LAKEWOOD — Eli Tomac made the fastest lap in practice and in the second moto Saturday, and he overtook more riders than anyone during the two motos at Thunder Valley Motocross Park. But top speed and command of his Kawasaki wasn’t the problem for Tomac under a cloudless blue sky at Colorado’s 12th AMA national. It was his starts.
The young standout from Cortez stood 17th after the first lap of the first 450cc moto and was 13th at the same period in the second race. His starts out of the gate didn’t give him a good enough chance to win either race, but his spectacular resolve the rest of the way put him on the podium in front of an adoring home-state crowd.
Tomac rallied to finish fifth and second in the two motos, good enough for a third-place overall result. Based on how his day ended a year ago at Thunder Valley, Tomac was giddy about his performance. He violently crashed in the 2015 event while leading by 25 seconds midway through the second moto, after dominating the first. The crash while riding down a steep hill approaching Turn 18 ended his season and required major surgery to both shoulders.
“In practice and on press day (Thursday), you think of that section and it’s like ‘How do you not think about it?’ ” Tomac, 23, said from the podium. “But I got through it and put the past behind us. We got through the day. It’s something we conquered.”
And about those starts? “It’s just unacceptable,” he said. “I’m getting totally worked. In that first moto I was like the third bike in line and in 20th-something place. To battle for the lead you have to be up there closer and it’s something I haven’t done yet. The second moto was more promising as the ride itself. But you got to be there at the first turn.”
Ken Roczen won both 16-lap motos for the 450cc event victory and defending winner Ryan Dungey rallied from a Lap 1 crash in the second race to finish second overall. Dungey, a four-time Thunder Valley champion who is 6-of-6 in podium finishes at the track, ended second in the first race and fourth in the finale — making up 10 spots after his early crash.
Roczen, who led 29-of-32 laps on the day, also won in 2014 at Thunder Valley.
The 250cc winner Saturday was Joseph Savatgy, who won the second moto after a runner-up finish in the first, and brothers Jeremy Martin (first and third) and Alex Martin (eighth and second) completed the podium.
