Yes, technically, the timeline said neither Eli Tomac nor Jett Lawrence were 100 percent for the SuperMotocross World Championship SMX Playoffs opener in Charlotte. Injuries for both made this look like a bit of a rush job, but it didn’t look that way as they battled, alone, for the win in the final moments on Saturday. Jett won that battle and completes a remarkable comeback in his first race back.
But this was also, arguably, a better Eli Tomac than we’ve seen at any other point in 2024. Even if it wasn’t a win, it was definitely something. Couple that better riding with his demeanor all weekend—he seemed very happy to be there and really relished the high-speed track layout—and you have a good recipe.
“I felt really good in practice, and the practice laps for me were, were pretty easy like the one fast lap. So I'm like, 'Okay, this is gonna be good for the motos.' Like, I wasn't like on the ragged edge or really hanging on or getting too tight or anything,” Tomac said. “So, my mindset was like, 'You have to get the start.' I knew if I could get myself in the position to be able to start, I felt like I could be in the mix. And with the thumb, everything was okay. Even in that second moto it was good. Yeah, it's gotten stronger. At this point I would say it's not much of a factor.”
Tomac simply left the field in the first moto. He was the only rider in the race to choose the Dunlop MX14 “scoop” tire, which is designed more for mud and sand conditions. Yes, the hybrid track did have some deep dirt in a motocross section, and one big sand turn, plus the MX14 can have an advantage on the start. But the other sections were clearly meant for the traditional Dunlop MX34 knobby tire. That’s what everyone else chose and that’s what they usually use in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. In both motos, Tomac used that scoop tire to nail two good starts and to also make passes in the deep dirt of the motocross section. No one got close in the first moto, but Lawrence stayed with him earlier in moto two.
“I mean, yeah, it was great racing,” said Tomac. “I was good in the beginning I was able to make a pass and then get to the front.”
As Lawrence latched on, two sections stood to decide the race. Tomac’s big quad through the rhythm lane gave him an advantage, but he couldn’t pull it in the latter laps. In the sand, Jett put together a double that helped him close the gap.
“The two obvious sections were the sand and then the rhythm, the rhythm ended up being a really big one,” said Tomac. “It was frustrating, but that's how it goes. Like I didn't adapt to the over-over line [once he stopped jumping the quad] and it totally took me out of it. They [the two lines] were pretty close in general, but then if I missed the quad, it was kind of over.”
Once the quad went away, the supercross rhythm went from a Tomac asset to a liability, and Lawrence was able to prevail. There's one side of this that won't seem encouraging to a Tomac fan. Remember, Lawrence got the better of him at Daytona because, as Eli said, it all came down to one rhythm section that Jett did and Eli didn't. There, Eli took too long to find the right line and pull the biggest leap. Here, he was the one with the big line early, but as the track broke down he couldn't, or wouldn't, maintain it.
But maybe this was better. The final margin in Charlotte's second moto was just over two seconds. Eli even made a late run on the final two laps. It was a strong performance.
![Eli Tomac: “It was a good day overall, but it stings getting second. I won Moto 1 and was leading Moto 2, but I missed the rhythm section too many times, which cost me. Otherwise, Jett [Lawrence] and I were super close. It’s frustrating because I felt so good all day. Man, it was right there, but overall, this was a good step forward. We are improving each weekend since I’ve been back this summer. I’m excited for the next two.”](http://rxi.iscdn.net/2024/09/294435_tomacalignmediasmx24charlotte086.jpg)
“Overall it's just been good for me,” said Tomac. “I've been bettering myself every weekend. Just doing what I can to get better.”
Obviously, Jett should be even better with each passing weekend as he gets more laps under his belt. Tomac is getting better, too. Strange as it might sound, even though Tomac did spend a few months of the summer out with a thumb injury, he might be more formidable now than he was back in January. He’s now over a year out of surgery on his Achilles, which he ruptured last year. With that injury, there’s essentially no training going on at all for quite some time. Eli said with the thumb, being upper body, you can still do quite a bit. While he couldn’t ride with the thumb injury, he’s no doubt continued to build volume and fitness compared to last summer, where he couldn’t do much of anything.
While he didn’t win the overall, he got to learn some from Lawrence, perhaps, also.
“I mean, maybe for these upcoming races it was good to be behind him for a couple laps just to see a different flow, right? So we definitely had our pluses and minuses and yeah, it is what it is, but it's good.”
A fitter Eli, on tracks he likes, against Lawrence. A few more weekends like this will provide the battles we hope to see all season. Better late than never.
