Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s points-leading 450SX rider Eli Tomac captured his 49th Monster Energy Supercross win with a record seventh triumph at Daytona International Speedway.

The trio battling for the championship — Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton — assumed positions at the head of the field after the gate drop for the premier class at the 53rd Daytona Supercross.

Webb led the opening laps as a light rain fell and owned the points lead as they ran on track, surprisingly sticking to blitzing the whoops aboard his Red Bull KTM while Tomac took an inside line in the preceding corner and jumped through the section.

Tomac soon sped past Webb entering the high-speed finish line section as Team Honda HRC’s Sexton maintained an effort to join this lead battle but instead fell into the clutches of TLD Red Bull GasGas rider Justin Barcia.

Sexton and Barcia made contact on successive laps, with Barcia ending up off the track the first time and on the ground the second.

Webb rode hard to keep Tomac within range but couldn’t come close enough to mount a challenge for the lead and ultimately settled for second, 1.791s back at the checkered flag.

Despite their issues, Sexton and Barcia maintained third and fourth in the running order, 6s up the track from Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson at the race’s conclusion.

After Anderson, Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) and Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) were next in sixth and seventh, with RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) taking the checkered flag 2.295s in arrears of Roczen in his first 450SX main event. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) and Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) completed the top 10.

Now a five-time winner in 2023, Tomac carries a five-point lead over Webb into the season’s ninth round at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Sexton maintains third in the points, 10 markers back from Tomac.

Detailed results