After two difficult weekends, Eli Tomac got back on the podium at Washougal, earning his fifth podium of the season at the eighth round of the AMA Pro Motocross championship. Forced to retire at RedBud (13th) and struggling at Millville (7th), the Star Racing Yamaha rider found solutions to return to the top three this Saturday.
After the race, Eli reflected on the reasons for his recent struggles, pointing to the numerous changes made to his YZ450F before Millville. Adjustments that seemed promising during practice quickly proved ineffective on race day. A failed gamble that forced the veteran to backtrack ahead of Washougal.
“The difference between Washougal and Millville was the bike settings, nothing else,” admitted Eli Tomac, who finished third at Washougal. “I found settings that made me very comfortable, and I was able to match the pace of the others. I was able to hang with them this time, which was good. Before Millville, I did some testing and went in the wrong direction. That was entirely my fault. I told the team, ‘I think the bike will work better with these new settings,’ but it didn’t. I take full responsibility because I was the one who told the team which way to go. Yes, looking at the lap times, it seemed to work. But it was much worse in race conditions. It’s a shame, but I still feel like I’ve found improvements compared to what I had at the start of the season, so I’m excited to see how things go in the remaining rounds.”
“In fact, I made a lot of changes to the fork and shock,” the Star Racing Yamaha rider continued. “Actually, I changed almost everything in hopes of finding a certain feeling. That’s what happened before Millville, and it just didn’t work. Let’s just say we really tried some radical changes on the bike to improve. In the end, at Millville, I was way off the mark and totally lost. Now we’re back to ‘normal,’ and it feels good.”
Amid the intensity of the motos at Washougal, Eli Tomac held strong, but the Yamaha rider wasn’t able to knock Jett Lawrence off his pedestal; that task fell to Chase Sexton. At the end of the day, third place was still a good result for the Yamaha rider, who, for a moment, thought he might have fractured his collarbone…
“I took a lot of roost at Washougal, and in the first moto, I got nailed by a big rock before the big triple. At first, I wondered if it had broken my collarbone,” admitted the Star Racing Yamaha rider. “It hurt a lot. I can’t remember who was in front of me at that moment, Jett or Chase. I still had a good first moto, but going out for the second moto was a bit tough. You don’t really know exactly when they’ll restart, and you just try to stay as focused as you can, stay in your zone, for as long as possible. It’s not easy to manage. Honestly, the way we restarted was pretty hectic: once the AMA official ran past us. That said, I still think it was better than doing a single-file start.”
In eight appearances on a 450 at Washougal, Eli Tomac has never finished outside the top three. After eight rounds, the four-time 450 outdoor champion sits third in the championship, 94 points behind the red plate still held by Jett Lawrence.
“As for the track, I really enjoyed the conditions this weekend,” Eli concluded. “It felt like they brought in a lot of dirt, and the texture was different than usual. But the track was great. I’ve always loved the elevation changes here and those big, flat landings. What’s tricky is dealing with the shadows from the trees. Honestly, it was a very good round at Washougal, and I think the weather helped a lot too.”
