Eli Tomac
Eli Tomac (born November 14, 1992) is an American professional Motocross and Supercross racer competing in the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships; a two-time 450cc AMA Supercross Champion, a four-time 450cc AMA Pro Motocross Champion, a one time 250cc AMA Supercross & 250cc AMA Motocross Champion. He is second all-time in 450cc AMA Supercross wins with 51.
| Eli Tomac | |
|---|---|
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| Nationality |  American |
| Born | November 14, 1992 Cortez, Colorado, US |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
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| Championships | |
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Tomac began his professional career in 2010, winning his first race in his rookie debut. He made his 450cc debut part way into the 2013 Supercross schedule, and moved to the class full-time in 2014.
He won his first outdoor 450cc event at the 2014 Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota, US. His first 450cc Supercross win came in 2015 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tomac was part of the Kawasaki factory racing team since the 2016 season.[9] He joined Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2022 season.
In 2022 Tomac won a record setting sixth Daytona Supercross passing previous record holder Ricky Carmichael with five. In 2023 Eli won his 7th Daytona Supercross.
Tomac is currently third in all-time 450cc Motocross wins with 32.
3rd All-Time in 450 Supercross and National Motocross (Combined 450 & 250 Class) Wins at 95. Only Ricky Carmichael (150 Wins), James Stewart Jr. (98 Wins) have more.
Amateur Career
As an amateur Tomac won eight Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Championship titles.[10] He didn't win titles right away or through his first five years (from 1999 through 2003). His first title came in 2004. Tomac's amateur titles are as follows:
- 2004 65cc(10-11) Stock,
- 2006 85cc(12-13) Modified,
- 2007 85cc(14-15) Modified,
- 2007 Supermini(12-15),
- 2008 Supermini 1(12-15),
- 2008 Supermini 2(14-16),
- 2009 250B Modified,
- 2009 Schoolboy 2(14-16).
In 2009 Tomac won the 125cc FIM Junior World Championship, held in Taupo, New Zealand.
Personal life
Tomac is the younger of two sons of former competitive BMX, road cycling and mountain bike racing champion John Tomac and wife Kathy.[9]
Eli is married to Jessica (Steiner) Tomac and together they have 2 children: daughter, Lev Loe and son, Noah Grey
250cc career
2010
In 2010, Eli Tomac became the first rider in the history of the sport to win his professional debut, winning the 250cc AMA 2010 Hangtown Motocross season opener in Rancho Cordova, California. At that time he was riding for Team Geico Honda.
2011
For 2011, Eli ended the 250cc Supercross season with two wins and six podium finishes. Finishing 2nd To Broc Tickle by 6 points in the 250SX West Championship.
2012
For 2012, Eli won the 250cc Supercross championship with seven podium finishes and five first place main event wins.
2013
For 2013, Eli finishes 2 points behind Ken Roczen in the 250cc Supercross championship with five first place main event wins. He won the AMA Motocross 250cc title with 7 overall wins and 12 out of 12 podium finishes.[11]
2015 season
Despite injuries in 2014 & 2015, Eli finished second to Ryan Dungey in the 450cc Supercross championship with eleven podium finishes. He started the outdoor motocross season with two overall wins, two overall podiums with five straight moto wins before being sidelined by an injury.[11]
2017 season
Supercross
After six rounds of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, Eli was in fourth place in the 450 class overall point standings. His mixed results (5th, 6th, 8th, 1st, 1st, 15th) put him 29 points behind supercross points leader Ryan Dungey.[12] Following round 6, Tomac won 6 of the next 8 races and was tied for 1st place in the point standings with Dungey. At round 15 in Salt Lake City, UT, Tomac put forth a dominating effort to win his 9th supercross main event in 2017.[13] Going into the penultimate round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in East Rutherford, NJ, Tomac held a 3-point lead over Dungey. However, in the main event, a series of mistakes led him to finish in 8th place. Ryan Dungey would go on to win the race and take an eight point advantage over Tomac with one round remaining. At the final round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Las Vegas, NV, Tomac finished 2nd and Dungey placed 4th. Eli was unable to close the points gap, coming up 5 points short of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship.[14][12]
Motocross
Tomac began the 2017 AMA Motocross Championship season by winning the opening round. Throughout the series, Tomac would win 4 overalls and finish on the podium at 7 of the 12 rounds. He would go on to win the 2017 motocross title scoring a total of 470 points. Marvin Musquin finished second with 453 points and Blake Baggett finished third overall with 451 points.[3]
2022 Supercross Season
At the 16th round of the 2022 AMA Supercross Championship in Denver, Eli clinched the 450cc title over runner-up, Jason Anderson.[15] Although he got 5th, he only needed to secure a 14th or better to win the championship at his hometown race. This is now his 2nd 450cc title in Supercross, and his first ever year on the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. He was subsequently awarded the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award at the 2022 ESPY Awards.
