Tomac Claims WSX Opener in Vancouver
E
li Tomac (CDR Yamaha)
got off to the best pos-
sible start as he chases a
maiden World Supercross
Championship crown by
taking the overall win at the
season opener in Vancouver,
BC, October 26.
Vancouver saw a some
-
what depleted SX1 (450cc)
field in which no one from
the top three in this year's
Monster Energy Supercross
Championship attended,
the main protagonists being
Pipes Motorsports Group Su
-
zuki's two-time WSX cham-
pion Ken Roczen, Tomac and
Fire Power Honda's Joey
Savatgy.
The night saw a busy
schedule with practice,
qualifying, a one-lap Superpole
and four races, including a 12-
lap race three, but it was Roczen
who drew first blood, dominating
practice and qualifying and tak
-
ing the Superpole by three-tenths
of a second over Tomac.
Race one saw Roczen take the
win after overhauling Fire Power
Honda's Vince Friese in the early
stages. Tomac closed right up
on Roczen late in the race, but
the German held out for the first
WSX race win of the season,
with Savatgy taking third.
Roczen's night started to
unravel at the beginning of race
two, the Suzuki man exiting the
first turn in 11th while Tomac
stole the holeshot. Roczen grad
-
ually worked his way up through
the field until a small crash put
him back in 11th, with Tomac
crossing the finish line a mas
-
sive 22 seconds up on Savatgy
with Roczen's Suzuki teammate
Colt Nicols in third.
The extended race three was
another Tomac benefit as he
took the win ahead of Roczen
and Nicols, the icing on the cake
coming with another dominant
win in race four's Superfinal—
albeit with some extra drama
thrown in when Tomac's rear tire
deflated on the last lap. Howev
-
er, such was Tomac's dominance
in Canada, he still crossed the
line 16 seconds up on Roczen,
with Friese taking third. The
overall podium had Tomac given
the gold ahead of Roczen and
Savatgy.
"It was a fantastic evening
of racing," Tomac said. "Kenny
rode well in the first two races,
and we were battling out there.
I found my rhythm in the last
couple of races, and everything
just clicked."
In the SX2 (250cc) class,
Honda's Shane McElrath claimed
the overall with 7-1-1-6 results.
McElrath topped Star Racing
Yamaha's Max Anstie and his
teammate Cole Thompson.
Rounds two and three of the
2024 World Supercross Champi
-
onship will be held in Perth, Aus-
tralia, on November 23-24.
CN
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Eli Tomac (Yam)
2. Ken Roczen (Suz)
3. Joey Savatgy (Hon)
4. Colt Nichols (Suz)
5. Vince Friese (Hon)
WIND
IN THE
P34
Eli Tomac won the first
round the WSX Series in
Vancouver, Canada.
