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Two-For-Two: Tomac's Terrific Start Continues To Phoenix
Defending Supercross champion Eli Tomac won his second race in as many starts Saturday, besting the 250SX West field at Chase Field by a whopping 10 seconds on his GEICO Honda CRF.
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The top qualifier survived a crowded start in the Main event and worked his way up from sixth place, taking the lead from Martin Davalos on Lap 7 and zooming away for an easy victory.
"You always hope to win by 10 seconds," Tomac said. "That's about as good as it gets in this sport. But you also know there are so many things that can happen. You have to just take it as it comes and ride hard the whole time. You can't worry too much about everyone else.
"My starts have been pretty terrible. I've been lining up on the inside and just playing it safe. I've been lucky to even be in the top five or six and then I have to make it up from there. It's definitely something I need to work on."
Tomac's perfect start has him six points ahead of Ken Roczen, who has finished second to Tomac in both races this year. Cole Seely is now third, 12 points back.
"This is the closest place we go on the Supercross tour to my home in (Cortez) Colorado so to do this here with all my friends and family watching is really cool," Tomac said. "I'm super happy right now."
Fellow GEICO Honda riders Zach Osborne and Kevin Windham finished sixth and 11th in their respective races. Osborne had to overcome a stiff left shoulder he injured during practice and was fairly pleased to earn enough points to move into a tie for fourth place in the 250SX West rankings. Windham's finish kept him in the top 10 in 450SX.
"Considering the way I felt at 3 o'clock today, I'm really happy to be sitting here in fourth place," Osborne said. "I took a really hard hit and they gave me a few shots for the pain but it still hurt quite a bit. I wasn't event sure I could ride the Heat race but I decided to give it a try and after a few laps I knew I could finish it. It hurt in the whoops and whenever the bike was pulling but I just got through it.
"I had a good start in the Heat race and followed that up with another good start in the Main. That set me up for decent rides and I just did the best I could. I definitely need some rest now. I doubt I'll be doing a bunch of riding this week. We'll have to see."
With so many riders dreaming of the 450SX title, the start in the Main was as wild as it was a week ago in Anaheim and Windham once again made it through the fray with a solid if not spectacular ride.
"If still building up my confidence," Windham said. "It was a very quick pace for such a tight track design and it really placed a premium on being smart and staying upright. There were some things I did that really felt good and a few other areas where I need to improve but I'm getting back to where I need to be. It's really more mental than physical and it takes a little time."
The tour returns to Angel Stadium in Anaheim next Saturday.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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