By Kawasaki. Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac took the overall win in the Monster Cup at Las Vegas on Saturday night. As the gate dropped for the opener, Tomac pushed his way into third as he crossed the holeshot stripe. One lap later Tomac accelerated out of Turn 1 on the back wheel, took the faster line through the rhythm section and claimed second place. He quickly opened a gap on third and settled into second where he would take the chequered flag.
As the second moto began, the No. 3 of Tomac led the field down from the top of the stadium and into Turn 1, but crossing the line in third. Tomac wasted no time pushing his way into second and was focused on the leader. With four laps to go, Tomac was able to capitalize on a mistake by the leader and take over first place. Tomac fulfilled his once per race obligation to the Joker Lane with two laps to go and cruised home to a win in the second Main Event.
The start of the third and final moto saw Tomac’s lowest score put him in a prime position to claim the overall, until he rounded the first turn in 11th. By the start of the second lap, Tomac had moved into 10th and continued to focus on moving to the front. One lap later he had raced up into seventh and quickly followed that up with a pass for sixth. At the halfway mark, Tomac continued to battle for position, racing the No. 3 KX450F into the top five and back into the contention for the Monster Energy Cup crown. With four laps remaining Tomac made the pass for fourth and immediately followed it up with a pass for third. On the penultimate lap Tomac moved into the lead but had not yet taken the Joker Lane. On the final lap of the race he entered the Joker Lane and upon exit was back into a heated battle for second. The battle relegated Tomac to fourth, which would be good enough to take the 2016 Monster Energy Cup Championship!
“It was a pretty typical Monster Energy Cup, filled with excitement,” said Tomac. “In the third moto especially, I was buried on the start and really had my work cut out for me. I couldn’t tell who was ahead of me at times, I knew was in a great spot to win but had to keep track of my competitors. On the last couple laps I had to put my head down and go to battle. I made it up to where I needed to be, got the job done and took the win!”