Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac made a heroic chargeback from last to sixth last night at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His championship performance salvaged points to retain his lead in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship. Dylan Ferrandis ended the night with a ninth-place finish in the challenging conditions.
Tomac got off to a good start with a runner-up finish in his heat race after qualifying sixth. He didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the main and was 12th. He immediately went to work to make his way forward, but in the chaos of that first lap, the points leader was caught up in a racing incident with his teammate and unfortunately went down on the face of the triple jump. He rejoined at the back of the field, put his head down, and fought his way back through the pack, advancing to sixth on the penultimate lap. His heroic effort gives him a three-point lead in the championship as the series nears the halfway mark.
Ferrandis showed speed early, earning his second fastest qualifier honors of the season. He then fought his way forward from seventh to a third-place finish in his heat race. The Frenchman didn’t get off the gate as he hoped in the main and was just outside of the top 10 and then was 12th after the first lap. From there, Ferrandis continued to forge on through adversity to finish ninth.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, February 26, for the second Triple Crown of the season and Round 8 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“We were having a good day in Minneapolis. The guys rode well in practice and qualified great, but our starts were not excellent in the main, and unfortunately, it put the guys in bad spots with other riders. They both fought hard and rode well. We will come back stronger next week.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“Well, it was not the result that we wanted, but it was a good recovery for what happened and the position I was in on the first lap. So, after that, it was just fighting for a position and trying to move forward. It was a really tough track, as usual, but even more tough tonight because it was a mix of ruts and a little bit of a dry surface. That was it; It was unfortunate what happened, and I was just trying to do my best to come forward.”
Dylan Ferrandis – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“The day started out well with another good qualifying, but unfortunately, I was in a lot of pain in the main event after my two big crashes at the previous races. I did what I could and finished ninth. We’ll keep working and try for better next week.”
