Eli Tomac (Star/Yamaha) Wins Round 2 of Monster Energy AMA SX - San Diego
Tomac wins the 450 main event, teammate Cooper Webb places 3rd; Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan captured 3rd in 250 WSX final.
Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Eli Tomac recorded his 53rd career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory – and third at the San Diego round – when he claimed the 450 class main event win at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday. Tomac was joined on the podium by Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb, who raced in with his second-straight top five finish with an excellent 3rd place run at San Diego.
And in the support 250 Western Region (WSX) main event, it’d be Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan as the lone podium placer for Monster Energy as Deegan rallied back from 8th place early in the contest to place 3rd.
In the 450 main, it’d be Webb that got out to the early lead, tracking down and passing holeshot winner Vince Friese (Honda) down the straight rhythm section and moving into 1st place on the opening lap. Round 1 (Anaheim) winner Chase Sexton (KTM) would hit the dirt with an unforced error and went from 3rd to last (22nd) on the opening lap. And while Sexton would eventually battle back to 6th, his error, coupled with Tomac’s impressive 6th to 1st place run, allowed the Monster Energy racer to take over the 450 class points lead after two rounds.
“It’s up there on the list for wins. It’s been a while,” said an emotional Tomac at the post-race press conference. “I didn’t get one last year. It’s a big thing for me, coming back and proving that I’m in a better position and better shape. Regrouping from last week … tipping it over in the third turn, which was so frustrating. It was nice to get it done all the way tonight.”
With Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) just missing the top ten (11th), Monster Energy/Kawasaki saw its two racers, Jorge Prado and Jason Anderson, clock in with the 12th and 13th positions, respectively.
In 250 class action, Deegan got a descent start, then was held up in a section – and unable to hit the opening triple jump. This slowed Deegan a bit, going from 5th to 8th.
“I actually had a pretty good start, then just started wheelieing a little bit. Just got my shifter a little too quick,” said Deegan. “Then I got behind Ty (Masterpool, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) and he kind of second guessed it on the triple, so I was thinking ‘It’s not worth it, if he cases it or something. So I doubled it and then, yeah.”
Deegan’s teammate, Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cole Davies had another good 250 WSX main event, pulling the holeshot and leading the early portion of the race before finishing just behind Deegan in 4th. Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) and Michael Mosiman (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) rounded out the 250 WSX San Diego round main event scoring with a solid 8th and 9th place runs, respectively.
| San Diego 450 class results | 250 WSX class results |
|---|---|
| 1st - Tomac (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 3rd - Deegan (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 3rd - We (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 4th - Davies (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 11th – Cooper (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 8th - Marchbanks (Monster/PC/Kawasaki) |
| Overall Standings (2 of 17 rounds) | |
|---|---|
| 450 class | 250 WSX class |
| 1st - Tomac, 42 points | 4th - Deegan, 37 points |
| 4th - Webb, 38 points | 6th - Davies, 32 points |
| 7th - Anderson, 29 points | 8th - Marchbanks, 27 points |
Notes & Quotes
- Tomac’s win on Saturday in San Diego marks 11-straight seasons of winning in the premier class in either Monster Energy AMA Supercross and/or the World Supercross Championship (WSX).
- In addition, Tomac’s third win at San Diego puts him with SX greats James “Bubba” Stewart and Ricky “RJ” Johnson as three-time winners.
- “Stackin’ chips, that’s what he’s gotta do.” – NBC announcer Ricky Carmichael on Monster Energy/Kawasaki racer Prado’s two position improvement from A1 to San Diego.
- When you get a sec, circle back to Gypsy Tales’ “SX Companion” on YouTube where guests this week from San Diego included Monster Energy’s Jeremy “Showtime” McGrath and former Monster Energy/Kawasaki factory racer Adam “AC” Cianciarulo.
- “Nothing flashy, but we’re putting solid results up,” said Webb. “It’s really early, but we’re still in the mix. Being on the podium’s always a great achievement, especially with these two guys for sure.”
- “Didn’t have much more than I gave tonight,” added Webb, who was said to be battling flu-like symptoms at San Diego.
- Highlights from the qualifying racing at San Diego include Deegan sitting on top of the 250 combined practice results; Davies winning his heat race (#2,), with Mosiman placing 2nd and Deegan 3rd in the all-Monster Energy podium sweep; Marchbanks winning his heat race (#1); Prado winning the 450 LCQ (More U.S. SX track time!); Tomac winning the 450 heat #1.
- Major props from Carmichael for Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s 17-year-old freshman 250 class racer Davies, saying “He (Davies) had an incredible night.”
- “The boys rode good today. Struggled with this arm pump a little bit. It’s a hurdle we haven’t figured out before.” - Deegan
Up next: Monster Energy AMA Supercross rolls back up the in SoCal, for the second installment of the Angel Stadium rounds in Anaheim, Round 3 of the series on Saturday, Jan. 25th.
