CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 55 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 30, 2018 P51
450SX
Despite not getting a good time in for qualifying, and not having
a great heat race, Tomac grabbed the holeshot in the main event
and led every lap for the second year in a row at the Glendale, aka
Phoenix, Supercross.
Tomac sprinted away early in the main event while the field got
sorted out behind him, eventually with Monster Energy/Knich/
Yamalube Yamaha's Justin Barcia taking the second spot. Over the
course of the 20-minute-plus-two-laps main event, Barcia gained
and getting ready for four months
while you were on the couch in-
jured. I knew it would be tough, but
I got one down, and then I'll move
forward. That's it, really. Today was
a struggle. It was tough. But I got
through it, and we'll go on!" Benny
Bloss also returned to action in
Arizona after a big crash during the
LCQ at Anaheim I. He ended up
20th.
CLOSING SPEED
Pre-season 450SX Championship
favorite Eli Tomac sat 48 points be-
hind points leader Jason Anderson
following the first two races of 2018,
but with two wins in a row, Tomac
has made up 12 of those points in
just two rounds. That means Tomac
has already bitten off a quarter of
Anderson's points lead in only two
races. At this pace, Tomac could
take the points lead by round 10.
FAST BUT NOT QUITE
Jason Anderson was the top 450SX
qualifier but the points leader
couldn't parlay that into a podium
finish later in the evening, even
though he dominated his heat race.
He even set the quickest lap time in
the main but got bounced around
early in the race and couldn't re-
ally recover and finished a distant
fourth. "My practices were great
Briefly...
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GARTH
MILAN
/
RED
BULL
CONTENT
POOL
