On the outside, it looked pretty obvious. Eli Tomac was in a huge battle with Ken Roczen for second in the second 450 moto of the Toyota Thunder Valley National. He didn’t need second place to win the overall, because his 1-3 score would have topped Roczen’s 2-2, anyway. He kept charging though! After all, championship points pay out with each individual moto, so it looked like Eli just wanted to get more points. After a torrid fight, Tomac went over a berm and appeared to give up on that pursuit, instead settling for the 1-3 and the overall win.
Not quite! Turns out Tomac only slowed down because he had fried his rear brake. He didn’t even know his 1-3 would still win the day….but then it all blew up when Chase Sexton crashed on the last lap, Roczen moved into the lead and upgraded to a 1-2 to steal the overall win.
Tomac, actually, had no idea. He explained the day in the post-race press sessions.
Eli Tomac, moto number one, about sixteen minutes plus two laps to go, we see you start pouring the heat on. Went into beast mode late in that moto. Give us your thoughts on how that played out for you.
Eli Tomac: Yeah, moto one, it was great for us. The beginning though, I was a little bit slow. Chase got by me at one point. I was a little bit worried about that. Just sat there for a few laps and tried to regroup and figure some lines out and then was able to move forward. That was by far my best first moto of the year, so that was nice to get a good first moto going there. I had a lot of fun doing it.
Moto number two, we saw you pick your spots. We knew you had some points on the track you were much quicker and a mechanical. Brakes started to go away. Tell us a little bit about that.
I was going at it with Kenny there. We were so close so many times. Probably with like, five or six to go, my brakes started fading. Then with two to go, the thing was gone. So, that's why on the last lap I was completely gone out of the picture. That was a bummer. I don't know if I would've changed anything on pass attempts or anything, but the good thing is we were able to get second overall on the day. I feel like I've been improving. We'll keep going from here.
![Roczen and Tomac]()
Roczen and Tomac Align Media ![Tomac and Roczen]()
Tomac and Roczen Align Media
You had a fork change. You went from the hybrid to the air fork, I believe. What are you feeling different with the new setup?
We made change between round one and two. For me it either works or it doesn't. So, it's just a feel thing. That system is better for me in motocross.
Did you see Chase go down in that moto? What went through your mind when you realized he had gone down?
I never knew he went down.
When did you realize he had gone down?
He told me at the podium. I had no idea.
That's when you realized you didn't have the overall? At the podium?
I never thought I had it! Actually, when I was behind Kenny, I thought I had to get Kenny to get the overall. I guess if Chase was still in front, right, that would have given to me? I don't know.
Yeah, you had the overall.
I had no idea. I thought I had to get Kenny. That's why I was going kind of crazy hitting it.
With that last lap, towards the end-of-the-moto battle with Kenny where you guys were just going at it, you guys were just spent. You spent two motos in the heat, just killing it. Do you still find the fun in the chess match of figuring out the next corner, where you’re going to pass, where he is going to pass you back? Is it still kind of fun?
Yeah, it's fun, but when you're the guy in the back eating the roost it's not great. The good thing is in the 450 class, it feels like most of the guys you ride around are in control. It is like a chess match. Yeah, it's been fun racing these guys.
Coming to the state of Colorado, home track. Level of satisfaction? I saw some frustration at the end as you crossed the finish line. What do you take out of the scope of satisfaction from this weekend?
It was a great crowd for rooting on ET3. So, it's been awesome between Thunder Valley and the supercross here. I think we have a great motocross scene up here on this side of the mountains.
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany  | 2 - 1 | Honda CRF450R |
| 2 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 1 - 3 | Yamaha YZ450F |
| 3 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 4 - 2 | Honda CRF450R |
| 4 |  Jason Anderson | Edgewood, NM | 3 - 6 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 5 |  Antonio Cairoli | Patti, Sicily  | 5 - 4 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 6 |  Ryan Dungey | Belle Plaine, MN | 7 - 7 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 7 |  Justin Barcia | Monroe, NY | 6 - 8 | GasGas MC 450F |
| 8 |  Shane McElrath | Canton, NC | 12 - 5 | Husqvarna FC 450 |
| 9 |  Joey Savatgy | Thomasville, GA | 8 - 9 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 10 |  Garrett Marchbanks | Coalville, UT | 9 - 11 | Yamaha YZ450F |
Steve Matthes caught up with Tomac for more:
Racer X: Just a great battle there. You and Kenny were going at it.
Eli Tomac: I got close a few times, then my rear brake started going away. Then on the last lap it was totally gone.
Is that why you went over the berm?
Oh yeah! Even the lap before it it was getting spongy. Then it was totally gone.
So at that point you’re probably doing the math and figured out had the overall.
I had no idea! That’s why I was riding out of my mind behind Kenny! Then as Chase comes up to me on the podium, he says, “Sorry.” And I’m like “What are you talking about?!” [Laughs] I had no idea. It probably looked like I was just rolling around because I had the overall, but I just had no rear brake. It was gone.
We don’t know exactly what you’re going to do next year, but is there a chance this is your last Thunder Valley National?
Yeah, there’s probably a high probability of it being my last race at Lakewood. [Note: Tomac’s 2023 deal is expected to be for supercross only.]
Do you think about that?
Oh yeah! That’s why I was sending it!
