2021 Daytona Round 9 Supercross Recap
Eli Tomac became a five-time Daytona Supercross winner and made it clear that he won't back down despite the points gap in his quest to defend his 2020 title.
Tomac, with only one win on the season, just missed the holeshot but quickly checked out on Saturday for Round 9 of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross series at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, FL. Tomac had not been on the podium since Round 5 nor had he won a race since Round 2 putting him in quite the hole to hang on to the #1 plate next year.
The win didn't shave off a lot of his points gap to leader Ken Roczen in the 450 class but Tomac looked much like his defending champion self on a track he always dominates as the season hit the halfway point. Roczen finished fourth losing seven points to Tomac but more importantly he only leads 2019 Champion Cooper Webb by two points.
After three straight wins to dominate the Indianapolis rounds (4-6), Roczen has finished fourth in the last two rounds allowing Webb to eat 14 points off his lead. Webb has finishes of 2-1-1-2 in the last four races and managed a last lap pass on Aaron Plessinger into the second-place spot on Saturday after trailing in third for much of the contest. Tomac's win puts him in a somewhat manageable 24 points back of Roczen and 22 points back of Webb.
The 250 East class had a wild time just getting to the Main as a Heat race was red flagged and the LCQ was red flagged twice. But once the gates finally dropped, Cameron McAdoo got his first career win after working his way from sixth-place to the lead with about five minutes to go which gives him the Red Plate from defending 250 East champion Justin Cooper who finished fourth. Though Cooper drops four points back of McAdoo in the standings, he salvaged points on the day after a rough start in 15th place then after working to 10th with about 11 minutes left a bobble in the sand section sent him off the track just past the tunnel dropping him to 12th.
Rookie Stilez Robertson who finished 18th to open the season two weeks ago in Orlando, led much of the race but hung on for a career best second after McAdoo passed him. Pierce Brown who didn't line up for the opening round while still recovering from a pre-season injury took an impressive third.
Riders head to Texas on Saturday for a three round stint at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Until then, check out the photos below and live Round 9 all again.
2021 Daytona Supercross
