Eli Tomac wins Daytona Supercross
Eli Tomac won the Daytona Supercross By Honda on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for his first event victory of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season.
Tomac, riding a Kawasaki, led every lap of the 20-lap 450SX class final, outrunning KTM rider Ryan Dungey all the way; the margin of victory was 2.160 seconds. It was Tomac’s fourth career AMA Supercross victory.
Dungey, the defending Daytona champion and the reigning series champion – and the current series points leader – posted his 25th consecutive podium finish – tying Chad Reed’s series record.
Finishing third was Dungey’s teammate, French rider Marvin Musquin.
“This is a place where I’ve always wanted to win,” Tomac said.
“Daytona is a different race. I just had fun on my dirt bike tonight.”
The Tomac-Dungey duel in the main followed their 1-2 finish in an earlier heat race although in that one, Tomac finished 6.269 seconds ahead. The final, though, was a battle throughout.
“It was gnarly,” Tomac said. “I was able to regroup there at the end and hold on to it. I just had fun on my dirt bike.”
Dungey maintained a close second place position throughout the 20-lap Main Event but wasn’t able to make a pass on the leader. In the end, Dungey finished only two seconds back to claim his ninth consecutive podium finish with second overall. The defending 450SX Champion gained valuable points in the championship chase, where he will maintain the lead heading into round ten.
“Daytona is always a nasty one,” commented Dungey. “But it’s good to be on the podium and pick up some valuable points in the overall championship.”
Musquin settled into third behind his teammate Dungey, where he kept a solid pace throughout the Main Event. Musquin’s great performance earned him a third-career 450SX podium finish and a boost into seventh place in his rookie championship season.
“To be second and third tonight it a good result for the team,” Musquin said. “To be third tonight is big for me and I’m happy to be up on the podium again.”
Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson took fourth place ahead of Suzuki’s Ken Roczen.
Jason Anderson
“I got a great start in the main, I found my way into fourth place and then was just by myself for the rest of the race. I got caught behind a lapper for five laps. Also, Pourcel’s crash in the beginning of the race tripped me up a little and put way too much of a gap between me and the top-three guys, which made it hard to even get close enough to battle them.”
Chad Reed only managed 12th on the night and slipped to sixth place in the championship standings.
AMA Supercross 2016 – Daytona – 450SX Results
Eli Tomac (USA), Kawasaki, 22:09.070 min (20 Laps)
Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM, +2.160 sec
Marvin Musquin (FRA), KTM, +20.177
Jason Anderson (USA), Husqvarna, +36.164
Ken Roczen (GER), Suzuki, +38.579
Standings 450SX Class 2016 after 9 of 17 rounds
- Dungey, 213 points
- Roczen, 174
- Anderson, 163
- Tomac, 154
- Cole Seeley (USA), Honda 145
250 SX
Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin won the 250SX class final from Justin Hill and Martin Davalos.
Justin Hill
“I felt really good all day, and think I could have had a chance for the win if I would have grabbed a better start, it’s really awesome to feel this good and be right there in the championship battle.”
Martin Davalos
“Daytona is more of an outdoor race,” said Davalos. “So there’s always a lot of fast guys that show up. I was confident throughout the day, and I felt good. The bike setup was awesome. I’m mostly just trying to stick to my own race, and I think that’s working for me. My heat race was awesome. I should have done a practice start for the main though, because my gate looked a little slippery, and I didn’t get the best jump. I rode smart in the main. I was there the entire 15 laps, and put in a hard charge for the final two to salvage third. It’s a long championship, and I just have to give my best every weekend.”
Malcolm Stewart dominated most of the 15-lap race on a Honda CRF but finished fourth after an untimely last-lap stall.
AMA Supercross 2016 – Daytona – 250SX Results
Jeremy Martin (USA), Yamaha, 17:25.668 min (15 laps)
Justin Hill (USA), KTM, +1.663 sec
Martin Davalos (USA), Husqvarna, +5.184
Malcolm Stewart (USA), Honda, +11.367
Aaron Plessinger (USA), Yamaha, +28.261
Standings East 250SX Class 2016 after 2 of 9 rounds
- Davalos, 45 points
- Martin, 43
- Stewart, 40
- Hill, 38
- Plessinger, 36
