Eli Tomac wins Tampa Supercross
Husqvarna men leading both 450 and 250 Championships
Images by Hoppenworld
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac continued his winning ways with a second straight victory as Monster Energy AMA Supercross returned to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Saturday night.
It was another great weekend for Tomac as the No.3 Kawasaki once again kicked the day off by setting the fastest time in qualifying.
He did not let off the throttle all night as he finished second in his heat race and was ready to notch another main event win.
As the gate dropped for the main, Tomac led the field around the inside of the first turn on his KX450F and began battling for the lead.
Just passed the halfway mark, he solidified his position up front and went on to lead 13 laps and capture his fourth win of the season ahead of Marvin Musquin and championship leader Jason Anderson, with the Husqvarna man leading the series by 41-points over Musquin.
Chad Reed finished the main in 21st position and became the rider with the most AMA Supercross starts in history. Reed is currently 14th in the championship standings.
The tale of woe for Team Honda continued with Cole Seely going down during a heat race and fracturing his pelvis.
Eli Tomac – P1
“It was a tough race tonight,” said Tomac. “A couple of guys got around me early on but I was able to find my groove and ride up to the front. I found a good line in the heat race and I used that to get by Marv (Musquin) and overall this was a good race track for us. A win in this 450 class is pretty hard to come by, and this feels really good.”
Marvin Musquin – P2
“It’s awesome to finish the day on the podium for 2nd place. We fought for the lead so that was nice to have a battle with Eli but I just missed a little bit to fight until the end with him. We showed some good speed overall – I was missing a little bit of time on the big rhythm sections but other than that I felt pretty good on the rest of the track. We corrected my whoops a little bit and my turns were good so I was pretty happy about my riding. And to lead some laps was definitely good and going in the right direction for the future. I know it’s 2nd place but I’ll take it, it’s some good points.”
Jason Anderson – P3
“My weekend went pretty average,” Anderson said. “I qualified third, got a heat race win and, in the Main Event, came from the back up to third. That’s all I had, but I’m looking forward to the next race.”
Broc Tickle – P5
“Overall I’m happy with the night. This week it was good to get back to the Baker’s Factory and ride here in Florida. Practice went a little better today and we made some changes before the Main Event. I put my full trust in the Red Bull KTM crew and we made a change that was in the right direction to get me comfortable and I was able to go out there and put in a solid 20 minutes to end up 5th so it’s a step in the right direction. We’re making baby steps and making progress during the week to get better so for me, it’s keep focusing on the things I need to do that can help me on the weekend and making it happen.”
2018 AMA Supercross – Round Eight – Tampa – 450SX Results
- Eli Tomac
2. Marvin Musquin
3. Jason Anderson
4. Cooper Webb
5. Broc Tickle
6. Justin Hill
7. Dean Wilson
8. Malcolm Stewart
9. Blake Baggett
10. Justin Brayton
Eli Tomac
2. Marvin Musquin
3. Jason Anderson
2018 AMA Supercross – Round Eight
450SX Championship Standings
- Jason Anderson – 181 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 142 points
3. Blake Baggett – 134 points
4. Justin Brayton – 125 points
5. Weston Peick – 125 points
6. Cole Seely – 124 points
7. Eli Tomac – 116 points
8. Broc Tickle – 114 points
9. Justin Barcia – 113 points
10. Cooper Webb – 108 points
250SX
At the start of the 250 main event, Forkner came around the first turn in third place and wasted no time jumping into the lead by the end of the opening lap.
The pressure on Forkner was relentless for 20 laps, but the young 19-year-old professional held a strong pace and led every lap to his very first career supercross victory.
Austin Forkner – P1
“I am so stoked to get the win,” said Forkner. “I felt the pressure coming, but I tried to hit my marks and pull a gap. I thought we were both going down but I just hit the gas and kept it up. I’m so happy for the team and to get this first win under my belt.”
Austin Forkner
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Zach Osborne
Zach Osborne – P3
“It was decent day here in Tampa,” Osborne said. “I won my heat race and got off to a really good start in the Main Event but I just didn’t quite execute there at the end like I would’ve liked to. I tried to kind of play it safe in the middle and maybe it got away from me a little bit. I’ll work on that this week.”
Video Highlights
2018 AMA Supercross – Round Eight – Tampa – 250SX Results
- Austin Forkner
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Zach Osborne
4. RJ Hampshire
5. Martin Davalos
6. Jordon Smith
7. Luke Renzland
8. Cameron Mcadoo
9. Colt Nichols
10. James Decotis
2018 AMA Supercross – Round Eight
250SX East Championship Standings
- Zach Osborne – 47 points
2. Austin Forkner – 42 points
3. RJ Hampshire – 38 points
4. Colt Nichols – 37 points
5. James Decotis – 34 points
6. Jordon Smith – 34 points
7. Luke Renzland – 30 points
8. Jeremy Martin – 29 points
9. Dylan Ferrandis – 28 points
10. Cameron Mcadoo – 25 points
