Eli Tomac was the key to securing Team USA’s presence at the MXoN and ultimately leading them to the podium! Bringing his best to Matterley Basin, Tomac ran up front all weekend, including grabbing an incredible holeshot in the final and highly competitive moto—possibly one of the most stacked in MXoN history. Although he was overtaken by Gajser and Jett Lawrence, Tomac held off Hunter Lawrence and a hard-charging Herlings in the closing stages, finishing 2-3 on the day and guiding the USA to a solid second overall, all on just two weeks’ notice.
Tomac said in the press conference: “We gave it our best effort obviously and came up that bit short, super proud of Cooper and Aaron. What a track, and the conditions, it was a very tough track. Proud to stay consistent and put in some good results. Of course we wanted more, it was a good effort.”
Then, in convesation with Swapmoto, Eli said: “We all stepped up and tried our hearts out. It was a gnarly track, these GP tracks, the ruts were pretty insane, very technical riding but at the same time it was really cool for racing with how technical it was. Man, it was close, very close in points. Second doesn’t sit well but it is what it is.
“I felt a little bit behind on the first day with just the way things flowed. With it being the first day, I was able to adapt pretty well, learned some things in that qualifying race. Other than that, all three of us adapted well.”
