The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is proud to report that Eli Tomac, fresh off a stellar performance at the 2009 AMA Air Nautiques Amateur Motocross Championships presented by AMSOIL, was victorious over top junior motocross riders from around the world in the 125cc FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand, on Aug. 15-16, 2009.
"I think I haven't realized yet that I became a World Champion," Tomac said. "Thanks also to my sponsors, my family, the Townley family, Honda New Zealand,
my mechanic and everybody who helped me to get this result. And also especially the AMA and the AMSOIL/Factory Connection/Honda team for helping me come here to this race with the added costs of international travel."
Tomac faced competition from all over the world, including riders from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands and more.
AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley said that Tomac's triumph demonstrates that the young rider has proven to be a force to reckon with on any motocross track in the world.
"It's a great honor to have Eli Tomac competing and winning the Junior Motocross World
Championship," Bromley said. "We at the AMA are proud of his accomplishment representing the United States and commend him on his great success."
Eli's father, John Tomac, was also proud of his son's accomplishment.
"Wow, what an impressive event that the Taupo track and New Zealand MX put on for this FIM Junior World Championship," Tomac said. "It was great for Eli to represent the United States and bring home the title for American motocross. It was a true test, with tough conditions with rain all week long and some great competition from the Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders and other international riders."
Tomac faced extreme weather conditions all weekend, including excessive cold and rain. Nevertheless, the Cortez, Colo., rider thanked the track promoter for providing a quality course.
"It was nice to compete in New Zealand. Thanks to the organizer for preparing this wonderful track," Tomac said.
While Tomac was takin on the world, his pro teammates in the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team were battling a tough track and heavy rains in Mechanicsville, Md.
The first 250 moto was mostly dry, and rookie sensation Justin Barcia fought his way up on the first lap from a few spots back to grab fourth.
“I’ve been working really hard trying to get my body back in shape, and I had a decent start. But I had to pass a lot of guys on the first lap to catch up to fourth, and then I just rode really smart and smooth,” Barcia said.
Aussie Brett Metcalfe, though, went down in the first turn and was forced to fight his way through the pack from the back.
“They dropped the gate before five seconds, which I think is illegal, so I got caught off guard and got a bad jump, then got cutoff, and then got bunched up down the straight,” Metcalfe said. “I went down pretty hard and rung my bell, and my bike was stuck,.”
However, Metcalfe was able to fight his way back up into the points, finishing 18th and gathering up three hard-earned points. In the second moto, Metcalfe nearly got the hole shot, but then led the entire race, only to lost the lead on what turned out to be the last lap, as the red flag was thrown, marking the end of the race. Under AMA Rules, if the red flag is thrown after the 25-minute mark, the race is called in that order. The strong second moto put Metcalfe sixth overall.
Barcia had a tougher time in the mud, though.
“I’ve been in mud races, but I’ve never seen anything like that before!” Barcia said. “There were rivers going through the track, and you’d be going through a rut and your front end would just dive down into a big hole... It was fun in the beginning, until I lost my goggles...”
After that, though, Barcia was stuck pretty much where he was and finished seventh, which was still good for fourth overall.
Their teammate Blake Wharton had a tough day with falls in both motos knocking him out of points contention both times out.
In the 450cc class, both Kevin Windham and Dan Reardon were back in action, and after
qualifying fourth in the 450cc class, Windham had a really tough time in the opening moto. Coming off the couch, he gated decently but got arm-pump and ended up finishing outside the points on the trick Budds Creek track. Windham opted to sit out moto two.
Similarly, Reardon came back from a shoulder injury suffered at High Point, but although he thought it would be ready to go, a first-turn fall in the first moto aggravated the injury and he didn’t finish the race.
From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads to Southwick, Mass., for round 11 of the AMA Outdoor Nationals at a sand track known as MX338.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
"I think I haven't realized yet that I became a World Champion," Tomac said. "Thanks also to my sponsors, my family, the Townley family, Honda New Zealand,
my mechanic and everybody who helped me to get this result. And also especially the AMA and the AMSOIL/Factory Connection/Honda team for helping me come here to this race with the added costs of international travel."Tomac faced competition from all over the world, including riders from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands and more.
AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley said that Tomac's triumph demonstrates that the young rider has proven to be a force to reckon with on any motocross track in the world.
"It's a great honor to have Eli Tomac competing and winning the Junior Motocross World
Championship," Bromley said. "We at the AMA are proud of his accomplishment representing the United States and commend him on his great success."Eli's father, John Tomac, was also proud of his son's accomplishment.
"Wow, what an impressive event that the Taupo track and New Zealand MX put on for this FIM Junior World Championship," Tomac said. "It was great for Eli to represent the United States and bring home the title for American motocross. It was a true test, with tough conditions with rain all week long and some great competition from the Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders and other international riders."
Tomac faced extreme weather conditions all weekend, including excessive cold and rain. Nevertheless, the Cortez, Colo., rider thanked the track promoter for providing a quality course.
"It was nice to compete in New Zealand. Thanks to the organizer for preparing this wonderful track," Tomac said.
While Tomac was takin on the world, his pro teammates in the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team were battling a tough track and heavy rains in Mechanicsville, Md.
The first 250 moto was mostly dry, and rookie sensation Justin Barcia fought his way up on the first lap from a few spots back to grab fourth.“I’ve been working really hard trying to get my body back in shape, and I had a decent start. But I had to pass a lot of guys on the first lap to catch up to fourth, and then I just rode really smart and smooth,” Barcia said.
Aussie Brett Metcalfe, though, went down in the first turn and was forced to fight his way through the pack from the back.
“They dropped the gate before five seconds, which I think is illegal, so I got caught off guard and got a bad jump, then got cutoff, and then got bunched up down the straight,” Metcalfe said. “I went down pretty hard and rung my bell, and my bike was stuck,.”
However, Metcalfe was able to fight his way back up into the points, finishing 18th and gathering up three hard-earned points. In the second moto, Metcalfe nearly got the hole shot, but then led the entire race, only to lost the lead on what turned out to be the last lap, as the red flag was thrown, marking the end of the race. Under AMA Rules, if the red flag is thrown after the 25-minute mark, the race is called in that order. The strong second moto put Metcalfe sixth overall.
Barcia had a tougher time in the mud, though.
“I’ve been in mud races, but I’ve never seen anything like that before!” Barcia said. “There were rivers going through the track, and you’d be going through a rut and your front end would just dive down into a big hole... It was fun in the beginning, until I lost my goggles...”After that, though, Barcia was stuck pretty much where he was and finished seventh, which was still good for fourth overall.
Their teammate Blake Wharton had a tough day with falls in both motos knocking him out of points contention both times out.
In the 450cc class, both Kevin Windham and Dan Reardon were back in action, and after
qualifying fourth in the 450cc class, Windham had a really tough time in the opening moto. Coming off the couch, he gated decently but got arm-pump and ended up finishing outside the points on the trick Budds Creek track. Windham opted to sit out moto two.Similarly, Reardon came back from a shoulder injury suffered at High Point, but although he thought it would be ready to go, a first-turn fall in the first moto aggravated the injury and he didn’t finish the race.
From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads to Southwick, Mass., for round 11 of the AMA Outdoor Nationals at a sand track known as MX338.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
