450SX
Tomac is on a tear at the mo-
ment. The veteran racer once
again
showed that his new
pairing with the Red Bull KTM
team is no joke, as he was the
fastest rider on track all day in
San Diego. Tomac posted the
fastest lap time in qualifying
and proceeded to lay down the
heat when it counted in the main
event. The 450SX main event
was one for the ages as Tomac
stalked Ken Roczen and Hunter
Lawrence in the opening laps.
He planned out his attack care
-
fully and pounced in the second
half
of the race when he passed
Roczen for the lead. A short
battle ensued, but Tomac held
a small advantage over both
riders with suspense growing
as the race entered the final lap.
The points leader fended off a
last-lap attack from Lawrence
and recorded his 55th career
win by just over a second.
Tomac now holds an eight-point
advantage over Roczen.
"Ken and I had an unbeliev
-
able battle there, and once we
got into
the lead, I felt like I was
in a good groove," Tomac said.
"Towards the end, I was not
paying attention and just look-
ing at my front fender. I didn't
know
Hunter was there because
I was so focused on marking
Kenny around the track. Over
the tunnel on the last lap, I heard
Hunter revving his bike and was
shocked he was right there. I
feel fortunate I held onto the
lead there. I guess I need better
self-awareness next time. That
was close."
Lawrence was close indeed,
as the Honda HRC Progressive
rider crossed the line in second
close behind Tomac. The older
of the two Lawrence brothers
looked spunky off the start as
he grabbed the holeshot and
led the first seven laps ahead
of both Roczen and Tomac. He
was quickly shuffled from first
to third as the veterans made
their way around, but Lawrence
fought back to reclaim second
from Roczen. The moment of
the race for number 96 came
as he made a big push on the
things were going very well. Then, in
the main, I missed the start, and after
that, I was riding tight. I didn't ride like
myself, I would say, and it was a bit
of a struggle. I kind of fell into some
other riders' pace around me."
14 DYLAN FERRANDIS
9TH 450SX
Dylan Ferrandis finished inside the
top 10 despite a crash during the
main event. "The night was not bad,
honestly," the TLD/Red Bull Ducati
rider said. "We made some improve-
ments on the bike this weekend. I
was in P6, then got passed for P7,
and I tried something different in the
whoops and ended up crashing. I lost
a couple of positions and ended P9."
MYOWNRACE
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2026 P59
(Left) Eli Tomac
made it two
for two wins to
start the 2026
season. (Below)
Hunter Lawrence
led early on and
stayed in the hunt
to finish second
in 450SX.
