Image: Octopi Media.

Previous 450SX points-leader Eli Tomac managed to salvage P12 in Glendale after his costly first turn crash, caught up in a multi-rider incident and later conceding that he will ‘have to do some digging now’ after being demoted to third in the standings.

A fast start to the Monster Energy Supercross season saw the 33-year-old post a 1-1-3 scorecard across the opening three rounds, before trouble in Houston and Arizona yielded fourth and 12th-place results.

Red Bull KTM recruit Tomac was in strong form once more at State Farm Stadium, positioned second in qualifying and taking a convincing 5.987s heat race victory.

Contact with Quad Lock Honda’s Christian Craig in turn one of the main event, however, made for a difficult evening overall. It appears that he avoided any form of injury in the impact, able to move forward through the pack once back in a rhythm.

“I put myself in a position where bad things can happen,” Tomac admitted. “I got a little pinched at the start and then got taken out by Craig, so I don’t know what happened before that – why he crashed or if he caused it… all I know is Craig hit me, and 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.”

With Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – off the back of four-consecutive P2 finishes – proving a picture of consistency in 2026, he now holds the red plate by five points over Glendale winner Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki), with Tomac a further three behind.