Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac went 1-2 to claim overall victory at RedBud round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion.
As the rowdy crowd lined the fence for 450MX Moto 1, Tomac fired out of the gate in third and began his mission to take over the lead. On Lap 3, Tomac capitalized on the momentum of an outside line to make the move around his competition into second and then followed up with another pass for the lead in that same section of the track on the very next lap. Tomac went on to lead the remaining 13 laps to grab the checkers with a 6.3-second gap on the rest of the field for his sixth moto win of the season.
As the gate dropped on the second moto, Tomac began his charge from seventh position. After reaching fourth by Lap 5, Tomac found himself stuck behind one of his competitors for the next seven laps before catching a second wind and laying down the fastest lap time (2:08.3) of the moto. With two laps remaining, Tomac managed to pass one other rider before crossing the finish line in second, earning the overall victory (1-2) and further extending his lead in the 450MX championship points standings to 34.
After a respectable qualifying result of fifth to start the day, Joey Savatgy faced adversity in both motos, finishing the day 38th overall (38-34). Despite his best efforts and starting within the top-10 in both motos, Savatgy was forced to withdraw early from both races; in Moto 1 after colliding with another competitor and again in Moto 2 following a crash with a few laps remaining while running in sixth.
“Man, the track was gnarly out there, but I always have fun riding at RedBud,” said Tomac. “The crowd was so loud, it was unbelievable; there’s really nothing like riding out there with all of that energy and being able to get the job done for them. The team has worked so hard to get me the best bike set up and I’m feeling even more comfortable and confident on my KX™. It feels so good when you put it all together and get another overall win. Because of all that work put in, we’ve been able to go on a roll this season and we’re all looking forward to keeping that momentum going after taking this next weekend off.”