Eli Tomac of Cortez widened his lead in the 450 Class of the AMA Motocross series with a third-place finish Saturday in Southwick, Massachusetts.
In the first moto, Tomac and Marvin Musquin raced side by side through the first turn, although the holeshot was awarded to Musquin. As Musquin raced on an open track, Tomac, Ken Roczen, Zach Osborne and Cooper Webb battled for the podium, resulting in four changes in the No. 2 position. However, Tomac gained control in the eighth lap after passing Osborne and eventually finished second, 9.113 seconds behind Musquin. Osborne, Webb and Fredrik Noren of Sweden rounded out the Top 5.
“I was just kind of slow to start, and then I was just kind of ‘steady Eddie’ the whole time,” Tomac said. “I just didn’t have the intensity that Marvin had there so he got away.”
Looking for more speed in Moto 2, Tomac had to fight through the pack to finish third. After the first lap, he was in eighth place as Webb and Musquin chased Osborne for the lead.
Tomac quickly moved through a crowd, gaining fifth place at the end of four laps and third place after passing Webb in the seventh lap. No one could catch Osborne, who led all 16 laps for an 11-second win over Musquin. Tomac finished third, 19.516 seconds off the lead.
Tomac entered the race at Southwick with the series lead and a six-point advantage over Ken Roczen. After second- and third-place finishes at The Wick 338, he retained the top spot, with 257 points and a 26-point lead over the new runner-up, Musquin, who placed first and second in his two motos. With 12th- and 10th-place finishes, Roczen dropped to third place in the series standings, with 229 points, 28 points off the lead and two points behind Musquin.
Earlier Saturday, Tomac was fourth after two qualifying rounds, with a best time of 2 minutes, 8.722 seconds. Musquin led the way at 2:07.563 and was followed by Jason Anderson and Roczen. “Fast Freddie” Noren was fifth.
Next Saturday, the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross series heads to Buchanan, Michigan, for the seventh of 12 races.