Eli Tomac was in a class all his own at Hangtown. (Photography by Kit Palmer)
(Sacramento, California, May 16) Eli Tomac drew first blood in the 2015 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown. The GEICO Honda rider left no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who was the most prepared rider in the opening round of the outdoor series. Tomac simply blew everyone away.
Tomac was most impressive in the second moto when the track was at its roughest. He had more than a half-lap lead on Ryan Dungey when the checkered flag came out. It was almost as if Dungey simply said to himself that Tomac was just too good on this day and let him go. Tomac took the checkers one-and-a-half minutes ahead of the recently crowned Supercross Champion. To give you an idea just how fast Tomac was today, his best time around the rough Hangtown track in the second moto was two minutes and five seconds—Dungey’s best was two minutes and 10 seconds.
At least Dungey, on the Red Bull KTM, gave Tomac a bit of a race in the first moto. Tomac got out in front right away, opened up a small lead, and Dungey managed to pace him for a while before letting him go. The winning gap was only 22 seconds, with Tomac taking the win ahead of Dungey.
Tomac’s ride was one of the most impressive in recent memory.
“I was just connected with the bike today,” Tomac said.
“His performance was great today,” Dungey said. “He was at his best.”
Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson managed to put his FC450 on the podium in third place despite a second-moto seventh, but an outstanding first-moto third ended up getting him there, edging out AutoTrader.com/Toyota Yamaha’s West Peick by one point for third place.
Peick was pretty impressive on this day as well. He ran up front for much of the first moto before slipping back to eighth, but he went forward in the second moto, passing his teammate Justin Barcia (who crashed out of the first moto) for third.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett was in contention for a podium after placing fourth in the first moto, a sixth in the second moto gave him fifth overall in his first ever 450 outdoor race.
Defending champion Ken Roczen put in a gutsy performance, admitting after his 19-5 performance that he was racing with a “stress fraction in his spine. I’ve been flat on my back the last 10 days,” he said, the result from a crash while practicing.
Broc Tickle, Brett Metcalfe, Christophe Pourcel, Fredrik Noren, Phil Nicoletti rounded out the top 10 overall.
HRC Honda’s Cole Seely feel just two turns into the first moto and was too banged up to finish out the moto or even start the second moto.
RESULTS
Hangtown Classic
May 16, 2015
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (1-1)
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-2)
3. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (3-7)
4. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha (8-3)
5. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki (4-6)
6. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki (6-8)
7. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki (7-9)
8. Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna (5-12)
9. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Honda (10-10)
10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (9-14)
