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/953622
SUPERCROSS ROUND 10 / MARCH 10, 2018 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY / DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA P56 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS iii My Own Race: 3 ELI TOMAC 2ND 450SX Naysayers can make the case that Justin Brayton's win at Daytona had a lot to do with "luck" because so many of the expected winners had bad nights, but even late in the race, when all the momentum was on Eli Tomac's side, he couldn't catch Brayton. But it certainly did help that Tomac went down on the opening lap and had to come from dead last to eventually finish second. "In the end-zone corner, there was a spot, and I just got hung up at the top of the berm and I had nowhere to go," Tomac said. "I lost my balance and actually looped out my bike. It was pretty sketchy for what it was. The good thing is this year Daytona allowed for some good passing with long straightaways and lanes, so it was good. At least I was able to make some- thing out of it." In the last four Daytona Supercrosses, Tomac has finished 2-1-1-2. 6 JEREMY MARTIN 2ND 250SX EAST Jeremy Martin came into Daytona with high hopes, considering he is typically consid- ered more of an "outdoor guy" and he actually finished second in the 450SX class in 2017, but he just didn't quite have anything for winner Jordon Smith. "It's Daytona, a real man's track," Martin said. "It was the toughest race of the year as far as fitness. I had to slow down a little bit halfway through the main. I've been kind of sick the last couple weeks. I was getting close to Jordon there and I was starting to think about where I could make a move on him, then I made some mistakes and he got back away from me. I couldn't quite get close again, but it's good. We're on the podium and we're in contention for wins again, and that's something I haven't been able to say in supercross in awhile. We want to get wins and now we know it's coming." 34 WESTON PEICK 6TH 450SX Weston Peick (Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki) had a solid race despite not feeling 100 percent. "Daytona went better than expected for me. I got sick this past week, and I was obviously sore from my crash in Atlanta. I got off to a decent start in my heat race, but then got tangled up in the first turn. I charged up to third, so I was happy with that. I had a good start in the main event and rode in third place for quite a while. Then, due to being sick and sore, I fell back a few positions. Regardless, I'm happy to get some good points and head into next weekend feeling better." 35 AUSTIN FORKNER 3RD 250SX EAST Austin Forkner has quietly worked himself up into the championship lead after four rounds of the 250SX East Championship. After holding off Osborne for third at Day- tona, he's tied with the defending champ atop the points standings. "Honestly, just keep getting consistent podiums," Forkner said. "That's really what I want to do. And I think if I can get consistent podiums, then I'll be in the championship hunt no matter what. I tried to run with those guys. It was super-hard to push and be consistent. The track was obviously really tiring. I sprinted really hard in the beginning and then kind of made some mistakes and fell off. Then I tried to pick it back up and reel them back in." 2 COOPER WEBB 3RD 450SX Cooper Webb was in contention all night at Daytona, qualifying inside the top five, then leading his heat race until he cross-jumped in front of Eli Tomac, prompting a perturbed Tomac to make a questionable move in the following corner, resulting in them both hitting the dirt. Still, in the main, Webb ran as high as second before relinquishing that spot to Tomac late in the race. "Daytona was really good this year," Webb said. "It was the first time I ever raced it, but I grew up coming here as a kid to watch, so it's pretty special to be here now in the 450 class. Overall, it was a solid day. We did a lot of great testing this week at Justin Barcia's house to get a great set- ting for here at Daytona!"