Image: Octopi Media.

Triple Pro Motocross champion Eli Tomac put in a spirited charge in moto two at Washougal, where he ‘left everything on the track’ in an attempt to overcome race winner Dylan Ferrandis.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider didn’t get the best of starts in the second outing, leaving him to work his way up the order from seventh position.

Using some creative line selections, coupled with his sheer pace, Tomac made his way into second with three laps to go, then set the fastest lap of the afternoon in a late attempt steal victory. He ultimately came up just shy.

It may have been a case of too little, too late, but a second-place also in the opening moto is evidence that Tomac is ironing out the consistency issues that plagued his championship charge in the first half of the season, not finishing lower than fourth in the last five motos.

“In the first moto I started a little bit behind, maybe around eighth place or so, but felt really solid and was able to keep passing guys through the whole race,” Tomac explained.

“I got myself up to third and was there for a while before Marvin [Musquin] ended up falling and handing me second place, which was key going into moto two.

“In moto two I had a better start going down the first straightaway, but then the wrong line choice in turn two shuffled me back. At that point, the guys that I needed to be in front of were in front of me, so I started pushing and gave it everything I had.

“I left everything on the track today, literally everything. It’s a frustrating day to get second overall because I made such a strong push, but I’m really happy with the riding and our whole effort today, I just needed a couple more positions in the first few turns.”

Tomac now sits third in the 450MX championship standings, 54 points adrift of championship leader Ferrandis as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Unadilla on 14 August.