Eli Tomac took a spectacular come-from-behind win in the second moto. Photography by Steve Cox.
GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac took an impressive second-moto win in the 250 class at the Budds Creek round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, but it wasn’t enough to keep Blake Baggett from claiming the overall victory and his first win of the season.
After finishing fifth in the first moto, Tomac scored a stunning win in the second outing. At one point, Tomac was running in 13th place, but while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Darryn Durham and Blake Baggett were battling for the lead about the halfway point, Tomac seemingly came out of nowhere and passed them both like they were standing still. From there, he immediately opened up a comfortable lead and went on to win over Baggett by an amazing 10 seconds. It was one of the most amazing performances in recent memory.
After the race, Tomac, who was fifth in the first moto, said that he pretty much took out his aggressions in the second moto and “just had the flow.” His 5-1 gave the Honda rider second overall for the day.
Third overall went to Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin who took second in the first moto. He didn’t get the best of starts the second time out but made some passes and was running as high as fifth when he lost the front end and three positions. He got one of them back and finished out the moto in seventh.
Points leader Ken Roczen, who wasn’t feeling 100-percent after a bout with an illness during the short break, hung on to finish fourth overall with a 3-6. “I just wanted to get the weekend over with,” he said.
He lost significant ground on the defending champ, Baggett, who trailed Roczen by 44 points going into the race. He left 32 points back in fourth. Only 11 points now separate Roczen from second-place Tomac.
Musquin is third 12 points behind Tomac.
Wil Hahn, on the GEICO Honda, finished out his first race back since a wrist injury fifth overall with a 6-5.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Darryn Durham enjoyed what was probably his best ride ever outdoors. He led the first 10 laps before giving way to both Tomac and Baggett on the same lap. Durham went on to finish third in the moto for seventh overall (13-3).
Jason Anderson went 4-11 for sixth overall.
Kyle Cunningham (7-9), Zach Osborne (17-4) and Justin Hill (10-10) rounded out the top 10 overall.
After completing the first lap in 37th place, Adam Cianciarulo climbed up to 17th place for 16th overall (14-17).
RESULTS
250 O/A
1. Blake Baggett (Kaw) 1-2
2. Eli Tomac (Hon) 5-1
3. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 2-7
4. Ken Roczen (KTM) 3-6
5. Wil Hahn (Hon) 6-5
6. Jason Anderson (Suz) 4-11
7. Darryn Durham (Kaw) 13-3
8. Kyle Cunningham (Yam) 7-9
9. Zach Osborne (Hon) 17-4
10. Justin Hill (Kaw) 10-10
