Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac secured his first overall victory of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season at Ironman via a dominant second moto performance.

Round 10 of the Pro Motocross season saw the series head to Indiana for an incredibly hot and muggy conclusion to the series’ east coast swing.

As the action got underway in qualifying, it looked to be more of the same, with Dylan Ferrandis topping the timesheets by over a second ahead of Tomac and Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC).

When the gate dropped on moto one, it was Joey Savatgy (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) grabbing the holeshot ahead of Ferrandis and Tomac. Roczen surged from seventh to third, eventually working his way to the lead with Ferrandis just behind.

Tomac joined the lead duo and the three of them gapped the field, setting up a battle for the first half of the moto. Ferrandis and Roczen swapped positions with Ferrandis eventually settling into the lead. Tomac found his way around Roczen at the halfway point, setting his sights on the leader.

While Tomac was able to reel in the red-plate holder, Ferrandis was never headed, taking the moto win ahead of Tomac with Roczen, Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM), and Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) rounding out the top five.

In moto two, Ferrandis ripped out of the gate to take the holeshot ahead of Webb, Sexton, Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda), and Tomac. Webb took the lead from Ferrandis, the latter eventually getting passed by Tomac for second.

Tomac caught Webb in the lead, eventually making the pass with 20 minutes to go in the moto. Ferrandis would follow suit shortly after but was unable to catch Tomac, who would score 1-2 and take his first overall win of the season.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider said following the race it was his ability to find the front in moto one that led him to victory, giving him confidence for a moto two win and eventual overall.

Ferrandis’ 1-2 finish for second overall leaves him with a 50-point advantage heading into the final two rounds and continues his season-long streak of overall podiums.

After a season full of struggles, Webb notched his first overall podium, finishing the day in third via 4-3 finishes on the day. Webb showed plenty of speed late in the second moto, chasing Ferrandis until the end, citing a mid-week frame change as the catalyst to his success.

Fourth overall went to Roczen with 3-5 moto scores, the Team Honda HRC rider saying the heat gave him a run for his money today, admitting he was gassed in the second moto, eventually passed by Sexton who would finish fifth overall via 5-4 scores.

Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda) took a career-best finish on the day, finishing with 8-6 moto scores, besting Savatgy in seventh who notched 7-8 on the day, followed by Justin Bogle’s (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) 10-7 scores for eighth.

Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki rider Brandon Hartranft put his RMZ450 in the top 10 again with consistent 9-9 finishes on the day. Hartranft has shown great pace in recent rounds, finally returning to the top 10 for the first time since RedBud earlier this season.

Rounding out the top 10 was Kyle Chisholm in just his third Pro Motocross race this season. The 33-year-old fan favorite took home 11-10 moto scores on the day aboard his privateer Yamaha.

Ferrandis now has the opportunity to clinch the championship one round early when the series returns to Fox Raceway next Saturday, 4 September.

Detailed results