Questions still remain on what went wrong for Eli Tomac in the second half of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, as he went from arguably the best rider in the series and championship hopeful to dropping out of the lead chase due to inconsistent results, and then a big crash in Cleveland.
In the bigger picture, it was still a strong season in his switch to Red Bull KTM, as he scored plenty of wins and showed he still "has it" as a contender. But what does Eli think about it himself? Jamie "Darkside" Guida asked him in his MotoX Pod show this week.
Eli, let's talk about the 2026 season so far. Start off with peaks, a little bit of valley in the middle or towards the end, but when you look back so far, how would you describe your season?
Eli Tomac: It started off outstanding. Getting two wins at the first two races of the year, it was good as it could get. We made improvements from the first World Supercross races, and I kind of figured out what worked and what didn't. We were off to the races. Otherwise, in the middle of the season, man, it got a little tough. That's what just happens in the supercross series is that they're so long. I just got a little inconsistent. At one point I got sick, but everyone has to deal with that at some point in the year, it seems like. Before I know it, you know, lose the red plate at one point, get it back at one point, and then lose it again, and then end up having a tough crash in Cleveland. That wrote the season off, but on paper, it was pretty successful other than not able to compete for the championship at the last race. But for expectations, and switching to a new team, I'm pretty happy other than it's a bummer not being able to go for the championship in Salt Lake.
We didn't know, certainly in the media, the fans didn't know exactly how it was gonna go. I mean, we talked 1000 times, you're getting older, but you came out proving that you are still one of the baddest dudes to ever do this. I know we talked earlier this season, and I don't know if we talked about what your expectations were coming in. Like, did you immediately feel like, hey, I can win and be a title threat, or did that kind of build once the season started and you were doing so well?
Once I spent a couple of weeks on this motorcycle, I knew I was going to be in title contention. And with the crew surrounding me, I have no excuses to not be in that position. And that's how I sold myself to those guys. I'm a championship contender, I know I can still be at the top, and it was nice to show those guys that we could still win.
I do want to get into the valley of the season, a little bit of the slump. You talked about being sick. You hear the same rumors, I'm sure you jump on social every once in a while and you see people saying he's injured. People saying he's sick. There's stuff going on in his personal life. He doesn't like the bike now that he's East Coast. So were there different reasons at different rounds, or was it just being sick?
I would say in Birmingham, when I got spanked pretty good by Hunter [Lawrence], I was like, third was okay, but then around Detroit and St. Louis those races really, really stung for me. I just struggled in general and I'm gonna point that toward the condition of that dirt. I just didn't ride well, straight up, like didn't ride well. I would say I just wasn't up to my speed and myself. So it was a frustrating part of the year. St. Louis, that one was really tough to accept.
Of course Nashville, it kind of continued. I think you fell in the main if I'm not mistaken, and just struggled. You were really good during the day as I recall, but then got a bad start and just really kind of the... struggles just continued.
Yeah Nashville was interesting. Because I was fast in the in the qualifying. I was P1 in there, won the heat race, and then that was really tough to accept that one because I got 11th. I crashed, didn't get a good start. I went for the inside [gate]. I basically went against everything that gives me confidence for the start. I like starting a little more outside, and I go inside and I get swallowed up, and I'm just in the back and it was just no good. So that Nashville, man, that one daggered me bad. That was a bummer.
The next week's Cleveland and obviously, we know what happened in the whoops and qualifying. I have to imagine as soon as you hit the ground, your thoughts are crap, that's it, my season, right? You knew you were down.
Yeah, I didn't give up all the hope until I tried the second practice, but I knew I was pretty hammered. I went to the medical unit and I was basically like buckling over cause my hip was spasming so bad and then my, actually my elbow started being an issue, like an hour after that. It got super swollen and that ended up being what I was waiting for actually to come back was. My hip got decent and then my elbow was giving me some trouble. I hit the ground hard there, totally had the wind knocked out of me. Looking back at it and how hard I hit my shoulder, I feel like I totally should have broke a collarbone or something. I feel like it could have been worse, so I counted my blessings there on that crash.
Did that take a few days to kind of get over? You may not even be over it yet.
I'm not really over it because I've been having so much fun with this year as a whole and with this team. It's definitely a big bummer, for me mentally.
You've had a lot of heartache in your career with things like this, right? So you're probably used to it, but it still sucks.
Yeah, and that's just, it goes to show you, man, it's not easy to win the supercross championships. I start looking at how many rounds there are and you have to have a little bit of luck on your side to make it through these things all the way. There's nothing easy about getting through these 17 rounds in supercross. I mean, the worst heartbreak of all, of course, is 2023. I mean, that one you shake your head at, but the other stuff, it's just supercross.
All right. With one round left, I know you always want to win, but how important is finishing strong with a win for you?
It would be very nice to finish with a win. So a big step for me was getting back on the podium at Denver because of all my bad races, but yeah, I'm fully gunning for the win in Salt Lake. I haven't raced there in quite a few years, so I'm pumped to be back there, the elevation again, where I get to practice every week, so it's nice to be able to race in it. It’s gonna be good. I think I'll be a little stronger than I was even in Denver, so I'm excited to see what I got.
Outdoors, how much testing have you done, if any? Do you feel like you're ready for Pala in just a few weeks?
Yeah, Pala's coming up quick. It's always here sooner than later, it seems like, and it always is. So far I’ve had probably two or three outdoor tests. We're gonna get some West Coast testing in here after Salt Lake. I'll be in California testing. I was a little nervous when I crashed in Cleveland with missing some moto time, but I didn't miss too much. Physically I'm not gonna be behind, so we should be ready to rip once Pala swings around.
Do you have any thoughts on stacking up against Jett again and Deegs for the first time?
Both those guys are gonna be super good. So, yeah, I totally expect them to be at the front of the race, and they're gonna be a pain to race against! So, I've gotta be on my game. I gotta be strong, gotta be there the whole season. One thing's for sure is that my bike's ripping in motocross, so that's a good thing for me. It's just the usual. It's packed. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a gnarly season.
