Who was more pumped over race three of the Anaheim Triple Crown? Was it the fans who went crazy when Eli Tomac emerged in the lead early in the race? Or was it Eli himself, sporting a wide grin that was half elation and half relief on the podium? Even Eli Tomac, as gritty and stoic as they come, a man that sits second on the all-time AMA Supercross wins list, needed a little confidence jolt coming off of last year’s Achilles tendon injury, and a lowly ninth at the only dry race this year, at Anaheim 1.
That race three win powered him to second overall via 5-7-1 scores. But that’s not what matters. The win in the third race re-proved he could beat anyone. That’s the feeling right there.
Eli spoke in the post-race media conference.
Eli, you had to come through the pack for the first two races. Talk about that, how hard that was to pass on the track. And if you learned any lines coming through the pack that helped you in that third one.
Eli Tomac: I rode a lot better in moto one compared to moto two. I was able to make more passes, I felt like, in moto one. Just was able to move around the track better. Yeah man, I was just struggling to be honest, off the starts. I could not get off the grate. But as for the track, it was technical, it was something we don't see all the time. So I actually enjoyed it. It changed a lot between each race there. You had to ride it different, almost every moto out there. So, overall, I was just like… “I gotta go do something for moto three” there.
Race three was significantly better. You talked about starts, but it seemed like you were riding much better. Was there a significant change made bike or line choice before race three?
No, not really. The one thing I did get out of moto two was the other rhythm lane after the mechanics' area, to go triple there after that turn. So I had that in my pocket for race three, which helped me open up a gap there like initially in moto three. Other than that, it was just like being in clean air and being up front and riding well and getting a good jump combo through the whoops.
![In the 45 total 450SX Triple Crown races completed to date, Eli Tomac has won a class-leading 14 race wins.]()
In the 45 total 450SX Triple Crown races completed to date, Eli Tomac has won a class-leading 14 race wins. Align Media ![Tomac has finished 9-2-9-2 in the first four rounds to start the 2024 supercross season.]()
Tomac has finished 9-2-9-2 in the first four rounds to start the 2024 supercross season. Align Media
A1, you finish ninth overall back at a dry race. Today you're second [overall] and got the main event win in main three. Was that just getting your race legs under you or did you make bike changes since A1?
Yeah, there were bike changes. It's basically just going back to something I knew. So, that was it for the motorcycle and, yeah, with that being said, it's tough, your first race back after having that time off. So, to be honest, it was probably a combination of both there.
Race three, you have a great start and then you just get to go out, do the laps, do the rhythms that you wanna do. How did that feel after four races?
It was nice! I was pretty frustrated after those first two. I was like, okay, here, I'm just, what am I now? A fifth-seventh place guy right now? I don't know, I just had to go do something. I just had to get off the gate there. So, it was good. It was good to have a good flow. I was able to get the whoop combo down and I felt like that was important for me. Yeah, felt good!
Finally a dry racetrack after A1 and then a couple of mudders. What do you feel like you were able to kind of learn about your race program tonight? And do you feel like you can more properly kind of evaluate where you're at tonight, versus the mud races?
I feel like, you know, when you have those two mud races in a row, it's just a huge unknown. So, for me personally, this was like round two for me just because I failed so terribly at Anaheim 1. So, it was a huge question mark for myself coming into today. So, it was important for us to perform.
But about the rhythm sections, Eli, I noticed you were tripling in, I think in both of them, at least in the wall. How do you decide to triple in versus double? And which was faster. It seemed like that were kind of confused.
Yeah. So I just saw [Jason] Anderson doing it. I think he was the only guy doing it in moto one. I think so, and he made a pass there, I believe it was on [Ken] Roczen. And so at that point, I'm like, hey, you know, it's fast to go down this line and I need to pick up some speed. So, I just had to go for it moto two there. And that's when I latched onto that line.
