Entering Saturday, just 10 riders in the history of Monster Energy Supercross had won multiple Premier Class Championships. That list is a whos-who in the sport, with names like Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy McGrath, James Stewart, Chad Reed, Jeff Stanton, etc. Eli Tomac took a big gamble on himself last year by leaving Monster Energy Kawasaki for Star Yamaha. Although we know now he wanted more input on bike setup, the success for Team Green was undeniable, making the initial rumors of a switch strange. 7 wins and 11 Podiums later, that choice for Tomac to mix things up is now 100 percent justified. With one round to spare Tomac is now a two-time Monster Energy Supercross Champion in the 450 Class over Jason Anderson.
.@EliTomac is your 2022 450SX @MonsterEnergy Supercross Champion! š#SupercrossLIVE pic.twitter.com/UpV9KDa4Ek
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
Be sure to catch up on all of ourĀ Supercross coverage.
He’s a Bad Man
It’s no secret by now that this switch seems to have worked out well for Tomac and co. After a few rounds to settle in, he went on a tear in the middle of the season. To be exact, Tomac went a ludicrous 7-of-9 between Anaheim 2 and Seattle, which was the middle of the year. With a slew of injuries, bow-outs, and general mistakes, he put himself in a position to clinch this title early around a month ago. Doing so with a season that to this point has been better than his 2020 Championship campaign. Not only does he do that today, but does it in his home state of Colorado in front of one of the best crowds Supercross has had in years.
M O M E N T S š #SupercrossLIVE @MonsterEnergy @YamahaMotorUSA @elitomac pic.twitter.com/PwKelD9XgH
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
Drought Ender
The big headline with this Championship is the long drought that was snapped with Yamaha. After James Stewart won the title in 2009, Yamaha has had some truly rough years in 450 Supercross afterward. Once the Star team took over the 450 effort, things took a turn for the better, but that decision from the top took a bit longer than it should. This title win for Tomac now makes Suzuki’s drought dating back to 2010 and Ryan Dungey the longest in the top rung of the sport.
āJust a few months ago it was just a dream to win a 450 championship, to do it even a race early is unbelievableā š£ Jeremy Coker, Team Manager of @StarRacingYam #SupercrossLIVE pic.twitter.com/ZXQ73u8unH
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
Riding Hurt
On the podium, Tomac revealed that he has been riding at under 100 as of late. Specifically, a knee injury has been hampering him these last two weeks, and into today. Even then, he finished second at Atlanta, and seventh at Foxborough, but the latter ended up being due to him stalling the bike after a fall early on. All in all, he was still running well enough to bring this thing home early. You could assume he will be taking it lightly with Motocross becoming the main focus.
Hear from your newly crowned 450SX @MonsterEnergy Supercross Champion, @EliTomac š£š#SupercrossLIVE @YamahaMotorUSA pic.twitter.com/oGrYvrZiHX
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
All-Time Great
Entering the upcoming Motocross season, Tomac has three premier class outdoor Championships, and now two Supercross titles to boot. That goes along with 27 career AMA National wins (T-3rd all-time) and 44 career Supercross Main Event Wins (T-4th all-time). Save for a Motocross Des Nations win, which Tomac will have the chance to get later this year, he has done just about everything there is to realistically do, save for a perfect MX season.
He isn’t there just yet, but Tomac has a real shot to end up as a Mount Rushmore rider among those based in the United States. Unless he retires out of nowhere this year, 50 wins in Supercross feels like a guarantee at this point, as does getting to third in AMA National wins. By any metric you want to use Tomac is one of the best pure Motocross/Supercross riders we have ever seen.
The celebration is underway at the @StarRacingYam truck š š¾ #SupercrossLIVE @MonsterEnergy @YamahaMotorUSA @elitomac pic.twitter.com/kKg3Psd7CX
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
Check us out on our socials:Ā Ā
Twitter:Ā @PTSTNewsĀ andĀ @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page:Ā Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group:Ā Prime Time Sports TalkĀ
Instagram:Ā @primetimesportstalk
Follow Jack Gaffney on TwitterĀ @JackGaffneyPTST
Main Image viaĀ Yamaha
One Response