Eli Tomac, coming off back-to-back victories in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, placed third Saturday in Atlanta.
Tomac finished fifth, third and second in Atlanta’s triple crown to stand on the podium along with overall winner Jason Anderson and runner-up Marvin Musquin.
After two races in the triple crown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Tomac was on the bubble for a Top 3 finish, trailing Anderson, Blake Baggett and Justin Brayton.
But in the final race, the Kawasaki ace from Cortez, Colorado, poured on the speed, charging from sixth place to challenge leader Musquin in the final 10 laps of the race.
Tomac raced into contention by passing Cooper Webb in the fifth lap and Anderson in the ninth lap. He then began to reel in Musquin, coming about 2 seconds from the leader before easing off for a safe second-place finish.
Webb was a distant third, about 14 seconds behind Tomac.
Anderson, who placed second in Race 1 and first in Race 2, was assured the overall victory with his fourth-place finish.
Tomac gains momentumAnderson led Race 2 all the way.
He and Webb tucked underneath Blake Baggett at the first turn. Tomac followed them into third, which left Baggett in fourth.
Tomac stayed about 2 seconds off the lead for most of the race, and eased up in the final two laps. He finished 3.822 seconds off the lead, and was followed by Baggett, who was 5.673 seconds behind him.
Tomac starts slowBrayton of Honda won Race 1, holding off the hard-charging series leader, Anderson of Husqvarna, and Baggett of KTM. Musquin was fourth, followed by Tomac.
Tomac finished 8.156 seconds off the lead and 4.279 seconds behind Musquin in a tight race in which the top five riders were within two seconds of the lead during the hotly contested ninth and 10th laps.
Tomac raced into contention for the podium by climbing back from ninth place after the first lap. He got past KTM riders Broc Tickle and Musquin in the second lap, Suzuki’s Weston Peick in the third and Husqvarna’s Chad Reed in the fourth. Musquin overtook Tomac in the 11th lap, and Tomac settled into fifth place for the final two laps.
Again on Saturday, Tomac showed he was capable of fast laps. He was third-fastest in qualifying rounds, second-fastest in Race 1, and fastest in races 2 and 3.
Saturday’s race at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the series’ second triple crown event, composed of three races beginning at 5:31 p.m. Mountain time. Since the debut of the triple crown format, race officials have added 2 minutes to each race, shortened the time between races, and added a sighting lap between them so riders can check the condition of the track.
Where Tomac standsTomac has been on the podium in his past three races –Atlanta, Dallas and Tampa.
With his third-place showing in Atlanta, Tomac moved into fifth place with 137 points.
Anderson is in front with 207 points; Musquin’s in second with 165 points; Baggett’s in third with 150; and Brayton’s in fourth with 144.
Next Saturday, the Supercross series moves to Daytona, Florida, for the 10th of 17 races.