VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P65
BY RYAN NITZEN
PHOTOGRAPHY BROWNDOG
WILSON
I
f the rest of the 2025 Mon-
ster Energy AMA Supercross
/ SuperMotocross Champi-
onship is anything like round
two, then we are certainly in
for a treat. The Monster Energy
AMA Supercross series rolled
into San Diego's Snapdragon
Stadium for round two, and
new winners emerged, as well
as new points leaders. Things
are still falling into place in the
new year, but that didn't stop
Eli Tomac or Julien Beaumer
from turning up the heat and
crossing the line first.
Beast mode is back. After
recovering from his Achilles
injury in 2023, Tomac only won
one main event during the 2024
season (the St. Louis Triple
Crown). He then announced
that 2025 would be his final
professional season, and many
wondered if we'd ever see
the Tomac of old. Well, Beast
Mode answered any ques
-
tions we might have had with a
dominant win in San Diego.
Tomac kicked off the night
with a heat-race win and
later turned on the afterburn
-
ers in the main event. He
started way back in seventh
but quickly began clicking
off passes to the stadium
crowd's approval and moved
around his Monster Energy
Star Racing Yamaha team
-
mate Cooper Webb for the
lead on lap 12. Tomac's young
rival, Jett Lawrence, followed
suit, and the race was on.
The two heavyweights were
never more than a second
apart as they slugged it out
for the remaining 12 laps. As
they continued to up the pace,
Tomac approached lapped
riders first and experienced
a near-fatal run-in with none
other than Vince Friese.
"He [Friese] just drifted
over going through that lane,"
Tomac said. "I thought I was
hosed. Landing there was
super close. It was wild. I
thought I was going to give up
the race because of that situa
-
tion. It was so close there."
