Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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SUPERCROSS ROUND 11 / MARCH 19, 2016 DETROIT, MICHIGAN / FORD FIELD P68 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES My Own Race: 3 ELI TOMAC 5 TH 450SX Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac cracked the top five in the 450SX main but he wants to get back on the podium ever since winning at Daytona. Tomac rode well in Detroit. He was third quick- est in qualifying, finishing second to Dungey (but six seconds down) in his heat race, but didn't get the started he needed in the main to be a threat for the win. He completed the first lap in ninth, took over sixth after passing Blake Baggett, who had slowed with a flat tire, but could never quite catch the rider ahead of him, Chad Reed, who finished three sec- onds ahead of the Kawasaki rider. Tomac inherited fifth when Justin Brayton dropped back on the 15 th lap with a flat rear tire. "Today started off really well with two great qualifying sessions," said Tomac who summed up his day while trying to stay positive. "I went on to finish second in my heat and felt confident heading into the main event. In the main event, I started midpack and made some early passes to get into the top five. Overall, Detroit went well and I'm happy with where we ended." 33 JOSH GRANT 12 TH 450SX Josh Grant was back under the Monster En- ergy Kawasaki roof filling in for the injured Wil Hahn for the rest of the supercross season. His day started off well af- ter qualifying sixth, but a crash in his heat race sent him to the semis. He tangled with another rider in the main and ended up 12 th . Despite the outcome, Grant was satisfied how it all turned out. "My day went really well," said Grant. "I qualified well and put myself in a good position for the heat. I made a little mistake, ended up going into the semi and qualified into the main event from there. I didn't have the start I wanted but was able to make some good passes and I'm happy with how it ended up. My goal was to finish strong and have a suc- cessful day, unfortunately another rider took me down, but all things considered I feel I accomplished my goal. I'm looking forward to spending time on the bike with the team, through the weekend off and coming back strong for Santa Clara." 53 TYLER BOWERS 4 TH 250SX Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit/Ka- wasaki's Tyler Bowers had one of the most impressive rides of the night. After winning his heat race, Bowers got caught up in the first-turn pileup in the 250SX East main and came around to finish the first lap in 19 th place. From there, he went to work and passed 17 riders by the ninth lap! The former arenacross champ ended up with a hard-earned fourth, six seconds behind McElrath. "I won my second heat race this year, which is another step forward for me," said Bowers of his day. "Unfortunately I was tied up with another rider in turn one, but was able to charge through, ride my race and keep on my lines. Next thing I knew I was in fourth and could see third right ahead of me. I'm really happy with my fourth-place finish and I'm looking forward to coming back from the break!" 14 COLE SEELY 11 TH 450SX HRC Honda Hon- da's Cole Seely had a tough day in Michigan. He finished outside the top 10 for the first time this year but it could've been worse. He suffered a hard crash in practice and wasn't feel- ing 100-percent by the time the evening program rolled around. On the first lap of the main, Seely ran off the track and was 22 nd (dead last) after the first lap. Instead of giving up, Seely put his head down, passed half the field and ended up 11 th . "Detroit really wasn't too good to me today, but we can always be thankful we're leaving healthy," said Seely. "I had a big crash in practice so I was a little beat up for the evening. I made a weird mistake at the start of the race and it was an uphill battle from there."