Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin started this year’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross series among the favourites for the 450 title and both have posted much-improved results compared to how they began the 2018 championship.
Following the first three rounds last year, Eli (Monster Energy Kawasaki) was all the way back in 13th after sustaining a shoulder injury at the opener but this time around he’s a strong second with solid 3-4-3 finishes.
“The three races have been so different and no-one’s really been ‘the guy’ at every round,” he said after Anaheim 2. “So in a way it’s good and for us we’re way ahead of where we were last year so I’ll keep truckin’ along.
“The past champs have been Mr Consistent throughout the season so you gotta kinda get through these rounds and really set the tone – that’s what the past champs have done. We gained points tonight on the championship so we’re in a good spot.”
In 2018 Eli – who was 43 points behind Jason Anderson after the first three rounds – took eight Main Event wins and a total of 12 podium finishes on his way to third in the series, 38 points adrift of the eventual champion.
After winning the opening round last season, Marvin (Red Bull KTM) also picked up an injury which badly affected his championship chances. Three rounds in he was 11th but fought back to second with four Main Event wins and a total of 12 podiums leaving him just nine points behind Anderson.
Currently sitting fifth in the championship, the Frenchman – who picked up a knee injury in the off-season – is just five points behind Eli and seven behind leader Ken Roczen thanks to his 8-5-3 finishes so far.
“It’s not always been my strongest point on the start but I’ve been very consistent today,” he said at the Anaheim 2 press conference. “This week I only rode a little bit on Monday. I stayed in California and we got a lot of rain but obviously it helped on the knee.
“I tried to work on it the whole week and I felt good getting on the bike compared to last weekend so it was important and that’s what I need – to feel good and not have any pain. It was great racing tonight, I didn’t win any motos but I got second overall, I was consistent and I was able to battle for the lead and for the podium.
“The tracks have been really good. I feel like they really work on getting tracks more technical and longer too which is good – when we race 20 minutes we don’t want to 26 or 27 laps like last year.”
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