{"id":36413,"date":"2023-01-07T23:23:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T06:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/eli-tomac-crashes-comes-back-to-win-opening-supercross-in-anaheim\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:31:05","slug":"eli-tomac-crashes-comes-back-to-win-opening-supercross-in-anaheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/eli-tomac-crashes-comes-back-to-win-opening-supercross-in-anaheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Eli Tomac crashes, comes back to win opening Supercross in Anaheim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eli
Eli Tomac crosses the finish line to win the 450 Supercross race at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. It was his first win at Anaheim 1 since he began racing in the 450cc class. (Star Racing Yamaha)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Eli Tomac of Cortez on Saturday opened the 2023 AMA Supercross season with a comeback victory in Anaheim, California, after recovering from a crash and overtaking Chase Sexton for the win as the clock wound down.<\/p>\n

The race at Angel Stadium, the first of two this season, came after a 2022 season in which Tomac won the big three championships amid speculation that the 2023 season could be his last.<\/p>\n

But if fans thought Tomac make this season a dragged-out victory lap to celebrate his storied career, they got a surprise Saturday night. The defending champion, now racing at age 30, set a blistering pace with sub-minute laps and got up from a crash to again charge into the lead in the race\u2019s final moments.<\/p>\n

After riding fast on a new bike in practice rounds and a qualifying heat, Yamaha\u2019s ace also got off to a fast start as the main event got underway.<\/p>\n

Justin Barcia went to the lead in the first lap, with Tomac less than a second behind him as they entered Lap 2. Roczen was third, and Stewart and Sexton rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n

Tomac hit the gas in Lap 2, with a fast lap of 59.710 seconds to close to within 0.23 second of Barcia. After a brief back-and-forth battle for the lead, Barcia crashed and dropped into 10th place, and Tomac spurted into the lead.<\/p>\n

As Tomac and Roczen got some running room, both posted sub-minute speed in Lap 5, but Stewart, riding with Roczen on the Suzuki team, slipped by for second place in Lap 6.<\/p>\n

Sexton, meanwhile, had raced from fifth to third place. He began closing in on Stewart.<\/p>\n

As the front-runners began to find their form in Lap 9, Tomac crashed on the ramp up the bridge after getting too far back in his seat and losing traction on his front end. He dropped to sixth place, but told Motocross Action Magazine<\/a> his bike was not damaged, and he realized \u201cthe podium was within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

He moved up to fourth place with teammate Ferrandis in the next lap after Anderson fell.<\/p>\n

By Lap 13, less than 5 seconds separated the top four riders \u2013 Sexton, Stewart, Roczen and Tomac. As the leaders bunched up, Tomac took third place in Lap 14, and second place in Lap 16.<\/p>\n

Two laps later, Tomac blasted past Sexton for the lead, and led the rest of the way to finish the final, 21st lap nearly 3 seconds ahead.<\/p>\n

Cooper Webb closed late in the race to finish second ahead of Sexton, Ferrandis and Roczen.<\/p>\n

It was Tomac\u2019s first win at in a season-opening 450 cc race at Anaheim and the first time he he started the championship series in the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took 10 years in the 450 class to get this win. It took me 10 years to figure out how to come here with it. \u2026 I don\u2019t know, everything felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his first win at Anaheim, he gave a lot of credit to his new Yamaha YZ45F, saying he felt \u201clike a whole different guy jumping through whoops.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Star
Star Racing YamahaEli Tomac of Cortez on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, won the first qualifying heat in the 450 Supercross at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Heat 1: Tomac wins wire to wire<\/div>\n

Tomac and teammate Dylan Ferrandis of Star Racing Yamaha broke to the lead of the first qualifying heat, with Tomac in front with a sub-minute lap, at 59.7 seconds. Ferrandis was right behind, at 1 minute, 0.73 seconds, and Adam Cianciarulo of Kawasaki was in third. Joey Savatgy and Jason Anderson rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n

Anderson got past Savatgy for fourth place in the third of seven laps, and Tomac stretched out a 4.564-second lead over Ferrandis in Lap 5, again completing the lap in less than a minute, at 59.989.<\/p>\n

Tomac eased off the throttle in the Lap 6, at 1:01.871, and finished the seventh and final lap in 1:02.772 to beat runner-up Ferrandis by 3 seconds, and Cianciarulo by 4.6 seconds. Aaron Plessinger was fourth, and Anderson, fifth.<\/p>\n

Heat 2: Sexton wins wire to wire<\/div>\n

Chase Sexton, who challenged Tomac for the 2022 Motocross championship, went to the lead in Heat 2. Ken Roczen, now riding for Suzuki, overtook Marvin Musquin for second place in Lap 2, and Cooper Webb gained third place in Lap 3. Malcolm Stewart moved into fourth place in Lap 4, and Musquin dropped to fifth.<\/p>\n

Sexton beat Roczen to the finish line by 2.672 seconds. He ran his fastest lap in Lap 1, at 1 minute, 0.163 second.<\/p>\n

Qualifying laps: Sexton and Tomac<\/div>\n

Sexton was the fastest qualifier Saturday at Angel Stadium with a best lap of 59.785 seconds, and the only qualifier to come in under a minute. Tomac was second, at 1 minute, 0.089 second, and Musquin of KTM, Anderson of Kawasaki and Ken Roczen of Suzuki, rounded out the top five. Ferrandis was sixth.<\/p>\n

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