Eli Tomac puts on hard charge to win Hangtown opener

The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship got underway on Saturday under clear and sunny skies for the landmark 50th running of the Red Bull Hangtown Motocross Classic at Prairie City SVRA.

In the premier 450 Class, reigning champion Eli Tomac put in an impressive come-from-behind effort to sweep the motos and capture back-to-back opening round victories. It was the 10th win of Tomac’s career.

“It’s awesome (to start with a win), but it wasn’t an easy day at all,” said Tomac. “The second (moto) start was not good at all, but luckily I was able to get to the front quick. I had a little tip over too, but overall I felt really good on my motorcycle. It’s easy to have days like today when you’re that comfortable on the bike.”

In the 250 Class, defending champion Zach Osborne duplicated his efforts from a year ago at Hangtown and picked up right where he left off last season with a dominant sweep of the motos on his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing machine.

“It ended up being a good day.I was super nervous this morning for some reason, but I got more comfortable in practice and then in the motos I was able to make some good passes,” said Osborne. “I actually had two solid starts so it was good to capitalize on those and come away with two moto wins and the overall. My confidence is definitely much higher heading into next weekend.”