This was slightly different. Eli Tomac has been darned fast so far in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, easily the biggest threat to take moto and overall wins away from Jett Lawrence. After all, he’s the only rider besides Jett that actually does have moto wins so far! With Southwick being, as Tomac said on Friday, his favorite track of the year, there was reason to get exited over the prospects of a Tomac victory.

Not this time. The Lawrence brothers of Jett and Hunter were simply too good en route to their 1-2 finish, which included Hunter getting the better of Eli with a pass for second in the second moto. Tomac could only sum it up by giving them credit.

“Well, they were just good today,” he said. “So, yeah, it was tough out there. Like I said, they rode really well on this track. Of course, I love this place, too. I tried to have as much fun as I could, but of course Southwick, it's a gnarly track to race on. And yeah, just didn't quite have that pace, and that's all I can really say.”

Tomac is never much for excuses, and there weren’t any here.

“Got beat, try to get better next time.”

Tomac spent much of moto one trying to get around fast-starting Jorge Prado. Prado, known in MXGP circles for being difficult to pass, certainly didn’t make it easy on Tomac.

“Yeah, Jorge was running a good pace and honestly, I was just eating his roost,” Tomac said. “I swear he was roosting me over the backside of the singles like better than anyone…like on purpose! It was just destroying my goggles and it was getting pretty frustrating in the first moto. I actually just kind of backed off cause I was trying to figure out where I could maybe pass him, but he was just launching the roost today, that's for sure.”

Tomac started better in the second moto, making a quick pass on Hunter Lawrence to get into third, with Prado again just ahead of him. Anticipation for Prado and Tomac running with Jett at the front was high, but it didn’t matter. Jett pulled away. Then Hunter attacked Eli!

“I just thought he was doing some things a little more open than what I was, I guess,” said Tomac of the pass from Hunter Lawrence. “That's kind of where he set up that pass on me in that left hander as he was able to come from the outside and make a good square move. So I, I tried to do what I could, but overall I just couldn't quite stick to his wheel after that, which which was frustrating, but, uh, hey, what do you do? Just try to improve next time.”

Tomac is still enjoying his time at the races. But enjoyment is closely intertwined with results. At High Point and Hangtown he could be frustrated over having the speed to win but not quite executing. Southwick’s story was a little different.

“It’s okay, I'm still getting podiums, but I expect to be closer to winning,” he says. “In my mind, I still want to try to be getting or trying to win, and get wins, so of course I'm not going happy. I’m going home not super stoked, so, yeah, I wanna try to get better.”

His team sees it the same way.

“Eli getting an overall podium was good, but he wants to get back on that top step of the podium, so we will keep working and do whatever it takes to get him there,” said Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team manager Rich Simmons.

Tomac has already accomplished all there is to accomplish in the sport, and that’s taken the pressure to “must win” away. But part of the reason he’s still so good at an advanced age, in motocross terms, is because he’s not settling for good finishes. He still wants to win, and still believes he can. That’s what keeps him grinding between the races.

“Of course things change when you achieve certain goals and accomplishments,” said Tomac. “But, I think I've lasted this long because I still wanted to try to win and continue to try to get better.”

Main image by Mitch Kendra