2023 Supercross Season
Heading into 2023, Eli Tomac was in the form of his life. Fresh off from winning both the 2022 Supercross and Motocross championships as well as the MXON with team USA, Eli was a strong favourite for a repeat of the previous year.
Starting at Anaheim 1, Eli’s average finish at this race was 10th, however in the season opener he proved his doubters wrong by not only crashing early in the main event after taking the lead, but he was able to work his way back to the front and pass Chase Sexton for the win with a few laps to go. He also moved into 4th all time 450cc supercross wins overtaking Chad Reed by winning his 45th main event.
Round 2 in Oakland was rescheduled to take place later in the season but is still classified as the 2nd round. So at “round 3” Tomac took his 2nd win of the season. Round 4 was a triple crown race which saw Eli go 3-2-13 for a 6th place finish after a big crash in the 3rd race. He responded the following week by winning round 5.
The next 3 rounds saw him finish 5th, 1st & 3rd.
At round 9 in Daytona international speedway, Eli brung home his 7th Daytona supercross win.
The next 4 rounds Eli finished 8th, 3rd, 1st & 1st. These two wins moved him into 2nd place in the all-time 450cc Supercross wins list with 51. Passing legends Ricky Carmichael and James “Bubba” Stewart.
Round 13 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Eli battled with 2x champion;Cooper Webb for a majority of the main event for 4th place. Webb sat 7 points behind Tomac during the event and closed the gap by 1 point. Chase Sexton was also a distant 17 points behind Tomac.
During qualifying at round 14 in East Rutherford, Eli misjudged a rhythm section which saw him go flying over the handle bars and landing on his knee. He was filmed limping off the track but managed to race the heats and line up for the main event. The main was delayed for a number of hours due to a lightning warning and the rain began to pour. Eli battled hard through the muddy conditions to a 2nd place finish, with his 2 title rivals finishing 4th(Cooper Webb) and 5th(Chase Sexton). This extended his points lead to 11 over Webb & 21 over Sexton.
Round 15 took place in Nashville. In the heat race main title rival Cooper Webb fell after passing Tomac and was hit in the neck and back by Adam Cianciarulo at full acceleration. This ended Webb’s title aspirations. Tomac took 2nd place for the night with Sexton finishing 1st and closing the points gap to 18 with 2 rounds to go.
Round 16 was Eli’s home race in Denver. In the main event, he took the lead early and began to check out. Then out of nowhere, disaster struck due to an over jump in a rhythm section. Confusion and despair was seen in Tomac’s body language as he struggled to exit the track. The home crowd went silent as they saw their legend disappear into the stadium. It was confirmed a few minutes later during the race that he ruptured the Achilles tendon on his left foot and it would put him out for the entirety of 2023. Chase Sexton who sat 18 points back before the Main event had begun, found himself with a 8-point lead by the end of the night and due to the severity of the injury, Eli is unable to make the final race therefore Sexton is the “Champion elect”.
Currently, no decision has been made on whether he will retire but a majority of the sports media believe that this will put an end to his Stella career.
Motocross of Nations participation
Eli has participated as part of Team U.S.A at the Motocross des Nations on four occasions.
2013
In 2013 fresh off of his Outdoor Motocross 250cc title he was chosen for the MX2 position. The race was held in Teutschenthal, Germany. A crash in the first Moto relegated him to 16th. In Moto 2 Eli finished 2nd after a race long battle with Ken Roczen. Team U.S.A. placed 2nd overall.
2014
In 2014 Eli was chosen to fill the Open Class position. The race was held in Kegums, Latvia. He struggle to a 6th place finish in his first Moto. After crashing with other riders at the start of the 2nd Moto, Eli put on a charge racing all the way up to a 3rd place finish. Team U.S.A placed 3rd overall.
2018
In 2018, after winning the 450cc AMA Motocross title, Eli accepted the team captain position in the MXGP class. The race was held at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, MI. Eli raced to a 4th place in Moto 1 on a rain soaked, muddy track. In Moto 2 Eli crashed but was able to race from the back of the pack to a 7th place finish. Team U.S.A placed 5th overall.
