He may not be in contention for a championship this year, but Eli Tomac is the rider getting the most buzz heading into this weekend’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship race.
Tomac missed the first four rounds of the season as he recovered from a broken collarbone but has been a major force in the series since returning and making his 450 Class debut. In the four rounds he’s raced, the GEICO Honda rider has finished on the podium each time, and he put on a masterful display a week ago at Spring Creek, sweeping both motos to earn his first career overall win.
Had Tomac not missed any races, he very well could be battling with Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey for the 450 Class championship this season. Instead, Tomac will have to settle for playing the role of spoiler to the Red Bull KTM duo. He has a lot of momentum headed into today’s MotoSport.com Washougal National, and as we saw last year when Tomac won the 250 Class championship, he has the ability to step up his riding in the second half of the season.
Is Tomac ready to go on a run and reel off several more wins before the season concludes, or will Roczen and Dungey reassert their place at the front of the field today at Washougal?
Here’s a few other news and notes for today’s race.
Stewart Sitting Out
One week after being unable to race the second moto at Spring Creek due to a spell of dizziness, James Stewart will not compete today at Washougal. The Yoshimura Suzuki team said that they hope to have him return for the next round at Unadilla, but Stewart has a history of being a mercurial man, so nothing is guaranteed.
Shorty’s Streak
Andrew Short has quietly been one of the most consistent riders in the series – something that seems to be said about him every year. Although he sits just eighth in points, his streak of 13 consecutive top-ten moto finishes is topped only by Roczen, Dungey and Trey Canard.
Title Hopes Slipping Away
In the 250 Class, the pressure is on for Cooper Webb and Blake Baggett, who both lost a lot of points to Jeremy Martin last week thanks to crashes. Martin was able to stretch his points lead out to the equivalent of nearly two full motos, so with just eight motos left on the schedule, Webb and Baggett can’t afford to make any more mistakes.
Wilson Rounding into Form?
It’s been a rough season for Dean Wilson, who was expected to be a contender for the 250 Class title before an injury at the first round caused him to miss several weeks and ended those hopes. Wilson had his best day of the season last week, posting 5th-place finishes in both motos, and could be rounding back into form. Wilson is among a group of riders – Christophe Pourcel, Marvin Musquin and Justin Bogle included – who could conceivably still capture their first moto win before the end of the season.
Coverage from Washougal resumes with the pre-race show at 3:15 PM E.T., available online exclusively on ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports Live Extra. The pre-show will lead right into first and second motos for both classes from 4:00-8:00 PM E.T. Click here to access the Live Extra stream.
NBCSN will also televise live coverage of second motos from 6:00-8:00 PM E.T.
