A multi-time Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship winner and the 2012 West Coast Lites champion, Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) has been chasing the big prize – the 450cc AMA Supercross FIM World Championship – ever since he graduated to the premier class in 2014.
• All the 2020 FIM World champions
Outdoors he has been the man to beat – taking a 250 title in 2013 and hat-trick of 450 titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 – though he had to wait until this season before he could get his hands on the biggest prize in supercross.
From 2015 until 2019, the twenty-eight-year-old finished an agonising second on three occasions, however with COVID-19 forcing a dramatic reshuffle of the final seven rounds, he was the one to hold his nerve and maintain his focus over the much longer schedule.
With its traditional start in early January, the series was already ten rounds in before measures to combat the pandemic came into play. At this point Tomac led Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) by just three points before the series took an unexpected twelve-week break.
Reconvening for the final seven rounds in Salt Lake City, Tomac put on a masterclass of supercross racing. As Roczen’s challenge fell away and defending champion Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) emerged as his main rival, Tomac strung together a run of six podium finishes – including two wins – before sealing the deal with fifth at the final round.
PALMARES
AMA West Coast Lites SX Champion: 2012
AMA 250 National MX Champion: 2013
AMA 450 National MX Champion: 2017, 2018, 2019
AMA Supercross FIM World Champion: 2020