Image: Octopi Media.

A pivotal set-up adjustment before the Washougal National led to a marked improvement for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac, whose P3 on the podium was a quick turnaround in form following a troubled weekend at Millville.

Tomac revealed that wholesale bike changes were made in the lead-up to the Spring Creek National, with both the forks and shock transformed in a bid to close the gap to series red plate-holder Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive).

Although those revisions generated improvements at the practice track, those same gains were not evident on race day at Millville, as the 32-year-old finished seventh and faced over a one-minute-plus deficit to double moto winner Lawrence, prompting Tomac to and the team to revert back to a more familiar base for Washougal.

“Different set-up [was the difference], straight up,” Tomac said when questioned on Saturday. “I found something that I was really comfortable on, and was in the same zone as these guys, like the same zip code, and was able to see them, so that was nice.

“What happened in Millville is that before that, I went and did some testing and, yeah, it was on me. I’m like, ‘Hey, I think the bike is better,’ and then I take it to the race, and it was not better. So, I take responsibility for that – it looked faster on the clock, and then it didn’t work in a race environment.

“I was changing the fork and the shock [before Millville],” Tomac continued. “So, really it was wholesale bike changes to try and find a different feel… that’s what happened before Millville and whatnot, so we were taking some serious swings at motorcycle set-up and trying to be better.”

After eight rounds, the four-time Pro Motocross 450MX champion sits 94 points from the series lead in third position, with a two-week break ahead of riders before the final three rounds begin at Ironman Raceway on August 9.