After a last-minute decision to fill in at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations for the injured Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac put in an amazing ride with 2-3 moto finishes at Matterley Basin. Eli went on the PulpMX Show last night to talk about MXoN and what the race means to him now that he is older. As well as how much fun he is having riding and his plans for the future. Read the interview below or you can listen to the entire interview starting around the 1:02:00 mark.
PulpMX: Great job at MXoN, are you okay with second or did you leave disappointed? What’s your thoughts? Because I thought it was awesome.
Eli Tomac: It was a good performance, but we weren’t celebrating by any means. So, that’s my take on it, all three of us did a good job and we all carried our weight, we just got beat. You look back and go, “Oh if I could have just stayed in front of [Tim] Gajser and Jett [Lawrence] in the last moto, and all this stuff, and then maybe if one of the other guys passed one more guy.” You think of all of these things, and it really drives you crazy. But yeah, I think we were super consistent, and we put up a great result but by no means was I celebrating and being like, “I was only expecting top five and we got second, this is super awesome.” I’m just okay with it.
How about that last start Eli, you ripped that thing.
Yeah, I definitely ripped it. When we lined up, the GP way of lining up on the gate it's kind of stressful. And most of the guys just kind of rack in line and I slid over like two gates because I peeked over the bar and saw that the rut was better, and actually the dirt was better at the bottom of the hill. So, I had a really, really nice gate and I was like, “I need a holeshot this moto” and I was able to. It was a big one, because I looked over and there was no one there and I just closed the door, so it was nice.
How big was that quad, what was it, a hundred and something feet?
I think it was about 140 feet, my dad stepped it off, he said it was 147 so maybe plus or minus five feet. So, he stepped it off and we were like, “Wow that’s a big jump!” And it was wide open, you know get your tires on the ground on the little double before it, stay low and get your tires on the ground early. Because a couple of times I overshot it [the double] and then landed in the ruts and then had to back out of it. So, you had to scrub, stay low and then wide open. And it was a small landing. I mean you gained a little bit of time, just because of ramp speed, but it was a fun jump. Really a lot of the jumps there were really fun, the finish line section into that next floating table top. If it wasn’t for the ruts in the landings it would be crazy fun but a lot of those you landed and you into those ruts and it was a little bit stressful.
You have been on a few different teams for USA over the years, and after RedBud when you guys lost, there’s been sort of a recommitment, some new people came on, they got you your own place to change and stuff. Do you notice the recommitment in the effort from the people involved?
Yeah, there was a huge commitment, we had our own trailer, our own hospitality, it was insane. So, the backing of it is totally there, especially right now. So, it was amazing. The AMA, and everyone who was there helping, it was sweet. We didn’t feel foreign at all, we had our area, and we had our space. It was a really nice set up. When I think back to Teutschenthal [Germany], everyone just went back to their own team rigs, but here we were all together.
So, when Chase Sexton got hurt, I heard John was like, “I don’t know” and then [Cooper] Webb called you, how close was it?
I slept on it for a night. So, I came home from Vegas and maybe it was two nights, I don’t know, it was one or two nights. And then I was like, “Yeah. We have to go.” And once again, once you get older you just realize how cool of a race it is and what it means. Racing all of the best guys in the world, so it's impossible to pass up.
So, I saw a picture from Des Nations where you had a bloody nose. You were catching Tim in the first moto and then I heard you had goggle problems like so many other guys, and then you got a rock to the nose and then you were like, “Okay fine, go ahead Tim.” Was that how it went?
Yeah, so I was good, I think it was right around half-way and then I got roosted and it tore my tear off film. So, I was stressing out big time. I was really, really close to coming in for goggles. And then I looked back, and I saw a couple of guys and I was like, “Dude, I am going to get worked if I pull in, I just have to stay out.” And thankfully no one really pelted my goggles, and I got a couple of thumb wipes in that were working. I got enough thumb wipes in with my gloves that I was able to be okay and I was also terrified of taking my goggles off knowing how bad that roost was, especially coming back on the start straight. I was basically going to keep my goggles on until I totally couldn’t see. It was scary. It was a bummer though because I was making a good push to Gajser in that moto.
For the last couple of years, from the outside looking in, it just looks like you are having more fun. Is that real, as you get older do you feel everything else is just a bonus?
I am having more fun. I’m not sure if it was the weight of a supercross championship that put me under an insane amount of pressure. So, getting a supercross championship and then all of the 450 stuff, after that it's just like you know that this is a clock that is going to run out somewhat soon. Especially if you want to stay at a top level and not just cruise around. So, yeah, it's an appreciation of everything, enjoying riding, enjoying the team, the environment of everything. And just enjoying the ride. Enjoying racing and trying to get better, I guess.
So, we saw that you resigned with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, it it a full year or is it like, do supercross and we will see?
It's a full year.
Check out the full PulpMX Show #601 below.
