Speaks out on lapping Vince Friese on way to San Diego victory.
San Diego winner Eli Tomac has spoken out on the situation in San Diego while lapping Vince Friese that he thought could have cost him the 450SX victory at that point of the main event.
Friese had taken the holeshot and was drifting backward when Tomac and Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) arrived to put him a lap down in the race’s late stages, but the MCR Honda rider didn’t make it easy on the leaders.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Tomac managed to fend an attack from Lawrence off to win the 53rd main event of his decorated career, but was still left bemused by Friese’s – who eventually finished in 15th position – tactics when questioned post-race.
“That was a frustrating part of the race,” Tomac reflected. “I honestly thought Jett [Lawrence] was going to get me by that point because I sat behind Vince for, I don’t know, maybe half a lap or a little less.
“Then, of course, when you’re behind a guy, you’re anticipating where you think they’re going to go, and most of the time, you have a pretty good sense of where they’re going to go. That just didn’t happen at all.
“After that Supercross triple, then into the 90 and on off, there was a tonne of track on the left side, and that’s where I went, but he just drifted over going through that lane.
“I thought I was hosed, it was super-close. That’s all I can say – it was wild. I thought I was going to give up the race because of that situation… it was so close.”
Two-time Monster Energy Supercross champion Tomac – who is in his final season of professional competition – has now taken charge of red plate two rounds into the season, carrying a single-point advantage over Anaheim 1 winner Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM).