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Eli Tomac wins Atlanta SupercrossThe Monster Energy AMA Supercross kicked off a triple header at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a daytime event where Colorado’s Eli Tomac pulled off a dramatic win, his third of the season.

In a heartbreaking loss, Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton lead for over four laps at this round 13 main event before a run-in with a lapped rider cost him the lead with the white flag in sight.

The series points leader, Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb, ran in second early in the race but had to settle for a third place finish when the chequered flag came out.

Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted the Western Regional 250SX class for the first time in 36 250SX regional events in Atlanta, and rookie Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Nate Thrasher dominated the field at Round six of that regional championship’s 2021 nine-round series.

At the first-ever Monster Energy Supercross at the venue, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger grabbed the holeshot and instantly gapped the field. Heavy rains mid-day meant the riders only had one ten-minute session on the track during qualifying before opening ceremonies, but by the main event the skies were clear and the red Georgia clay was in good, but rutted, condition.

Plessinger looked destined to grab his first 450SX Class win as he stretched out more than a five second lead over second-placed Webb. Sexton hovered just out of range of a pass on Webb while Kawasaki man Tomac was just as close behind Sexton.

Ten minutes into the abbreviated 18-minute plus one lap event Sexton flew past Webb in the whoops and set after Plessinger. Less than one minute later, Plessinger fell awkwardly due to a tiny front end washout.

Sexton inherited the lead as Tomac applied the pressure to Webb and got by with just over six minutes left on the race clock. From there the Kawasaki rider reeled Sexton in, getting the gap to under one second when a lapped rider threw off Sexton’s jump rhythm and Tomac flew into the lead. Sexton didn’t battle back, and Tomac brought it home for a win on the track that many saw as very similar to the Daytona track and therefore favouring Tomac’s style.

Coming so close to his first win, Sexton still earned his first 450SX Class podium finish. Surely more disappointed was his team-mate, Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen, who got off to a bad start outside the top fifteen and was never able to make it further forward than ninth. Eventually finishing in that spot, the Honda rider lost seven championship points on Webb but still remains second in the standings.

The second race of Atlanta triple header drops the gate on the final Super Tuesday event of the season on April 13, then wraps up the Atlanta residency on Saturday, April 17.

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450SX Class Results:

  1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
  2. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
  3. Cooper Webb, Newport N.C., KTM
  4. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Husqvarna
  5. Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha
  6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
  7. Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
  8. Joey Savatgy, Clermont, Fla., KTM
  9. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda
  10. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS

 

450SX Class Championship Standings:

  1. Cooper Webb, Newport N.C., KTM (296)
  2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (274)
  3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (260)
  4. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS (227)
  5. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (200)
  6. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha (191)
  7. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Husqvarna (190)
  8. Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha (171)
  9. Joey Savatgy, Clermont, Fla., KTM (153)
  10. Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM (152)

 

Western Regional 250SX Class Results:

  1. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha
  2. Justin Cooper, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha
  3. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki
  4. Seth Hammaker, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
  5. Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda
  6. Mitchell Harrison, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
  7. Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda
  8. Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna
  9. Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS
  10. Cody Schock, Dover, Del., Honda

 

Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings:

  1. Justin Cooper, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (131)
  2. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki (127)
  3. Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda (118)
  4. Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna (108)
  5. Seth Hammaker, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (107)
  6. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (102)
  7. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (82)
  8. Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda (81)
  9. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., GASGAS (78)
  10. Cody Schock, Dover, Del., Honda (70)

 

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