
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
SAN DIEGO — Eli Tomac showcased that when he’s the man to beat, every rider must bring their A-game. It had been a while since Tomac was able to put on a masterclass performance, but he certainly did at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego for his 34th career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory Saturday.
Tomac’s win streak extends to 11 consecutive years as it was his third win in San Diego and the first 450SX victory since St. Louis last March.
The two-time Supercross 450 class champion worked his way towards the front by setting fast laps and putting tremendous pressure on the competition. Especially, when Tomac had passed Ken Roczen for second on Lap 10 with only one guy to pass and that was his Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb.
Three laps later, Webb was double-teamed by Tomac and Jett Lawrence as the former went low to pass Webb entering the final corner to complete the lap. While Tomac took command of the race, the fight was still on behind him as Lawrence made sure he wasn’t going to make his race lead a waltz, it had to be earned.
As the minutes were winding down, so was the opportunity for Lawrence to win. With one lap remaining, Lawrence was within striking distance of Tomac, but it wasn’t meant to be. Tomac bested the defending series champion by 1.518 seconds and will head into Anaheim 2 with a one-point lead over Chase Sexton, who tangled with Aaron Plessinger on the opening lap. Sexton ended up rallying back to finish sixth.
The triumph of Tomac comes a week after he briefly held the lead at Anaheim 1 before crashing just as the crowd were roaring at him leading the race.
“It’s up there on the list for wins. It’s been a while since I’ve won a 20-minute main. I didn’t get one last year, so that’s a big thing for me,” said Tomac. “This was a huge deal and just coming back to prove that I’m at a better position and better shape. Just regrouping from last week, putting myself in that position and then tipping it over on the third turn was so frustrating. It was nice to get it done all the way.”
Like Tomac, Lawerence had a rough opener at Anaheim 1 as he was involved in an incident where he wound up last before Tomac crashed. The defending 450SX champion will return to Anaheim next Saturday with some work to do as he’s currently fifth in points, 10 markers behind Tomac.
“Eli got me at the start, and we went back-and-forth on the first few laps. But then he just caught me back again after the whoops are. He was riding really well,” said Lawerence.
“I picked up on it and took me too long to pick up on it after the mechanics area entering the turn later. Then using the second one and going outside before the triple again. Those little things and after the other big triple, he was race caring that next turn a lot better than I was. I wasted a little time there and get that little bit more where I then had to work my butt off for the rest of the track just trying to get close again.
“That’s what really wrecked my chance to pass on him, but it was a lot of fun. I like racing when it’s clean and both pushing the limit where we’re searching for lines. I felt like I was sick at the start because we were both going almost opposite in-and-out of the berm. It was cool to watch from that standpoint.”
After losing the lead and second place, Webb only mustard up a third-place finish to round out the podium in San Diego. Despite a sign of disappointment of what might’ve been, Webb was still happy with the result as he’s currently fourth in the standings after two rounds.
“Overall, it was a good night. I was able to lead about half the main event which was great, and my start was great,” said Webb. “Obviously, I got passed and kind of dropped. But overall, I’m happy. It’s not easy getting on the podium in this class. So far, we’re off to a very consistent start and getting better each race.
“Overall, (the race) was a lot better. I was happy with it, but it wasn’t my best main event ever, but we’ll take it and get better. The pace was extremely high, and I just didn’t have that, so back to work this week.”
San Diego ended up being an intense 20-minute main event as the riders were trying to navigate around tight corners, a shorter layout and navigating certain jumps. While it added a challenge to the race, the competitors were still able to give it their best and race with strong self-awareness.
A trait Tomac commented about after being laser focused the entire race with little time to relax.
“It’s nice to race with a guy like Jett and most of the 450 guys have good self-awareness because we know it’s going to be tight,” Tomac explained. “Most of us know if we go wheel-to-wheel in the air for a triple, it’s not going to end well. You’re trying to get into that flow, but for me it was full-on for 20 minutes. There wasn’t any time to take a break for myself.”
The 450SX competition will depart from “The Finest City” and make the trip back to Anaheim for A2 action. The third round of the SMX World Championship Series and the indoor stadium season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship kicks off Saturday, January 25. Live coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Cooper Webb is the defending race winner.
2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at San Diego 450SX Main Event Results:
- 3 – Eli Tomac
- 1 – Jett Lawerence
- 2 – Cooper Webb
- 94 – Ken Roczen
- 96 – Hunter Lawrence
- 4 – Chase Sexton
- 27 – Malcolm Stewart
- 51 – Justin Barcia
- 14 – Dylan Ferrandis
- 17 – Joey Savatgy
- 32 – Justin Cooper
- 70 – Jorge Prado
- 21 – Jason Anderson
- 46 – Justin Hill
- 66 – Vince Friese (Holeshot)
- 57 – Benny Bloss
- 12 – Shane McElrath
- 45 – Colt Nichols
- 49 – Mitchell Oldenburg
- 11 – Kyle Chisholm
- 146 – Kevin Moranz
- 7 – Aaron Plessinger (DNF)