It’s been something of a long slog for Eli Tomac in 2016, as the 23-year-old Coloradoan has competed in 17 supercross and 12 nationals thus far. And although it was very commendable season for the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider (fourth overall in the Monster Energy Supercross; runner-up in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship) he is still, admittedly, wanting for more.
With Charlotte Motor Speedway looming this Saturday, there is still some road to cover as No. 3 is also scheduled to appear at the forthcoming Glen Helen USGP and Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas. Taking all of this into account, today Racer X decided to check in with Tomac and see where he is at, both literally and figuratively. Take it away Eli…
Racer X: Eli, where are you at today? California? Colorado? Charlotte?
Eli Tomac: Yep, I’m back in Colorado now. You know we’re kind of in that normal routine now. We just got done doing that same thing we’ve been doing for the outdoors and the AMA stuff. It’s been a long season, but we’re fit to do this.
You now have all 24 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship motos behind you and the 2016 American season is complete. Taking a quick look back over your shoulder, what’s your take on how the summer went?
It was okay. I mean, yeah, we were second and [Ryan] Dungey was missing. We wanted more wins and to be more in the fight, you know? We did click off two wins that were well earned, but I was definitely looking for more, for sure.
Ken Roczen won 20 motos and was the overall winner at all but three of the rounds. To your way of seeing things, what did Roczen have going for him throughout the entire series?
You know I think that was the perfect example of man and his machine just being one. The days where you go 1-1, those are the days when you feel like that and you feel like you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want and you can trust your bike. That’s when you have all the confidence and he’s had that rolling most of the season.
When you did beat him at Southwick and Washougal, where did you have the advantage?
Southwick I loved, just because of the sand. That was a place I was looking forward to all year, really. I kind of wish we had a couple more of those on our circuit just because it’s so different and so unique and something that I get along with. So that was a race that I was fired up for. I want to be fired up for every race, but I really, really like sand and we went out there and won it. Yeah, we battled to the end, but we went out there and won it. And Washougal, yeah it’s definitely black and white from a sand track, but for some reason I always do good there, too.
Between you and Roczen (Ryan Dungey was the only other rider to win a moto and an overall and he did that early on at Glen Helen) it really was a two-horse race all season long, wasn’t it?
It really was. I mean we had a few motos where we weren’t second, but for the majority of them, it was just us two and Ken just had a little extra on us and I’ll have to find that for next year.
What do you think that extra might be? In other words, what do you think you’ll need to improve upon to beat him, and everyone else, next year? Does it go back to bike and rider relationship at all?
It’s a little bit hard to pinpoint. I could say that I had a really big recovery from a really big injury from last year. I had to kind of get things rolling again. But at the same time, I didn’t really feel it affected me a whole lot on the bike. I think it’s just being comfortable on your machine. I’ve had motos to where I know what he [Ken] is feeling and I think he was just comfortable everywhere he went, you know? When you’re like that, you can’t be beat and I had some of those motos in the year before where I just felt like I could do anything I wanted.
Do you think his RM-Z450 had anything on your KX, or, again, was it more him and his bike being at one with one another?
I mean, under certain conditions, yes. I think that’s where we can get better—getting the bike to work in all conditions. For me, I was only comfortable in half of the conditions I would show up in and where I felt like I could run his pace.
Was it suspension or turning or motor, or a little bit of everything?
A little bit of everything. Outdoors, you’ve got so many bumps and ruts and you have to be able to have good feel in the ruts. And then you have to be able to have a bike that works right in the bumps and has good balance. It’s a combination of everything.
Overall, as far as the outdoor season goes, do you feel good about everything?
Yeah, I think we had 10 out of 12 podiums and two wins. Most guys would take that. I don’t know… I’m sitting here kind of angry because I didn’t get more. It’s just more motivation for next year and these upcoming races. I don’t know… for me it was like a B grade. It’s tough to rate it, but I want to get the A, not the B.
You know with the level you guys are at now, it takes such a significant commitment to organize and staff these race teams to research, develop and race these factory 450 motorcycles. With all the technical stuff coming to the fore now, it reminds me more of car racing now in that there are so many people involved. There are a lot of variables involved in this whole race effort thing now, aren’t there?
There are. I even think that relationship between everyone in the team is getting more and more important. I think the machine is really important nowadays because of what four-strokes do now. Everyone has to be on the same page, everyone has to know how everyone talks and everyone has to know the lingo, so it’s important to have that whole team environment to being and working together. We’re going to keep charging as hard as we can. They’re all on the same page as me and we’re not happy unless we’re winning. Even though you’re second, you’re not jumping up and down.
Being a professional racer is a fantastic thing, but it’s also a tough way to make a living, isn’t it?
Yeah, it’s true. We’re all living a dream doing what we do riding motorcycles for a living, but when you’re in our position and you’re not winning races, it feels like the end of the world. It’s a tough thing to put into reality.
We’re basically 48 hours out from the MXGP of the Americas at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Are you excited about competing in and do you know much about the Grand Prix riders you’ll be going up against?
You know that is an exciting thing about this race and that is to race against all the Europeans. We don’t see them very often at all, normally it would be a des Nations race or maybe a couple of the occasional off-season supercross races, but I’m excited to have some battles with them. Charlotte is going to be unique. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out inside that facility, but it could be really good and could be exciting and we’ll see what it can turn into.
Have you watched any of recent MXGP races on TV or on the web to get a vibe off how these World Championship guys ride and race?
You know I’ve watched one or two, but I haven’t followed it really, really close. We’ll probably do some of that here shortly. I know [Tim] Gajser is really going fast and it seems like those guys really go for it, so I guarantee they’ll be on our pace so it will be a good battle.
With the whole USA versus the world thing going on, it would be a good thing to win, wouldn’t it?
It would be a good thing to win. I think there is always that question between all the motocross fans, “Who is better, the Europeans or the Americans?” It’ll be fun that everyone gets to get on the same gate again.
Okay, Eli, great stuff. One last topic I have to hit you with: The Motocross of Nations. You’re not going. Thoughts?
You know, that was a tough pill to swallow, but for what our schedule is now, and from racing from January until now, if I would have done it, you basically get a couple of weekends off and then you start prep for Monster Cup. If you don’t draw a line anywhere, you’re kind of just running yourself into the ground. I had to draw the line somewhere and it sucked that it had to be that race. There is just a lot of racing now. There will be the Monster Cup and then I think we’ll take, maybe, a week or two off, but after that you’re right back into supercross prep mode. That’s another reason why you’d skip a race like the des Nations now because that prep now starts so early anyway.