Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/229152
INTERVIEW P146 250 AMA MOTOCROSS CHAMPION ELI TOMAC Championship and a few AMA Nationals, Tomac was considering moving up to the 450cc class for the 2013 AMA MX Nationals. The main reason was that he felt he was giving up too much in terms of power-to-weight. At 165 pounds, he found it hard to get starts with guys like 2012 champ Blake Baggett, who weighed in at a whopping 129 pounds during the 2012 Nationals. Also, Tomac won a race at the 2012 Monster Energy Cup on a 450. However, between 2012 and 2013, the GEICO Honda team made significant strides with the bike, and then he got a fresh taste of the 450cc class during the 2013 AMA Supercross Series. After that, he and the team decided that he should stay down in the 250cc class to make one more run at the 250cc National Championship. "We ultimately decided that I maybe could use more time in the 250 class," Tomac says. "There was no reason to jump up. After I raced the four 450 [Supercross] rounds in 2013, I told myself, 'No, I don't need to hurry into this class.' It was kind of gnarly. I think the 450 does take time to get ready for, and you can't just jump in there. So, that was a big eye-opener for me. Plus, we were able to get my 250 better and I felt like I could be competitive on it again." This was evident in 2013 at round two in Colorado. Altitude robs power, but Tomac was the only 250cc racer who was clean- A "I THINKMYBIG PART OF SUCCESS NOW IS THAT I REALLY WASN'T UNDER MY DAD'S SHADOW. " ly and consistently jumping a huge uphill triple just before the finish line. The rest of the field had to really stretch to get over it, and Tomac was throwing whips on it. "I think the whole size thing isn't as big of a deal as most people think," Tomac says in hindsight. "I think there's a [tipping] point, but I was 165 pounds all summer. Some guys might be 145 or less. But I think there's a certain point where you actually get more traction than the lighter guys. So, in certain situations, it might actually help you to have 15 pounds on another guy – as long as you're not over 200 pounds or something. I mean, our bikes are probably the fastest bikes out there." That was evident over the summer as Tomac's GEICO Honda teammate Wil Hahn took the Holeshot Championship for the series, and his other teammates Zach Osborne and Justin Bogle actually finished second and third, respectively, in that championship-within-a-championship. As for Tomac, he had to "settle" for the actual 250cc National Championship, as he only managed one holeshot in 24 attempts.