VOLUME 56 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2019 P155
holeshot that weekend, so I had to
come up and pass the guys. Pala was
a great track, but if I had to choose
between that track and Glen Helen in
Southern California, I'd have to say I
like Glen Helen just because it has so
much speed, and it has the elevation
changes, and it's a bigger track. It's
a bummer that it is not on the circuit
now, but Pala got enough character
to where it was acceptable. You know,
even that early in the season, Kenny
[Roczen] was on my radar, and he
was holding the red plate at the time.
It was really Ken, and I believe Marvin
Musquin, who were right there and
who were always on my radar, but re-
ally it was the number 94 that was the
guy that I was the most focused on."
ROUND 3
Round three of the series,
set for Thunder Valley in
Colorado, was a bit of a
toss-up. Nasty, rain-lashed
inclement weather greet-
ing the 450MX racers in
moto one. After suffering
a miserable start in the
opening moto and being
forced to roll through the
signaling area for new
goggles, Tomac fought
fiercely to get back to fifth.
A few hours later, and with
the Rocky Mountain sun
casting its warmth on the
Lakewood track, homeboy
Tomac got caught up in an
entertaining battle with
Roczen, a battle the Honda
rider won in the end. "Once
again, at Lakewood, Ken
Roczen made out better on
the day, overall. Moto one
was very stressful. When
you have any sort of gear
issue, it throws you off.
THUNDER VALLEY RACEWAY
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO
JUNE 1, 2019
2nd PLACE (5-1)
Tomac's nemesis, Roczen,
took the overall win at Thunder
Valley, but Tomac got the
last word by beating Roczen
outright in the second moto.
That weekend my roll-
offs got tangled up, and
I had to pull in the pits.
That's a big moment. In
motocross, you get your
points in every single
moto; every moto counts.
It's not like supercross
where you can jack up
your heat race, and it
is like, 'Okay, I can get
it together for the main
moto.' Every moto counts
in motocross. When
you're slipping in points,
you absolutely know that
can hurt you in the end.
I came back swinging in
moto two. It was a great
battle with Roczen. I got
him somewhere around
halfway, and at least I was
able to win the second
moto and was able to
minimize some damage,
but overall on the day we
were second."