Making his Monster Energy Supercross Championship debut with Red Bull KTM, Eli Tomac wasted no time making an impact at A1, opening his 2026 450SX campaign with a statement performance, while Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie claimed victory in 250SX West. Both riders spoke to media following the main events for these Debrief interviews.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli, congratulations. You were rather uncontested in the lead. You were looking at one with the motorcycle. Was that the flow state? And if not, talk me through the evolution of your mindset throughout the race.

Yeah, those races were tough. You know, leading from basically the get-go. Of course, I had to make one pass there after the restart, but focusing for those full 20 minutes, being in the lead the whole time – those are some of the toughest races. Even though it may look like there’s not much going on, it definitely becomes a mind game of focus and watching the guy behind you, marking where they’re at. That being Kenny [Roczen]. I felt like we were basically neck and neck, even though he wasn’t right on me, but he was keeping me very honest the whole time. So there wasn’t much going on to it, but it was definitely a mind game. Other than that, the motorcycle was probably the best it’s been all day, and that was in the main event. We made one small change between the heat race and the main and went the right direction – and hey, this is the right way to start.

You mentioned yesterday in the press conference that you kind of always wonder if you can still do this at your age, and then you switch teams and bike. So were you expecting to come out and win like this?

You just never know. You don’t know until you get out here and race everyone straight up. Of course, we had two pre-season races there with WSX – one good one, one bad one – and then you do have some questions. We’ve been testing all over the place, from California to Florida, Colorado, Arizona. So we’ve been all over, but we really put ourselves to the test riding conditions-wise. I knew I’d be near the front, but the win – you just don’t know until we get out here and that main event gate drops.

Scoop tire aside, how different is the bike from your last off-season race? And where are maybe the biggest improvements or changes?

It basically just came down to a little bit of balance with the shock and the fork. There were some changes leading up to this and just fine-tuning. I was able to make some changes when I went to Florida and then confirm that in the hard-pack stuff in Arizona. So the tire was a big thing – probably one of the biggest changes for me. I’ve been very locked in with that scoop tire for the most part, but sometimes you’ve got to make a change to get better. For me, that worked, but it’s also a combination of working on the bike as a whole.

In the pre-season press conference, you talked about the only thing you had to prove was that you could win and be competitive at this age. The other side of that coin is when you get to this point, you can amass the stats that you have – 12th consecutive season winning, four different OEMs. Can you talk a little bit about the feeling of legacy?

It happens in a flash, and it’s kind of scary to think that I have won 12 seasons. All of a sudden, it is here. So I’m just grateful to be able to still do it. My mind still feels good, I’m still into it, and physically I’m well. So yeah, here I am, still here. Twelve seasons – kind of crazy.

I remember at this race last year pre-season, the media was trying to put you on the spot, saying, ‘Will you retire if you have a good finish?’ How fulfilling is it to come out this year and show you’re still the head of the class?

Hey, it puts a lot of questions to rest – for age and, of course, switching teams. Changing motorcycles, changing teams, that’s obviously one of the biggest things you can do in our sport. So, hey, we did it.

You talked about the mind games in that race, and I could see how you and Kenny were going back and forth, just clocking each other on parts of the track. Can you run us through that and kind of take us inside your helmet through that race?

Yeah, for me, I felt where I absolutely had to be on it were two sections – through the tunnel and the triple onto the tabletop. That was a key part of the track. I couldn’t miss that, because that’s a big chunk of time if you do. Also on my mind was getting the triple out of the whoops and trying not to get too loose in the whoops. Those two parts were like, ‘I have to get this every time.’ Other than that, I changed up the shelf after the start – that lane with the on-off triple-triple there. I saw that from earlier in the main event. So I had those lines dialed in, put good laps together, and kept Kenny at bay. I had a good feeling for the pace I needed and where I needed to be, so that’s how I played it.

How important was it to race this motorcycle before at WSX? Because from Motocross of Nations, you didn’t have much time on this motorcycle, and in World Supercross it looked like the bike wasn’t working as well. But tonight, you were one of the only riders skimming the whoops every lap.

