ELI TOMAC | GRIT-209 | 450SX

ELI TOMAC | GRIT-209 | SX 450

Hoping to rebound from Tampa, Yamaha's Eli Tomac would be curious to see what the round of Oakland would entail. He'd done all that was necessary to better the motorcycle, with countless members of the industry raving about how splendid the Yamaha 450 was this year. But there was just something that was outlying in his travels around the Floridian circuit that was unusual last week, that the red-plate holder yearned to erase while stationed in California this Saturday. For practice, he would be a contender for the pole position, with the usual players (i.e. Chase Sexton, Jason Anderson, etc) vying for the award as qualifying came to a close. Yet after all of these years, Tomac's knowledge and experience had nullified the urge to constantly be seen as the "alpha" amongst those he was racing against. Where his result at the end of the main event bested all other feats, if it came by way of a gold medal. Nevertheless, he sprinted into action for his heat race where he began fourth, with a plethora of serious contenders just ahead of him. Passing Aaron Plessinger, it was then a challenge between he, Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton; where his momentum couldn't be ignored by the Illinois native. They (Tomac and Sexton) would both pass Webb, with Eli pushing Chase off the desired path with an outpouring of speed prior to beginning lap four! It was at that point, when the field knew that the Tomac of old was here to stay. Eli was unblemished from there on out, and would lead through lap seven en route to an astounding heat race win, which granted him a solid gate choice for the main event that followed. As the gate(s) clashed to the ground for the points-paying endeavor that was otherwise known as the "main event," Tomac would cross the line green flag in second, with Cooper Webb third. It was Chase Sexton who had presented quite the pace at the front of the field, and looked to be the man to beat as laps would amount shortly thereafter. Tomac's stance through both whoop sections would be the defining factor in his ability to pull away from Webb, yet the Honda combatant (i.e. Sexton) wasn't fazed by any sense of speed that the red-plate holder was generating. Time was slowly dwindling, but Sexton looked to be on his way to victory lane...until multiple mistakes, would ultimately toss the number twenty-three to the ground just beside the mechanic's area! Tomac's patience had played into his favor, where the veteran immediately capitalized on what was at stake and took the leading designation. Sexton couldn't rebound in time to amount another charge, and it then appeared as if Tomac had the win in the bag...until a miscalculation on the final circuit would nearly have him crashing into tuff-blocks, just after the first corner! Cooper Webb then closed in, and seemed ready to strike as they approached the checkered flag. But Tomac's reserve of energy would allow him to lunge to the stripe with victory in hand, walking away from California victorious with the points lead intact.

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