450 Words Eli Tomac

Through three rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Eli Tomac finds himself in a much better position than the previous two years as he currently trails points leader Ken Roczen by just two points. On Saturday at Anaheim 2, Tomac won the third main event and finished third overall via 4-4-1 finishes.

He spoke with Steve Matthes after the race. 

Racer X: You’re getting close to the points lead. You haven’t won one of these yet, but you kind of eluded a little bit. You’re fine. You’re not losing your mind.
Eli Tomac: I was losing my mind before the last race in that Triple Crown, but then the last one I got my mind back.

The first one was very unlike you. Did you have an issue?
I wasn’t riding good and I was tight. I got tight. I’ll be straight up honest. I was tight the last four or five laps. Rode like a goon, really. For where I started, there was no excuses to not be farther ahead than where I was. Then second one, that was a really bad start. So I got to clean up starts if I want to be better. Third one was kind of the clean air deal and rode like myself. It’s hard to get down on yourself because we’re right here in the championship. Years past I’ve been always digging myself out of a massive hole. So we’re in a great spot right now.

All of us guys in the media are waiting for this crazy Tomac ride and it just hasn’t been there yet, but this is what gets it done. The third main, like you said, you rode great. You pulled away with the win. It doesn’t give you the overall, but it’s a main event in a way. So this is a good thing.
Oh yeah. All the guys are out there. We rode 14 laps. It was pretty much a main. It was just better. It was more me. No excuses for that first one. That was bad.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember last year you not being a huge fan of these things. You won a couple of them. You weren’t a huge fan of these things. I sensed tonight you seemed like you were better with the Triple Crown format?
Not so much. You heard the 250 guys saying they like it, but I think they’ll have a different perspective when they get on the big bike and when they’re the guys going second. Whatever we have, three of them? That’s perfect. That’s good. Any more than that, I think it’s a little bit just too crazy for all of us.

More starts?
More starts, more potential, more first lap squirrels. I’m okay with them, but I think they just maybe stay with that. That’s my opinion.

New bike for you. I’m waiting for the, “We’re still developing this thing” stuff from your guys. How is it? What do you think? What are you learning about this thing?
It has been a learning process. It has a lot of potential and I’m about to uncork it here soon.

So you’re still testing a bit?
I’m still trying to find “the” spot, but that being said, I haven’t put myself in the greatest positions but I haven’t been riding the best. It’s been a mix. I can’t put my finger on one thing or the other. The bike, the motor is really nice. It’s got some really good characteristics to it. Like anything, you got to find the sweet spot on them. You can’t just do it right off the get-go.

Qualifying practice for you. We’ve seen a lot of guys in the mix through the first three rounds, and not always you. Sometimes you, but not always you. Does that bother you at all? Roczen doesn’t care. Some guys don’t care. A lot of times you’ve been the fastest guy, but it hasn’t been necessarily every time this year. Is that just the depth of the field?
It’s the depth of the field. I think I’ve been eked out. I was second at A1 and then today by a tenth. So it’s the depth of the field. I’ve been close.

The names are crazy in the top five every practice.
Everyone’s riding good right now. 

I ride a Levo bike. I’m an e-bike guy. I’ve been getting a lot of shit on social media when I post one. But you’re gnarly. Your dad’s gnarly. And you’re fine with an e-bike, correct?
Yeah. We rip them. We love riding those things. The haters are the ones that haven’t ridden them yet. Those are the haters.

So I can tell all those guys they’re fine?
They haven’t ridden one. As soon as you ride one, you’ll change your mind, 100 percent.

You’re the gnarliest guy I know, so if you’d be the guy to shit on e-bikes, someone would think.
Just go ride one.