Last August, veteran Monster Energy Yamaha Star racer Eli Tomac spoke about deciding to stay on and hang around for another year in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
“I’m really happy on how long I’ve made it,” said Tomac of what will be his 15th racing season come the drop of the gate at California’s Angel Stadium this Saturday evening. “To be honest, I didn’t see myself doing it past 30 years old. You’ve got to do what you love doing. I’ve always told myself that if I’m competitive, then I was going to keep going. It’s a little bit scary how fast 15 years goes by, but overall it has been a fantastic journey.”
Now at age 31 and putting the finishing touches on his preparations for the 2025 season, Tomac says that walking into Angel Stadium still feels special.
“Anaheim, it creeps up on you,” he said. “That’s just the way it is, but it’s awesome. There is nothing better than going racing, so I’m looking forward to it all. I can’t wait for it. I did some of those off-season races and had a great time doing that and then now all of a sudden, we are here at Anaheim 1. Man, it’s crazy how fast it comes around. It’s like, ‘Man, where did the time go?’ It’s been a great time doing it. I don’t know… I’ve just been healthy lately and I’ve just been having a blast doing it, so I want to keep my head on straight and continue strong.”
Having won the very first AMA Pro Racing event he competed in – the 2010 Hangtown National – Tomac is still focused on what lies ahead.
“It’s just the love of racing. Basically, I’m not over it yet,” he said. “I still enjoy it. I still have the passion for it and the burn for trying to better myself and just competing against all of the guys out there. Really, that’s all it comes down to is believing in yourself, that you can still be competitive to try and win a race.
“Last year, of course I wanted more than one win. And it was just okay. It’s hard to really say what I should have done. Coming off of a injury like that [ED: Tomac injured his thumb at Denver in May] was probably tougher than I expected, or what I even thought it was going to be. And it as one of those things where you think you’re 100 percent, or almost fully healed, but in all reality you’re not until you actually get basically a year down the road. That’s what I realized. Once I was a full year down the road from that injury, it was like, ‘Oh wow, that last couple of percent really matters.’ And those things matter when you get to this level.
“I guess we’re going to find out if that’s the truth, but that’s what I’m telling myself right now. Maybe my preparation time was short and that affected some of my results and maybe kept me from getting more wins. That was part of it, in my opinion. You need to stay focused. And if you’re off a tick with your health it just shows. It’s amazing when you do injure something, you don’t realize how much that little piece affects you, but it does. There is so much going on in trying to manhandle that motorcycle and basically just taming the beast. It is so critical to be healthy in this sport.
Can he make a run at a third supercross title?
“I think I can,” he said. “I’m definitely going to be in the mix. Of course the number one guy is Jett Lawrence, you know? He’s the defending champion, so that’s the guy we have to beat. We need to just better ourselves. Of course he’s the man to beat, and then we have all the other riders that are always there. Yeah, Jett is the man right now and we need to try to do our best to defeat him.”
Tomac feels fortified with the might of Star Yamaha behind him leading into what will be his fourth season with the organization.
“It has been a great run with these guys,” he said. “We’re already going on year number four. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten hurt the past two seasons for motocross. However, 2022 was lights-out amazing. We should have, would have could have won supercross in 2023. We’ve had so many great races and seasons and we’ve just had a good run. Looking forward to 2025 with Monster Energy Star Yamaha.”
2025 will mark Tomac’s final season as a professional supercross competitor. That being the case, will the veteran be taking it all in as the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship barnstorms the country?
“Yep. I will be doing that,” he said. “It’s crazy to say, but yeah, this is the last one. Man, crazy. I’m going to leave it all on the track, that’s for sure. I’m going to leave it all out there on the track and enjoy every moment along the way.”