With Jett Lawrence’s late race crash and Eli Tomac’s inspired ride to second after his early race crash, the momentum felt like it changed for the two-time champ. Not only did he find “beast mode” for the first time, he unexpectedly made points on Jett Lawrence heading into Eli’s favourite race of the year, Daytona, in the best form so far this season.
If Eli is going to make a run at the championship, Arlington is where it started. Get his thoughts on the ride, the early season problems and his thoughts on Daytona from the press conference.
The difference between Detroit and when he is in his flow…
Detroit I just had really bad arm pump, and when that happens, your hands are tied behind your back and you’re hanging on for survival, you know. And you drop multiple seconds per lap and that’s it, you know, if you get an arm pump around like lap six or seven, it’s over and I was struggling in that specific condition with the dirt being tacky clay, the way it was, was pulling down my bike and I think I have fixed some of that with that being said, can’t, you know, blame it all on the bike because look how long I’ve been doing this, I should know for that situation, you know, what’s gonna make me race more comfortable and get me out of the arm pump situation. So, that was that specifically for this year at Detroit, you know, that race that, that’s what caused, you know, me riding around and getting lapped. That’s the difference. And, tonight was just being comfortable, you know, riding like I should, I guess.
On being told he’s the old guy
Yeah, they creep in. I’ve kind of just heard it the whole season, and I just know I’m not like there yet…but I don’t know, maybe some people are right. I haven’t won an overall yet, but one thing for sure is I have improved and I’m getting better. So, yeah, I’m ready to put up the fight in this last half and, you know, maybe show some of the young guys that they’re still young.
“I’m sick of people calling me the old guy..”@EliTomac seems to be carrying a lot of momentum into @DAYTONA 👀#SupercrossLIVE #SMX pic.twitter.com/SwY3wFpWWt
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) February 25, 2024
I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.
It’s just…you find the right flow. So, for whatever that is, you have a couple of good turns, you know, on whatever track you’re riding and you have that flow, that feeling, it’s almost like things come easy and they come slower, you know? So, it’s when everything’s working, right? And you can go in the places you wanna go and you got the flow. So in that situation I can just keep pushing the whole moto.
Daytona next – his favourite track!
I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.
Image: Feld Entertainment Inc
