Eli Tomac places fourth overall in back and forth Round 4 in Houston

Cortez’s Eli Tomac placed fourth overall at the weekend’s Triple Crown races in Houston. (Courtesy Red Bull KTM)

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Cortez’s Eli Tomac placed fourth overall at the weekend’s Triple Crown races in Houston. (Courtesy Red Bull KTM)

After a fast-paced, back-and-forth Round 4 in Houston, Eli Tomac placed fourth overall after an impressive comeback following a crash in the second race of the 450SX Triple Crown.

In the first race of the Triple Crown, Ken Roczen and Jorge Prado rode into the hole shot nearly side by side at the start, with Roczen edging Prado around the first turn. Tomac started in 10th.

Chase Sexton quickly moved to third with Hunter Lawrence trailing behind him. Webb raced between Lawrence and Tomac, who moved from 10th to sixth.

Sexton passed Prado and began reeling in Roczen as Tomac outjumped Webb, moving to fifth. Webb fought back, but Tomac held his position.

The race ended with Roczen in first, Sexton in second and Tomac in third.

The second race started with Prado claiming the hole shot, followed by Jason Anderson and Lawrence. Tomac started “buried” in the pack of riders.

As Lawrence passed Anderson for second, Tomac moved to seventh behind Roczen and Justin Cooper. Webb moved to third.

“Tomac is on fire,” commentators said as Tomac began moving his way through the pack.

Tomac passed Cooper and Anderson, moving to fourth behind Webb as Prado maintained his lead.

After clocking the fastest lap times for three consecutive laps, Tomac crashed, falling to the bottom of the pack. Lawrence won the second race, followed by Webb and Prado.

In the final race, Tomac claimed the hole shot, with Lawrence and Anderson following behind. Tomac quickly pulled ahead, creating a gap between him and the other racers.

“I am impressed that Eli has bounced back like this,” commentators said.

Not long into the race, Anderson and Lawrence passed Tomac, but they were not able to hold him off for long. Soon, he was back in first.

Lawrence held second as Anderson was passed by Sexton for third. A wobble from Sexton allowed Webb and Anderson to pass him. Webb, Lawrence and Roczen competed for the overall win, with every pass changing the potential outcome.

Tomac won the third race, followed by Lawrence and Webb. Webb’s third-place finish earned him the Triple Crown victory. Lawrence was second overall, Roczen third and Tomac fourth.

Tomac said he lost control when he mistimed the triple on-off section and accidentally hit his rear brake, which pitched him forward over the handlebars.

“That was such a high-speed on-off there, the triple on-off, and in the transition, I ended up stomping on my rear brake,” Tomac told KTM. “Thankfully, I was able to get through my bars – I was like, ‘Wow, I really need to step through my bars right now.’”

Tomac said he felt the bike clip him during the crash but avoided injury and was relieved to recover and finish strong in the last race.

“I'm just happy to get fourth overall, because that was a ride. Glad to move on to next week.”

Tomac still leads in overall points for the season, but Lawrence has closed the gap to 4 points, 88 to 84.

Round 5 will be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday, Feb. 7.