SUPERCROSS
ROUND 16 / APRIL 29, 2017
METLIFE STADIUM / EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY
P72
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES
bike. Tomac eventually got back
going in 16th. Now, in races
past, 16th place very early in the
race would just mean Tomac
couldn't pass for the lead until
past halfway. In New Jersey, he
could barely get past halfway up
to the lead.
At the point Tomac went
down, Dungey had found his
way by Millsaps and then inher-
ited the lead. Dungey led until
near the halfway point when his
teammate, Marvin Musquin,
found his way by the champ for
the lead and then Dungey went
to school on his lines. Musquin
had the race in hand, leading by
more than a couple seconds as
the laps began to wind down,
someone else was on his motor-
cycle.
And in the main, Anderson
snatched the holeshot while
Dungey started third, behind
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC KTM's
Davi Millsaps. Tomac was on
them immediately, passed his
way by Dungey and Millsaps,
and then inherited the lead when
Anderson fell out front. Ander-
son got up eighth, and Tomac
led one official lap before he
went down in a rutted left-hander
and took a very long time to get
up; he did not look like he was
in a hurry to get back on the
won his heat race—his sixth of
the year, and 49th of his career—
going away, while Tomac was
a little bit off in qualifying. He
then unraveled in his heat race
after passing Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Jason Anderson
momentarily for the lead, falling
back to fifth place after mess-
ing up section after section
and then eventually clawing his
way back up to fourth to qualify
for the main event. It was obvi-
ous even in his heat race that
Tomac was antsy. He was hyper
and trying way, way too hard.
He cased rhythm sections he'd
never cased before, almost went
off the track around the outside
of numerous turns. It was like
This seemingly simple fall while
leading the main might've cost Eli
Tomac the championship.
