Image: Octopi Media.

Making his debut with the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha team, Eli Tomac has defined starts and whoops as his weaker points in Anaheim’s 2022 Monster Energy Supercross season opener.

Tomac showed front-running early speed to qualify second, before finishing third in his heat, however, had a difficult start in the main event and sat 11th after the first lap.

From there, the number three rode a calculated race, capitalizing on attrition and managing the changing track conditions to ultimately finish sixth position in a race that came back to him as the laps ticked down.

“It was a little bit of a slower start than what we wanted this season,” Tomac explained. “It really came down to two things tonight – the starts and I was struggling a little bit with the whoops.

“It was a tough track, probably one of the toughest A1s that we’ve had in quite some time. On a positive note, I had really good qualifying sessions all day, so I know I can be fast and be there.

“I just have to put it all together. It’s always easier said than done, but it’s possible. We’re going to try and fix the little things and come back next week.”

In previous 450SX seasons Tomac hasn’t set the world on fire at the opening round, sixth place at this year’s season opener marking an improvement when compared to the previous two seasons, where he was seventh and 13th at the first rounds of the 2021 and 2020 championships respectively.