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Monster Energy Supercross 2018: Eli Tomac talks title chase

By Brittany Frederick

Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac walks the track at Monster Energy Supercross Anaheim 1. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mullen Lowe.
Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac walks the track at Monster Energy Supercross Anaheim 1. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mullen Lowe. /
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Eli Tomac narrowly missed the Monster Energy Supercross title in 2017, and he told FanSided how he’s back on the warpath in the Supercross 2018 season.

Eli Tomac could have been the Monster Energy Supercross 2017 champion. He came within just a few points of the 450SX title last year, and the Colorado native is determined to finish the job this year.

FanSided spoke to Eli Tomac ahead of his capturing the Triple Crown at Anaheim 2 last weekend, to talk about how he’s going to do things differently this year and how much it takes to be one of the top contenders in supercross.

FanSided: After the 2017 season you had, particularly being championship runner-up for the second time, what are your overall thoughts going into 2018?

Eli Tomac (ET): The offseason has been good for us. We got a little time off to recover and get offset. But right before you know it, you’re into November and you’re starting to lay the hammer down for training.

I started November training in Colorado, and that’s when I was definitely the most quiet there, just doing our work and once December rolls around we’re here in Southern California finalizing some testing on the motorcycle and [we] fine tune everything.

We did bring Jeremy Martin into our program with us, so it’s been good to have someone there to chase and vice versa. It’s been good to have a guy with you to push you up.

FanSided: Does having a teammate bring you closer to being able to practice in a more race-like environment? Is it beneficial in that sense as well?

ET: Racing’s always different in the practice track. It’s a different environment. Your heart rate’s always going to be higher [when] it’s race day so for me, yes, it is a lot different. That is one reason we brought Jeremy into our training, is to simulate that environment where you’re going with a guy in a section or do laps ourselves. Trying to make those days somewhat mesh.

But at the end of the day, race day is always going to be on that next level. You just have to be ready for it.

FanSided: Speaking of race day, what do you come into 2018 wanting to work on? How do you change this season to help you win that Supercross 450SX championship?

ET: You have to minimize mistakes. I could probably count five races we had last year where if I’d done better in them, it could have been the championship. One of the first three races we were off to a slow start. We went four, five, six [in our] first [three] results.

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I had a mechanical in Dallas, a funky front brake problem, and went into the pits and that was that race. Then I had the fall while leading in New York, so really if there was just even one of those races that went a little bit better? It could have been a whole different outcome. So you have to minimize mistakes.

FanSided: Do you have to then tailor your preparation to each individual Monster Energy Supercross track, or is there a consistent system that works for you in every race weekend?

ET: I think the biggest thing to be prepared for is the change of the dirt. The soil. That’s where it really throws you off event to event is the track and whether it’s a hard-packed track or a rutted track. That racing surface is the big factor throughout the day with practice and setting up your bike, so that’s a situation to be ready for.

Physically you want to be healthy, and you’re not changing a whole lot throughout the season, unless you are trying to play catch-up. For us it’s just being ready for the condition of the track each week.

FanSided: How significant is the mental part of motorcycle racing?

ET: Mental is huge, because there’s guys that can go 100 miles a hour on the practice track but that doesn’t always happen at the race track. What [2017 champion] Ryan [Dungey] could do throughout those 17 races [last season] like that? That’s the guy we want to beat. And that’s the toughest part for a guy like me, is to not make a mistake, to give up that huge chunk of points.

Next: Danica Patrick still sorting out 2018 plans

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