I passed riders. I was behind Ryan and Eli, and I was trying to push. This track was real difficult to push. It was really easy to make a mistake, easy to slide or to crash, so I was trying to ride smooth. Obviously they kept pushing and pushing. I looked back and Jason [Anderson] was kind of far behind, and I played it safe. To be third tonight in Daytona on a 450, it’s big for me. We want to win, but it’s Daytona. It’s different than [stadium] supercross. It was a great race. To be third today is good for the team.”
And Musquin likely wouldn’t wish Stewart’s bad racing luck to continue, though it certainly did at Daytona, the former AMA Supercross Champion looping out his Yoshimura Suzuki and endured another bad crash during his heat race. Stewart was able to get to his feet and ride back to the team transporter, but he suffered an apparent leg injury that ended his night prematurely and leaves him questionable for the next round in Toronto, Canada.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson was once again slow to get going in the Daytona main event, but he settled into a solid rhythm and scored a solid fourth-place finish ahead of RCH Soaring Eagle Jimmy John’s Suzuki’s Roczen, Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard and HLTN CO Suzuki’s Josh Grant, the latter finishing an impressive seventh after a long layoff from supercross. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel, BTO Sports KTM’s Justin Brayton and Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely completed the top 10.
2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Results: March 5, 2016 (Round 9 of 16)
450 Main
1. Eli Tomac-Kaw
2. Ryan Dungey-KTM
3. Marvin Musquin-KTM
4. Jason Anderson-Hus
5. Ken Roczen-Suz
6. Trey Canard-Hon
7. Josh Grant-Suz
8. Christophe Pourcel-Hus
9. Justin Brayton-KTM
10. Cole Seely-Hon
11. Justin Bogle-Hon
12. Chad Reed-Yam
13. Blake Baggett-Suz
14. Vince Friese-Hon
15. Kyle Cunningham-Suz
16. Mike Alessi-Hon
17. Jake Weimer-Suz
18. Weston Peick-Yam
19. Davi Millsaps-KTM
20. Nicholas Schmidt-Suz
21. Phil Nicoletti-Yam
22. Tommy Hahn-Yam
2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (after 9 of 16 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-213/5 wins
2. Ken Roczen-174/2 wins
3. Jason Anderson-163
4. Eli Tomac-154/1 win
5. Cole Seely-145
6. Chad Reed-141
7. Marvin Musquin-134
8. Justin Brayton-110
9. Davi Millsaps-105
10. Jake Weimer-81
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