2022
In 2022, after winning the both the 450cc AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross titles, Eli accepted the team captain position in the MXGP class once again. The race as in 2018 was also held at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, MI and started out with a déjà vu feel as it had rained heavily the night before leaving the track soaked and muddy. Eli (racing with number 101) set the tone for Team USA by racing to an overall Win in Moto 1 with his MX2 teammate Justin Cooper (motorcyclist) taking a 9th. Chase Sexton finished 2nd in Moto 2 with Justin Cooper scoring a 4th place leaving Team USA in the drivers seat for the overall win. In Moto 3 Eli started 10th but advised through his pit boards that Chase was in 3rd and it wasn’t needed for him to race with urgency as they had enough points to win. He finished in 6th place and Team U.S.A took the overall win for the first time in 11 years.
AMA Supercross/Motocross results
| Year | Rnd 1 |
Rnd 2 |
Rnd 3 |
Rnd 4 |
Rnd 5 |
Rnd 6 |
Rnd 7 |
Rnd 8 |
Rnd 9 |
Rnd 10 |
Rnd 11 |
Rnd 12 |
Rnd 13 |
Rnd 14 |
Rnd 15 |
Rnd 16 |
Rnd 17 |
Average Finish |
Podium Percent |
Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 250 MX | 1 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.50 | 8% | 6th |
| 2011 250 SX-W | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.33 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2011 250 MX | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | DNS | 12 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.27 | 42% | 4th |
| 2012 250 SX-W | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.88 | 88% | 1st |
| 2012 250 MX | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.75 | 67% | 3rd |
| 2013 250 SX-W | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4.00 | 88% | 2nd |
| 2013 250 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.50 | 100% | 1st |
| *2014 450 SX | DNS | Out | Out | Out | 21 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 2 | DNS | Out | Out | 6 | 9 | 3 | 2 | DNS | 9.11 | 33% | 13th |
| †2014 450 MX | Out | Out | Out | Out | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 88% | 5th |
| 2015 450 SX | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4.65 | 65% | 2nd |
| ‡2015 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 7 | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | - | - | - | - | - | 2.67 | 67% | 14th |
| 2016 450 SX | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5.00 | 29% | 4th |
| 2016 450 MX | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 SX | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3.35 | 71% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 MX | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.75 | 58% | 1st |
| 2018 450 SX | 22 | DNS | 1 | 1 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5.56 | 75% | 3rd |
| 2018 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 1st |
| 2019 450 SX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.41 | 59% | 2nd |
| 2019 450 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| 2020 450 SX | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2.47 | 71% | 1st |
| §2020 450 MX | 3 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.67 | 56% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 SX | 13 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 4.94 | 47% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 MX | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.58 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2022 450 SX | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | Out | 2.75 | 69% | 1st |
| 2022 450 MX | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| ¶2023 450 SX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | DNF | OUT | 2.73 | 73% | 2nd |
Notes:
- 1) The AMA Motocross Season (MX) is 12 rounds, The AMA Supercross Season (SX) is 17 Rounds.
- * Missed Rounds 1,2,3,4,10,11,12 & 17 of 2014 450 SX Due to injuries.
- † Missed the first 4 Nationals of 2014 due to injury.
- ‡ Missed the remaining Nationals after Round 3 of the 2015 MX Series due to injury.
- § The 2020 MX season was shortened to 9 Rounds.
- ¶ The 2nd round of the 2023 SX (SMX) series (Oakland, CA) was rescheduled to take place after the 6th round due to flooding; but is still classified as the 2nd round. DNF Round 16 (Denver) due to injury, ruptured left achilles while leading the main event. Missed final round with injury.
References
- "2012 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2013 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2017 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2018 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2019 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2020 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2022 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "2022 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "Eli Tomac". November 2019.
- "Eli Tomac - the Loretta Lynn's Vault - Amateur Motocross Results".
- "Eli Tomac Bio | Official Kawasaki Racing Site". www.kawasaki.com.
- "2017 Motocross Races - the Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results".
- "Tomac wins Salt Lake City; Hill clinches 250SX West championship". supercrosslive.com. 2017-04-23.
- "The Greatest Supercross That Ever Happened". Red Bull.
- "2022 Supercross 450SX Points Standings". Racer X. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- "Eli Tomac - The Vault - Historical Motocross & Supercross Results". vault.racerxonline.com.