250SX: A2 Notebook

Eli Tomac is gunning for his third consecutive victory tonight in Anaheim.

Media Release | Posted January 19, 2013 Aurora, IL

GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac (Photo: Honda Powersports)

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 3 of the 2013 Monster Energy Western Regional 250SX Class Championship from Anaheim will air on SPEED on Sunday, January 20th at 1:00pm ET.

In two outings for the Western Regional 250SX Class Championship, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac has been about as close to perfect as he could be. Last weekend in Phoenix, Tomac dominated his Main Event to extend his championship lead. The victory was Tomac’s ninth of his young career and he has his sights set on remaining undefeated heading back to Anaheim.

"You always hope to win by 10 seconds," Tomac said. "That's about as good as it gets in this sport, but you also know there are so many things that can happen. You have to just take it as it comes and ride hard the whole time. You can't worry too much about everyone else. [Phoenix] is the closest place we go on the Supercross tour to my home in Colorado, so to do that with all my friends and family watching is really cool."

After suffering from a hard crash earlier in the day, fellow GEICO Honda rider Zach Osborne bounced back in the 250SX Class Main Event to finish in sixth place.

"Considering the way I felt at 3 o'clock today, I'm really happy to have finished sixth. I took a really hard hit and they gave me a few shots for the pain, but it still hurt quite a bit. I wasn't even sure I could ride the Heat Race. I got a good start in the Main Event that set me up for a decent ride and I just did the best I could.”

Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen was also strong for the second straight weekend, following up his runner-up effort from Anaheim with another second-place effort in Phoenix. The German rider now sits six points behind Tomac in the championship.

After a podium effort at the season opener, Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely was once again in the mix for a spot on the box in Phoenix. Despite another strong ride, Seely was unable to claim a spot on the podium, but still took home a solid fourth-place effort.

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team hasn’t started off the 2013 season the way it was hoping for with its talented three-rider lineup. After getting involved in a pileup on the opening lap of the first race of the season, Blake Baggett suffered a fracture to his wrist and despite giving it a go in Phoenix, will be forced to miss an indefinite amount of time. In his absence, both Martin Davalos and Tyla Rattray gave their best efforts.

Davalos suffered a frightening crash in his Heat Race, but was fortunate to walk away. After transferring through the LCQ, Davalos led a significant portion of the Main Event, eventually posting a season-best third-place finish.

“After my crash last weekend in Phoenix, this week was tough,” said Davalos. “I was very sore, but I’m very lucky to come out with just some scrapes and bruises. I got some riding in towards the end of the week and I’m looking to come out swinging at A2. I led for a while last weekend and felt really comfortable. It should be a good weekend.”

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