Ian Harrison on Tomac: "He did a really good job of just adapting and getting to the finish."
He was flying all day, but Eli Tomac's Glendale night was ruined by a first-turn crash in the round five Main Event. At first the series' points leader looked injured, but he was able to get up and moved from 22nd to 12th by the checkered flag, and running at speed similar to the race leaders. He lost the red plate to Honda HRC Progressive's Hunter Lawrence.
Said Tomac in a KTM press release:
Eli Tomac: “I put myself in a position where bad things can happen. I got a little pinched at the start and then got taken out – so I don’t know what happened before that, all I know is, I was done. It took me a little while to get warmed up again, kind of got my body loosened up and going, and that’s what I had to get back to 12th. The good thing is, we're not too far down – we’re fine – so we’ll just have to do some digging now.”
We also caught up to Tomac's Red Bull KTM Team Manager Ian Harrison after the race for an update.
Racer X: Not the best night for Eli Tomac, especially considering how things have been going this year. What happened on the start when he went down? It looked like he might have bumped with Christian Craig.Ian Harrison: Yeah, we’re not quite sure. We’re not quite sure if Christian touched the back of Hunter Lawrence’s tire. It’s hard to tell because they were so bunched up, but Christian definitely hit Eli and Eli was sandwiched in there and went down. There’s not much you can do with that.
He took a minute to get going again. Was he hurt at all?When you take a hit anywhere sometimes you’ve got a stinger and it’s like, ‘Whoa, am I bleeding? Am I hurt?’ It takes a moment to get your whereabouts. Then when he felt okay he was like, ‘Okay, I’ll do a lap and see how I’m feeling,’ and he was okay so he started to go for it.
Was the bike damaged or twisted in any way?It always is a little bit, but he adapts really well, even the week before when he wrecked. He did a really good job of just adapting and getting to the finish.
He can be an intense guy. How’s he feeling after that race? Discouraged? Obviously he isn’t happy.Of course he’s bummed. When you’re leading a championship and putting in the work like we’re doing, it’s hard to have a rough night like tonight. But he’s ready to go. He came in and we debriefed, and he’s a true professional. It’s an absolute pleasure dealing with him.
