“Vintage beast mode” Eli Tomac placed first in the first Motocross 450SX race at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova on Sunday, marking his first moto win in 1,000 days.
Despite the exciting win in the first race, Tomac placed ninth in the second race, putting him in fourth overall for the day.
In the first race, a “rare” bad start for Jett and Hunter Lawrence allowed Aaron Plessinger to claim the hole shot. Plessinger led for the whole race until he end, when Tomac passed him for first with two laps to go. Tomac placed first, followed by Plessinger in second and Jett Lawrence in third.
Commentators spoke of Tomac’s charge for the win, saying, “He looked refreshed doing it, it was good to see Beast Mode out front.”
They noted that it was his first motocross win in 1,000 days: “He missed so much … with injury, but you wouldn’t know it.”
In the second race, Tomac got bumped at the start, causing him to round the first turn in last place. Jett Lawrence claimed the hole shot.
Though Plessinger didn’t have the best start, he was able to get around Webb to chase after third place Hunter, Lawrence, whom he eventually passed. Tomac continued to work his way through the pack from “dead last.”
“Whoever Eli got close to, he was able to blitz them,” commentators said.
At the front, Plessinger and Hunter continued to “duke it out like they did last week.”
As Tomac attempted to make a pass for fifth place, he crashed, causing him to place ninth.
Tomac placed fourth overall for the day. Jett Lawrence won the second race, followed by Plessinger in second and Justin Cooper in third. Chase Sexton didn’t race following last week’s crash.
The next Motocross race will take place at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado, on Sunday, June 8.
| 1. Jett Lawrence | Honda | 95 |
| 2. Aaron Plessinger | KTM | 79 |
| 3. Eli Tomac | Yamaha | 78 |
| 4. Justin Cooper | Yamaha | 76 |
| 5. Hunter Lawrence | Honda | 73 |
| 6. Jason Anderson | Kawasaki | 59 |
| 7. Jorge Prado | Kawasaki | 58 |
| 8. R.J. Hampshire | Husqvarna | 56 |
| 9. Joey Savatgy | Honda | 49 |
| 10. Cooper Webb | Yamaha | 45 |
