Eli Tomac Leads Muddy Practice at Ironman Motocross National

Larry Lawrence | August 16, 2014
  Nine seconds. Thats how much faster Eli Tomac was over the rest of the 450 field in Timed Qualifying for todays inaugural Ironman Motocross National in Crawfordsville  Indiana.  Larry Lawrence photo

Photography by Larry Lawrence

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Aug. 16, 2014) – Nine seconds. That’s how much faster Eli Tomac was over the rest of the 450 field in Timed Qualifying for today’s inaugural Ironman Motocross National in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Tomac sloshed his Geico Honda CRF450R around the muddy circuit in a time of 3:02.241. Next fastest was Austin Wagner with a 3:11.392 aboard his Championship Powersports Honda. Series leader Ken Roczen was third fastest with a 3:11.786. Roczen’s Red Bull KTM teammate and series rival Ryan Dungey clocked the 12th fastest time in qualifying practice.

A lot of unusual names topped the timing charts this morning.

When asked how he could turn a lap so much faster than his competition Tomac said it was all about mindset.

“I rode loose,” Tomac smiled. “You’ve got to have fun in the mid too. If you ride tight you’re always fighting the bike, so you’ve got be loose and just have fun.”

Tomac set his best time in the first session. “I didn’t even go out in the second session because I knew it would be a mess.”

Tomac said today’s race will be new ground for him. In addition to racing on a new circuit, he’s never experience a pure mudder at a Pro National.

“I haven’t raced in a Pro National in conditions like this ever, so it’s going to be new for me,” Tomac said. “We had plenty of mud races when I was in amateurs and we’ve had some muddy Supercrosses. I like these conditions I always seem to excel in it.”

Tomac talked about one big key for today’s motos.

“You want to get a good start and be able to keep your vision clean and clear,” he explained.  “That’s important.”

In the 250cc ranks Jeremy Martin looks to be calm and ready, in spite of being on the verge of being crowned 250 Champ.

Martin, riding his Yamalube Yamaha Star Racing Yamaha YZ250F,

“I grew up racing in the mud so I enjoy it,” Martin said. “I’m smiling and ready to go. I think you do more things to prepare the bike than prepare as a rider.  We all know what we’ve got to do. We’ve all raced in the mud at least once in our life before, so you just make it happen. You’ve got to go out there and stay on the gas.”

Martin said he doesn’t feel the burden of being so close to wrapping up the 250 championship. “No, no  added pressure,” he said. “It’s just another race and we’re at a good track. Hopefully we can draw some Indiana fans here and make people aware in this state of motocross.”

450 Combined Times
1 3 Eli Tomac Honda CRF450R 3:02.241
2 993 Austin Wagner Honda CRF450R 3:11.392
3 94 Ken Roczen KTM 450 SX-F FE 3:11.786
4 193 Chris Proscelle Honda CRF450R 3:12.586
5 531 Todd Krieg KTM 450 SX-F 3:12.713
6 570 Cody VanBuskirk KTM 450 SX-F 3:13.600
7 285 Tony Archer Kawasaki KX 450F 3:13.810
8 526 Colton Aeck Suzuki RMZ 450 3:14.449
9 41 Trey Canard Honda CRF450R 3:14.634
10 62 Mitchell Oldenburg Honda CRF450R 3:15.064

250 Combined Times
1 19 Jeremy Martin Yamaha YZ 250F 3:14.028
2 377 Christophe Pourcel Yamaha YZ 250F 3:15.966
3 37 Cooper Webb Yamaha YZ 250F 3:19.216
4 17 Jason Anderson KTM 250 SX-F 3:22.898
5 621 RJ Hampshire Honda CRF250R 3:24.584
6 32 Justin Bogle Honda CRF450R 3:24.991
7 50 Jessy Nelson Honda CRF250R 3:27.224
8 449 Dakota Kessler Honda CRF250R 3:28.668
9 16 Zach Osborne Honda CRF250R 3:28.762
10 142 Cole Martinez Kawasaki KX 250F 3:29.177

How to Watch

Practice
Online: 10:30 a.m. ET, ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports Live Extra (LIVE)

The second practice session will only be available online and viewable on the Live Extra page and Mobile App (iOS / Android).

Pre-show
Online: 12:15 p.m. ET, ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports Live Extra

New for 2014, ProMotocross.com presents an exclusive pre-show which will begin 45 minutes before the first moto at every round. You can watch it on the Live Extra page and Mobile App (iOS / Android).

Moto 1
Online: 1:00 p.m. ET, ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports Live Extra (LIVE)
TV: 1:00 p.m. ET, MAVTV (LIVE)

New for 2014, MAVTV will air the first motos of every round live. Use the MAVTV channel finder to see if you currently get MAVTV. You can also use the link to request that your cable provider carry MAVTV if they currently do not.

The live stream of first motos can also be viewed online via the Live Extra page and Mobile App (iOS / Android).

Moto 2
Online: 3:00 p.m. ET, ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports Live Extra (LIVE)
TV – 450 Moto 2: 5:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN
TV – 250 Moto 2: 1:00 a.m. ET, NBCSN

NBCSN will have tape delayed coverage of second motos, with the 450 Class race airing at 5:00 p.m. ET and the 250 Class race airing at 1:00 a.m. ET. Use the NBCSN channel finder to see if you currently get NBCSN in your area.

The live stream of both second motos can be viewed online via the Live Extra page and Mobile App (iOS / Android) starting at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Please note: In order to watch a live stream of an NBCSN broadcast, you have to verify your cable provider.  Live Extra is a service offered through participating cable, satellite and telco TV providers that allows you to watch Motocross coverage of live events on NBCSN. Don’t see your provider? Contact your provider by clicking here to express your interest in receiving this service. Provide your email address and they will contact you once your provider has been added. They are actively working to add additional TV providers to this service, and recent additions include Cox, Charter and DirecTV.

Larry Lawrence | Archives Editor

In addition to writing our Archives section on a weekly basis, Lawrence is another who is capable of covering any event we throw his way.