Tomac: “I’m going to do everything possible to get back on the line in…
Yamaha’s press release on Sunday outlined a few additional details on Eli Tomac’s situation from the Tampa Supercross. Here are the notes from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, which took second with Cooper Webb, fourth with Justin Cooper and 17th with Tomac.
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was a tough day in Tampa. I caught my leg underneath the foot peg on a jump during qualifying, and sprained the top of my ankle and bruised my lower leg. I’m going to do everything possible to get back on the line in Detroit.”
Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“I’ll start with the elephant in the room – it was an unfortunate night for Eli. It was just a freak accident with him getting his foot caught between the foot peg and the ground during qualifying. He was really sore and bruised, but he did the best he could to manage a points night. On the other hand, it was a great night for Webb. He didn’t get a great start in the main event, but he rode really well to work his way through the pack to get second place and cut the gap in half for the championship – he came in 10 down and leaves five down. Then for Justin Cooper, it was a big turnaround for him confidence-wise. He continued to ride well through the day and build on that. He got a good start in the heat and was third, and another good start in the main, and just kind of stayed in the mix. Riding with those guys is building confidence for him. So, there are definitely some positives on an up-and-down night, and we’ll move on to Detroit.”
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“Overall, it was a good day. I was able to qualify second, won the heat race, and finished second in the main. I just made a mistake on the start, got some wheel spin, and was buried. I made a good charge through the pack and was picking guys off. I’m just a little bit bummed because I felt like I was coming through with Malcolm (Stewart), and then I was making some mistakes, lost the tow, and the lappers kind of interfered. Overall, it was a good points night and a good second-place finish. We’ll take the points, get better, and move on to Detroit.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“I had three really bad starts last weekend in Glendale, so to have two really good starts is the biggest positive for me. I know I’m a good starter, so to get that back and do it twice tonight was important to me. It put me in a good position all night. I was third in the heat race, and I was able to get Chase (Sexton) on the last straight away to finish fourth in the main. So it was a good night for me because I charged to the end and stayed strong. We’ll keep working and keep building for Detroit.”
