2013 AMA Motocross 250cc Class
Eli Tomac’s homecoming was a sweet one as the GEICO Honda rider claimed the title of Saturday’s Rockwell Watches Thunder Valley National.
A native of Cortez, Colo., Tomac followed-up a second-place finish in Moto 1 with a first-place result in Moto 2 to claim the overall top spot.
Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “Winning here is so nice. I feel like I’ve let Colorado down a little bit in the past because I’ve never won this race before so to get the overall today is big for me and for all the fans that were cheering for us.”
Tomac shared the podium with teammate Zach Osborne, who followed up an earlier sixth-place finish with a second-place result in the afternoon. That gave Osborne an overall finish of third. Justin Bogle also rode well, going 13-7 for an overall finish of 10th.
With the win, Tomac closed to within six points of Ken Roczen in the championship standings. Roczen swept both motos of the season-opener a week ago in Sacramento, Calif., and won Saturday’s first moto before finishing third in Moto 2.
Eli Tomac says: “We made up a few points today and when Zach got in between me and Roczen in the second moto that helped us even more so it was a really good day in the standings.
“It was close to getting the sweep. I was right up on Roczen in the final lap (of Moto 1) and I just lost the rear wheel. It would have been really close.
“I had a good start in the second moto. You need to be top three around that first turn to have a good chance and we did that. I got up front and put some sprint laps down to try and build a gap, and that’s exactly what happened. It was trouble-free from there on in.”
Osborne was thrilled to finish the day on the podium, especially because six years of competing in Europe made this event just his second motocross race since 2007.
Zach Osbourne (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “To have a ride like this in just my second outdoor race in such a long time is pretty amazing for me. Catching Ken there at the end of the day was cool also. I gained a lot of confidence this weekend.
“This is a hard race because you’re at altitude and that makes it tougher. It wasn’t that hot but it can still take it out of you. For me, I felt good both motos, and we even got the holeshot in the first race so I’m really happy.”
Bogle had an equipment issue at the start of Moto 1 and started dead-last, but rode strong throughout the race and managed to finish 13th out of 40 riders. A sluggish start in Moto 2 gave him more work to do, but he raced all the way to seventh place by the time he took the checkered flag.
Justin Bogle (GEICO Honda CRF250R Motocross) says: “I passed a lot of people today so I really got in some good practice at finding different lines to get through traffic.
“My helmet was missing an interior piece before the first race and they wouldn’t let me start until we got it fixed. It was a mad scramble there but we finally got it together.
“I didn’t have a great start in the second moto either but I was riding pretty well and got through the field. I probably would have been one or two spots better if the race was 30 seconds longer. We’ll get there.”
Up next is the Built Ford Tough Tennessee Nationals next Saturday at Muddy Creek Raceway.
