Image: Octopi Media.

Despite a major scare in qualifying one on Saturday afternoon, 450SX leader Eli Tomac came out of East Rutherford with an increased points lead after he was able to rebound in the challenging, muddy conditions of the main event for P2.

Tomac’s right hand slipped off the handlebars toward the end of a rhythm lane in the incident, bringing him down in dramatic fashion and raising concerns of potential injury that could impact his title defence.

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider later took to the track in the final qualifier, ultimately qualifying seventh ahead of the night show after completing minimal fast laps in the session. He then rode on to take fourth in heat one, before lightning delayed the main events, with heavy rainfall during the period drenching the track.

Once the 450SX main event got underway, the reigning champion and red plate-holder used the conditions to turn his night around, keeping his nose clean and moving past Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) in the latter stages to take a vital 23 points in the runner-up position.

With title rivals Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) and Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking the checkered flag in fourth and fifth, respectively, Tomac managed to deliver what could have been a disastrous round into another positive step towards a third-career premier class crown.

“It just feels good,” Tomac reflected. “I didn’t really know what was going to happen. First 30 minutes, my knee was pretty stiff, but anyway, honestly the more I rode, the better it got. It was just one of those things – you can’t get ahead of yourself, try to take it weekend by weekend.

“The crash itself, literally the first lap of that practice and you are kind of just doubling down the lane, and it tried to take me out. I guess, you never know. It was an exciting night of racing, and you really never know what you’re going to get with these mud races.

“That was a big focus of mine, to get off the start clean and keep my vision clear. We were able to do that, so that was huge. Then after that point, it is all about managing your motorcycle, and I was able to do that. Overall it was a good day. I was able to gain some points on the night, and I’m happy with second.”

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 team manager Jeremy Coker added: “It started a little scary with Eli’s crash in practice, and we were a little nervous about how it would go. Fortunately, he was ready for the night show. The ‘great equalizer’ showed up with the rain, and Eli rode phenomenally. We had a big points gain and are feeling good for the rest of the season.”

With three rounds remaining in the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, Tomac leads on 315 points, ahead of Webb on 304 in second and Sexton third with 294. The next gate-drop in the series comes this Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.