Tomac Opens Outdoor Season On Top

As the 40-rider field stormed out the gate for the first time in 2018 it was Honda rider Christian Craig who secured the first holeshot of the year with recently crowned supercross champion Jason Anderson right behind aboard his Husqvarna. Anderson soon worked his way into the lead, but all eyes were on Tomac, who started deep inside the top 10 but fought his way up to fifth by the end of the opening lap.

It took Tomac all of one lap to break into the top three, where he and Musquin surged past Anderson and into the top two positions. Musquin was successful in keeping the hard-charging Kawasaki at bay for a few laps, but Tomac’s consistent pressure forced a mistake out of Musquin, who went off the side of the track.

That opened the door for Tomac to cruise past and into the lead, which felt like it was inevitable. Musquin desperately tried to cling onto Tomac’s rear fender, but there simply wasn’t enough energy to do so. It wasn’t long before Tomac extended his lead to multiple seconds and eventually into the double digits. He took the Moto 1 win by a margin of 13.7 seconds over Musquin, while Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia parlayed a solid start into a third-place finish after he easily made his way around Anderson.

As the field exited the first turn to begin Moto 2 it was Suzuki rider Phil Nicoletti who narrowly edged out Anderson for the holeshot. That advantage was short lived as Barcia capitalized on a stellar start to storm past both Anderson and Nicoletti and seize early control of the moto. Monster Energy was back out front. Behind the battle for the lead both Musquin and Tomac had their work cut out for them, with Tomac emerging outside the top 10, but eventually clawing his way into 10^th by the end of the opening lap.

As Barcia and Anderson continued their battle for the top spot, Tomac had already found his way to Musquin by Lap 2. From there, the duo began to march their way past riders on a surge that would eventually carry them into the lead pack. Anderson was able to wrestle away control of the lead from Barcia, who then fell into the clutches of Musquin. The KTM rider had managed to evade Tomac by making quicker passes on the front-runners, but Tomac wasn’t deterred and broke into podium position by passing Barcia on Lap 6. However, as he looked to apply pressure on Musquin for second Tomac tipped over and gave the spot back to Barcia.

Tomac quickly remounted and restarted his charge to the front, getting back around Barcia on Lap 7. On the same lap Musquin passed Anderson for the lead. Tomac made quick work of Anderson to jump into second, and then set his sights on the Frenchman. The KTM used defensive lines for about half a lap, but it was only a matter of time before the Kawasaki was back on point. Tomac railed the outside of a corner to get alongside Musquin, and then proceeded to take advantage of his inside positioning for the next turn to run Musquin high and wide on Lap 8. That was all she wrote.

Tomac proceeded to set a pace that was upwards of six seconds quicker over the next handful of laps to establish a gap that he would be impossible to overcome. He took it easy on the stretch run and crossed the finish line 6.3 seconds ahead of Musquin. Barcia was strong again as well, and posted another third-place finish.

Tomac’s 1-1 sweep wasn’t a surprise, but his path to victory left a lasting impression. He was simply on another level and looked unbeatable. It was the 10^th win of his 450 Class career. Musquin’s pair of runner-up finishes minimized the damage in the points, while Barcia provided a memorable debut with the Factory Yamaha squad (3-3) to put Musquin in a Monster Energy sandwich on the podium.

The Monster Energy Supercross season proved to be a tough one for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha, as both teams were hit with a slew of injuries that took several top stars out of action. Hangtown would go on without Adam Cianciarulo, Martin Davalos, Dylan Ferrandis, Colt Nichols, and Mitchell Oldenburg, but both Monster Energy squads still rolled out stout lineups to start the Pro Motocross season. Veteran Joey Savatgy, rising star Austin Forkner, and rookie Garrett Marchbanks would carry the torch for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, while championship hopeful Aaron Plessinger and talented rookie Justin Cooper led the way for Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha.

When the gate dropped on Moto 1, it was Forkner and Cooper who immediately made their presence felt. Forkner nabbed the holeshot, but Cooper was able to push his Yamaha into the lead. The two young guns went on to occupy the top two spots for several laps, but they soon received a serious challenge from Zach Osborne, the defending champion, and Jeremy Martin, a former two-time champion.

Forkner dropped from second to fourth, but he got back into podium position following a tip over by Martin. Out front, Cooper was giving it his all in defense of Osborne’s attack, but relinquished control of the lead on Lap 4. Once in the lead, Osborne never looked back, but a slew of Monster Energy riders remained in the mix for the podium as both Plessinger and Savatgy were also battling alongside their teammates and Martin.

Veteran experience won out at the end of the moto as Osborne was followed by Martin across the line. Plessinger made a late charge to steal third from Forkner, while Cooper dropped to fifth in a breakout ride. Savatgy was seventh, with Marchbanks 12^th.

The Moto 2 start saw Plessinger push his Yamaha into the front, only to narrowly miss out on the holeshot to Martin. Nevertheless, Plessinger settled into the position and prepared to do battle with Osborne and Alex Martin. The rest of the Monster Energy unit was forced to do work on the heels of tough starts, with Cooper seventh, Marchbanks ninth, Savatgy 13^th, and Forkner 14^th.

Plessinger lost some valuable ground in the early stages of the moto, falling as far back as fifth, but he remained persistent and saved his energy for the end. Marchbanks was the most impressive Monster Energy rider in the field and took advantage of his top-10 start to make some passes and climb up to Plessinger’s rear fender in sixth. Cooper stayed solidly in the top 10 as well, while Savatgy was giving it his all to get into the hunt. Unfortunately for Forkner, his day came to an early end after he suffered a big hit to his chest and was unable to continue. Thankfully he checked out clear of any serious injury.

In the waning stages of the moto Plessinger mounted a late run that carried him into fourth, on the heels of Alex Martin, while Marchbanks did battle with Chase Sexton for fifth. Out front, Osborne capped off a 1-1 sweep for the overall win, while Jeremy Martin followed with 2-2 results.

Plessinger settled for fourth in the second moto, but his 3-4 scores were enough to land him on the overall podium in third for the second consecutive year at Hangtown. Cooper enjoyed an impressive fifth-place finish, with Savatgy seventh, Marchbanks 10^th, and Forkner 12^th.