Eli Tomac wins Minneapolis but Anderson extends lead

Tomac wins Minneapolis but Jason Anderson still extends championship lead

April 16, 2018

Eli Tomac wins Minneapolis triple header

Jason Anderson extends points lead over Musquin to 39-points

Round 14 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross wrapped up the third and final Triple Crown format event, which features three main events deciding the overall winner.

AMA Supercross 2018 - Round 14 - Minneapolis — AMA Supercross 2018 – Round 14 – Minneapolis

As the Minnesota newscast continued to call the blizzard outside “historic”, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac was inside U.S. Bank Stadium making history for Kawasaki and himself as he captured his seventh win of the season and the first-ever overall Triple Crown Championship.

Tomac finished with the lowest overall Olympic-style score in the three-race series ahead of Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson and KTM’s Marvin Musquin to take the overall win.

Main One

Despite the treacherous weather outside, the crowd was on their feet as Tomac shot out of the gate in front of the 22-rider field for the 450SX Main Event 1.

Tomac led all 14 laps to take the first win of the night ahead of Anderson, Barcia and Brayton.

Main Two

The 450SX Main Event 2 was one for the books as the elite 450SX class riders continued to battle by assertively passing one another and swapping positions.

Tomac made an early error, dropping him to eighth before the Kawasaki man gradually made his way up to sixth with eight-minutes left to go.

The intensity was at an all-time high as all of the top players were stacked up and Tomac finally made a move on his KX450F to gain two positions in fourth, where he remained as the clock ran out.

The first rider to get the chequered flag in the second main was Marvin Musquin ahead of Justin Brayton and Weston Peick.

Main Three

As the gate dropped for the third and final race of the night, Tomac battled for the lead early but due to traffic took an outside line while sitting in third and he found himself held up by another competitor’s crash. Tomac only lost one position and avoided an incident of his own, but he did not let that stop him as he quickly retook third to seal the deal and finish 1-4-3 for the overall victory.

The winner of the third main though was championship leader Jason Anderson who lost only three-points to Tomac for the round and actually extened his lead in the AMA Supercross Championship to a handy 39-points over Musquin. Tomac is a further 26-points back in third.

Chad Reed scored his best result of the night in the final main with a ninth place adding to the 12th and 13th scores in the opening two bouts. Reed is currently 15th in the championship points chase.

Tomac has now won as many races as everyone else in the 450SX class combined and secures the overall Triple Crown Championship by winning two of the three superior events.

Eli Tomac – P1 Overall

“We got it done tonight,” said Tomac. “The track was tough and technical but I tried remaining patient and just get it done for all of us. It’s been a long day for the team but we’re out here to win so that’s what we did. It was definitely a great way to finish off the night.”

Jason Anderson – P2 Overall

“This was kind of a crazy day,” said Anderson. “I was able to come away with a second today, despite a small mistake in the second main event. I still extended my points lead so I can’t complain. I’ll try and keep the ball rolling and get some podiums from here on out.”

Marvin Musquin – P3 Overall

“That was a tough one to start the night off with seventh place in the first Main Event. I wasn’t feeling good out there and not riding like myself but we got a lot better for the second Main. I proved that I was better because of the riding – I had a lot more intensity and I was able to get a win on the second one, so that was amazing and good for everybody. Going into the third, I wanted to do the same but unfortunately the start wasn’t there. I was able to make up a lot of ground and come back to second place, which is good. I’m really happy with the riding and getting on the podium considering my first terrible main.”

AMA Supercross 2018 – Round 14 – Minneapolis
450SX Race Results

Eli Tomac (KAW) 1-4-3
Jason Anderson (HUS) 2-6-1
Marvin Musquin (KTM) 7-1-2
Justin Brayton (HON) 4-2-5
Justin Barcia (YAM) 3-7-4
Weston Peick (SUZ) 5-3-11
Tyler Bowers (KAW) 8-8-6
Blake Baggett (KTM) 6-5-12
Christian Craig (HON) 14-10-7
Dean Wilson (HUS) 9-9-13
Benny Bloss (KTM) 10-14-8
Vince Friese (HON) 11-11-10
Chad Reed (HUS) 12-13-9
Malcolm Stewart (SUZ) 15-12-15
Kyle Cunningham (SUZ) 13-15-16
16. Cedric Soubeyras (SUZ) 16-16-14
17. Ben Lamay (HON) 18-17-17
18. Henry Miller (SUZ) 17-18-18
19. Dakota Tedder (KTM) 19-19-20
20. Theodore Pauli (KAW) 21-20-19

450SX Championship Standings (Rnd14 of 17)

Jason Anderson (HUS) , 311
Marvin Musquin (KTM) , 272
Eli Tomac (KAW) , 246
Justin Brayton (HON) , 232
Blake Baggett (KTM) , 224
Weston Peick (SUZ) , 202
Broc Tickle (KTM) , 184
Cooper Webb (YAM) , 181
Dean Wilson (HUS) , 165
Malcolm Stewart (SUZ) , 134
Justin Barcia (YAM) , 131
Vince Friese (HON) , 130
Cole Seely (HON) , 124
Tyler Bowers (KAW) , 123
Chad Reed (HUS) , 122
Ken Roczen (HON) , 102
Benny Bloss (KTM) , 99
Christian Craig (HON) , 87
Kyle Cunningham (SUZ) , 86
Joshua Grant (KAW) , 83

250SX

Honda’s Jeremy Martin was the overall winner in the 250SX class but with second place Zach Osborne extended his points lead to 16-points over KTM’s Jordon Smith in the 250SX East Championship.

Austin Forkner’s night had started well with the win in the opening moto but the Kawasaki rider could not back it up across the final two motos and made some mistakes.

Zach Osborne – P2

“All in all it was a pretty good night,” said Osborne. “I was fastest in all three sessions and came into the night show feeling really good. I got a bad start in the first main event, but turned it around in the second main event with a win. I got off to a good start in the last main event, went back to fourth, then had to work my way up. I gained some points, and I’m really happy with the way I’m riding.”