Eli Tomac claimed his first overall win in the outdoor series with a 1-1 performance at Spring Creek. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAN MOORE
Millville, MN (July 19, 2014) – Eli Tomac shook up the order at the top of the 450-class results sheet by claiming his first-ever overall victory in outdoor competition at this weekend’s round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series at Spring Creek Raceway in Millville, Minnesota.
Although Tomac won both motos by huge margins (he beat Roczen by over 16 seconds in moto one, and he beat Dungey by 18 seconds in moto two), the GEICO Honda rider had a tough battle hard taking the lead away from Ken Roczen in the first moto, doing so with five laps remaining in the race.
In the second moto, Tomac moved to the front of the pack before the end of lap one and proceeded to lead every lap to the finish. And while Dungey closed on Tomac late in the race, the Honda rider was able to pick up the pace and take a relatively easy win.
Tomac is well out of the championship hunt since he missed the first four rounds of the series, however, his performance in Minnesota suggests he could be a factor in the remaining races.
“This place is a lot like my practice track at home and I like the sand, so I really liked this track,” said Tomac. “It helped that I got good starts, too. I’m really happy about this win.”
Dungey wound up beating out Roczen for the runner-up slot, his 3-2 trumping Roczen’s 2-4. And by doing so Dungey gained two points on Roczen in the title chase. With four rounds remaining, Dungey now sits 24 points behind Roczen in the standings.
Trey Canard finished fourth for the third straight week, the Team Muscle Milk Honda rider going 4-3 on the day.
Meanwhile, Josh Grant turned in what he called his best performance in the season with a consistent 5-5 for fifth overall.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart finished seventh in moto one, but pulled back into the pits after the second moto was red flagged on the first lap, complaining that something didn’t feel right with the bike.
Results
1. Eli Tomac (Hon) 1-1
2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 3-2
3. Ken Roczen (KTM) 2-4
4. Trey Canard (Hon) 4-3
5. Josh Grant (Yam) 5-5
6. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw) 6-6
7. Andrew Short (KTM) 9-7
8. Weston Peick (Suz) 8-8
9. Fredrik Noren (Hon) 11-10
10. Matt Goerke (KTM) 12-11