Yeah, it’s a huge deal to race. We do team scrimmages, but you still don’t know until you get a track that breaks down like it did tonight. Racing, you can’t replicate it, no matter what. We try to get as close as we can with team scrimmage races, but you don’t really know until your adrenaline’s going and everything’s on the line. That’s where you really find out what works and what doesn’t.

250SX West

Image: Octopi Media.

Max, you’ve achieved so much in your 250 career. Where does today’s win rank amongst your wins and successes?

Well, I think it’s definitely got to be at the top. Anaheim is special. When I was just a kid – seven, eight, nine years old – I remember coming to this race, watching this race, dreaming about this race, thinking that it was so far away that I didn’t know if I’d ever get here. I was just a kid, thinking, I don’t even know how to get here or how to be here. Like I said on the podium, hopefully I can be some inspiration to these kids that are still trying to figure it out. I came from England, a long way away from here, and to have made it here now, at 32 years old – people might say, ‘Oh yeah, when you’re 16 or 18.’ Sure, I would have loved to be in this position when I was 18, 19, 20 years old. But coming from the UK and making it all the way over here, it’s been something special. For the kids that don’t have life all figured out and don’t really know how to get to this place, everyone’s on their own timeline. You can get there. This one is definitely special because I grew up coming here, dreaming of this place, and to get it done here is something else. I’ve got to give it up to the whole crew – the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing guys did a great job with the bike. We executed well. I realise it’s only round one. We’ve got nine more to go, and after last year, I know what can happen in seven days’ time. So I’m really pumped, but tomorrow it’s about focusing on next week and keeping this thing rolling.

Your turns were really notchy in practice, but much more fluid in the night show. Was that a bike setup thing, a mental thing? What made it better?

As Lightning McQueen says, you’ve got to give the race a little sizzle. Bike setup-wise, we went a million clicks softer, basically. I was struggling in practice. All my pre-season races and training had been on a completely different setup, and then I came back to this one. The team came to me after my last race in South Africa and said, ‘We think we’ve got something – a better package.’ It was great at the practice track, but you never really know until you come racing. In practice, I was like, it’s way slipperier and more hard-pack than what we train on. I didn’t have the confidence of getting a win with that stuff at the time – I do now, so happy days. I was searching a little bit in practice, but we went through things methodically, made a few changes, and it worked well in the night show. So, happy days.

You mentioned bringing a little sizzle to the race. Let’s break that down a bit. There was a pass before the triple where you were splitting hairs. Can you take us through mentally setting that up?

Well, I think the AMA – or whoever came up with the new tough blocks – good job. I think you saved me there. I was like, ‘Oh no, I’ve gone a bit tight,’ and I was coming straight at him. But it was fine. I landed on him, and okay, it was a bit sketchy. I don’t want to do it again, but I’m still here. So thanks to those guys. It was a really awkward section. That angle was weird – kind of like an obtuse angle, bigger than 90 degrees. You’re jumping across into the face, and I didn’t want to catch something and hook. I was threading the needle. I thought I was going to be six inches further left or right and land nicely, but I was a little too far left. But again, a little risk gets you some reward.

You’ve won all over the world in motocross and supercross, but would you say this is the biggest race win of your career?

Yeah, I think so. Obviously, coming back to Matterley Basin in 2017 was great at home, but this one was special in a different way. In terms of supercross and feeling like you’ve made it, it’s cool. I remember coming to America in 2020 after nine years of GPs, thinking I wanted to get back here. I was teammates with Adam, and we were just trying to make the night show, trying to make the main event. And then, five years later, here I am on top of the box with the best team in the 250 class. It’s unreal how it’s all worked out. The journey to get to this place is something special. I’m very thankful and grateful for it all. Of course, the goal is to be in this thing for the championship. We’ve got nine more rounds to go. I don’t expect every night to be as smooth as tonight, but I’ll take it. Let’s roll on to next week.