Kawasaki Rider Eli Tomac Wins in Tennessee

Courtesy of KMC

June 24, 2017, | Muddy Creek Raceway | Blountville, TN 

Foothill Ranch, CA (June 25, 2017) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac put his KX™450F back on top at Muddy Creek Raceway, finishing 2-1 for first overall at the fifth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Teammate Josh Grant was forced to retire early from the race weekend after a practice mishap. 

On the opening lap of 450MX Moto 1, Tomac crossed the green flag in eighth. He wouldn’t stay put for long and by Lap 6, Tomac had positioned himself in third and began applying pressure to the leaders. Two laps later, Tomac moved into second but ran out of time to catch the leader, finishing second in Moto 1. 

When the gate fell on Moto 2, Tomac would briefly sit in third place, eager to press to the front. By the end of the opening lap, he had placed his KX450F at the front of the competition and had already began gapping the field. There was no catching the No. 3 Kawasaki machine in Moto 2, as he went on to win the race by a 33.9-second margin over second place. Tomac would win his second overall of the season and move within four points of the lead in the 450MX Rider Point Standings.

“It feels good to get back to where we started,” said Tomac. “We had a mix of bad luck and small mistakes, but we’re past it and back on top. Overall, today was great for both the team and I. My Kawasaki was working great from start to finish. I’m ready to race Red Bud tomorrow if I could.”

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Austin Forkner rode outstanding in the humid and muggy Tennessee conditions to finish 3-3 for third overall, while Adam Cianciarulo finished 4th, Joey Savatgy eighth and Justin Hill 15th. 

In 250MX Moto 1, It was Cianciarulo and Forkner with great starts, coming around in second and third with Hill in 12th. After being involved in a first turn crash, Savatgy remounted in 27th. Savatgy would pass 16 riders and finish in 11th place by the time the checkered flag flew, with Hill in 17th. Cianciarulo and Forkner rode strong to finish second and third, placing two KX™250F’s up on the podium.

Moto 2 saw Forkner with another great start in second place, with teammates Cianciarulo in sixth, Savatgy 10th and Hill 13th. For nearly 25 minutes the top-10 battled closely with one another, using every inch of the Muddy Creek racetrack. Forkner held strong to finish third, with Cianciarulo in fifth, Savatgy seventh and Hill in 13th place. 

“Today’s pace was crazy fast,” said Forkner. “The pace never settled today and from start to finish we were absolutely sending it the entire time. Overall, I’m pumped on my fitness and speed today and I’m looking forward to building on this for next weekend.”

“I felt better this weekend,” said Cianciarulo. “It was nice to get one podium finish today. We’re getting closer to the front with every moto and I’m not going to quit until I’m on that top spot.”

“I wasn’t on pace today,” said Savatgy. “I seemed to be just a little off all day and couldn’t keep up with the front runners. I’m pumped for Adam and Austin on their podium finishes, they both rode great. All I can do is do my homework this week and come out swinging next week.”

“Today was tough,” said Hill. “I changed my workout routine this past week and I’m hoping this new technique will eventually turn things around for me. All we can do is continue to work and put in our best effort.” 

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