Eli Tomac made it five straight then the unthinkable happened and the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series just got even more interesting.
Tomac who had won the previous two rounds by no less than dominating and looked to make it three straight and really take control in the point standings hit the dirt nearly halfway through Moto 2 on Saturday at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, CO and it was a miracle he even walked away from the crash.
The result? A dislocated shoulder, no points for Moto 2 and no more red plate. For now.
On a track that resembled more off-road then Motocross, Tomac's rear tire came out to the left of him like he was power sliding in dirt track, for maybe a split second, as he approached Turn 18 and it got ugly real fast. Tomac slammed to the ground with his arm stretched as his bike went to the right. Somehow he walked off the track under his own power and later got his shoulder popped back in but his status for Round 4 is unclear. Check out the crash below:
As always seems the case, everyone is tight-lipped though an "official" announcement should come across the wire shortly. But thanks to Instagram we can quote Tomac:
"These types of crashes always leave me scratching my head on how or why it happened. It's the unexpected ones that get you," said Tomac, who has never dealt with a dislocation injury. "Hoping to have an answer by the end of (Monday). I will come back as soon, but also as safely as I can. Just a waiting game on how fast these sore/smashed muscles agree to heal up."
Tomac won the first Moto by almost 15 seconds ahead of Ryan Dungey the current points leader who really got some good luck thrown at him after last week's engine stalls prevented him from winning Moto 1 in Glen Helen.
Tomac's crash allowed defending Champion Ken Roczen to assume the lead but then he crashed not once but twice, the last time with just two laps remaining. Bad fortune turned into good future for Dungey who easily got his first Moto win of the season and first overall. Roczen held on for second after the crashes and took second overall. Blake Baggett got his first podium in the 450 class and took third after a (4-3) day. Tomac ended with a seventh overall.
"Eli had definitely set the tone this year so far," said Dungey who won for the fourth time at Thunder Valley, the most of any rider. "I hate to see him go down like that. I hope he's okay. He's going at a good pace right now, and the faster you go, the more that stuff sneaks up on you."
Dungey gets the red plate for Round 4 in Tennessee on Saturday as he now leads Tomac by three points for the Championship. Baggett's day moves him into third-place thanks to an off-day by Weston Peick who dropped three spots to six-place. Roczen, who started the year with question marks on whether he'd even race thanks to a stress fracture in his back is now in fourth-place.
A crash in practice ended Tommy Hahn's day early
In the MotoSport class, Tommy Hahn cartwheeled in practice resulting in a sore wrist and back but seemed OK to race. After about 20 minutes into Moto 1 he felt dizzy and came back into the pits. Guy Cooper, team manager for MotoSport.com/GPI/Honda Racing, said he "rang his bell" during the crash a bit so they made the call and kept him out of racing for the rest of the day.
In the 250 class, Jeremy Martin showed he's still the rider to beat after last week's engine malfunction kept him from starting on time in Moto 1 and a crash in Moto 2 sent him to the back of the pack though he still managed a seventh overall. This time around he grabbed both MotoSport.com Holeshot Awards and swept the day taking back the points lead from Marvin Musquin who crashed in Moto 1 but managed a seventh overall thanks to a second-place showing in Moto 2.
Rounding out the podium was Zach Osborne who took a career-best second and Adam Cianciarulo got his first overall podium taking third. Alex Martin, Jeremy's brother, who started the day in third-place dropped to sixth after a rough 21st overall on the day.
Kyle Peters is faring well against some strong competition
In the MotoSport class, Kyle Peters took 11th overall after finishing 11th in Moto 1 and 12th in Moto 2.
"Kyle rode real well," Cooper said. "He got a good start in Moto 1 but everyone else who is fast got a good start so it's tough. He made a couple of wobbles that he'd like to redo."
In Moto 2 he fell with a couple of other riders at the start and regrouped in 36th place, passed 10 riders in the first lap and ultimately placed 12th.
"It was a fantastic finish from where he started," Cooper said. "We're really happy with him."
Justin Starling joins the MotoSport team this weekend in the 250 class filling in for the injured Colt Nichols.
Motocross Round 4 starts 12 p.m. (EST) on Saturday at Muddy Creek in Tennessee. Buy tickets online or check out the TV schedule.
2015 Thunder Valley Motocross Results
Thunder Valley 450 Class Results
- Ryan Dungey (2-1)
- Ken Roczen (3-2)
- Blake Baggett (4-3)
- Broc Tickle (5-5)
- Cole Seely (8-4)
- Justin Barcia (7-6)
- Eli Tomac (1-33)
- Christophe Pourcel (11-7)
- Phil Nicoletti (10-9)
- Justin Brayton (9-10)
Thunder Valley 250 Class Results
- Jeremy Martin (1-1)
- Zach Osborne (2-3)
- Adam Cianciarulo (5-4)
- Jessy Nelson (3-7)
- Christian Craig (4-6)
- Jordon Smith (6-5)
- Marvin Musquin (14-2)
- RJ Hampshire (9-10)
- Aaron Plessinger (13-8)
- Shane McElrath (12-9)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ryan Dungey (128)
- Eli Tomac (125)
- Blake Baggett (99)
- Ken Roczen (93)
- Justin Barcia (87)
- Weston Peick (79)
- Broc Tickle (75)
- Jason Anderson (72)
- Christophe Pourcel (72)
- Phil Nicoletti (62)
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (128)
- Marvin Musquin (126)
- Jessy Nelson (80)
- Adam Cianciarulo (76)
- Joey Savatgy (72)
- Alex Martin (68)
- Zach Osborne (67)
- Shane McElrath (65)
- Matt Bisceglia (64)
- Chris Alldredge (62)
