Eli Tomac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eli Tomac |
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Tomac In 2020
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| Nationality |  American |
| Born | November 14, 1992 Cortez, Colorado, US |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
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Eli Tomac (born November 14, 1992) is an American professional Motocross and Supercross racer. He competes in the top-level AMA Supercross and Motocross championships. Eli is known for winning many titles. He has won the AMA 450cc Supercross championship twice and the AMA 450cc Motocross championship four times. He also won the AMA 250cc Supercross West and 250cc AMA Motocross championships.
Eli Tomac is second all-time in 450cc AMA Supercross wins with 53 victories. He is also third all-time in 450cc AMA Motocross wins with 32 victories.
He started his professional career in 2010. He won his very first race as a rookie. Eli made his debut in the 450cc class in 2013. He began racing full-time in this class in 2014.
His first 450cc outdoor win was at the 2014 Spring Creek National. His first 450cc Supercross win happened in 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tomac raced for the Kawasaki factory team from 2016 to 2021. He then joined Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2022 season.
In 2022, Eli won the Daytona Supercross for a record sixth time. He passed Ricky Carmichael, who had five wins. In 2023, Eli won his seventh Daytona Supercross.
He was also part of the winning USA team at the 2022 Motocross Des Nations.
Contents
Eli Tomac's Racing Journey
Early Days and Amateur Racing
As a young rider, Eli Tomac won eight titles at the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Championship. This is a very important event for young motocross riders. He didn't win titles right away. His first win came in 2004.
Eli's amateur titles include:
- 2004 65cc (10–11) Stock
- 2006 85cc (12–13) Modified
- 2007 85cc (14–15) Modified
- 2008 Supermini 1 (12–15)
- 2008 Supermini 2 (14–16)
- 2009 250B Modified
- 2009 Schoolboy 2 (14–16)
In 2009, Tomac also won the 125cc FIM Junior World Championship. This race was held in Taupō, New Zealand.
Racing in the 250cc Class
- 2010-2013
- Geico Honda Team
Eli Tomac made history in 2010. He was the first rider to win his professional debut race. This happened at the 250cc AMA Motocross season opener in California. He was riding for Team Geico Honda.
In 2011, Tomac won two races and finished on the podium six times in the 250cc AMA Supercross series. He finished second in the 250SX West Championship.
The 2012 season was great for Tomac. He won the 250cc Supercross championship. He had five main event wins and seven podium finishes. In the AMA Motocross outdoor series, he finished third overall with four wins.
In 2013, Tomac almost won the Supercross title again. He finished just two points behind Ken Roczen, even though he won five races. He then won the AMA Motocross 250cc title. He had seven overall wins and finished on the podium in every race.
Racing in the 450cc Class
- 2014-2015
- Geico Honda Team
Eli Tomac moved up to the 450cc class full-time in 2014. This was a big step in his career.
His first 450SX Supercross season in 2014 was tough due to injuries. He broke his collarbone, which limited his races. Despite this, he still managed to get three podium finishes.
After missing some early races, Tomac showed his speed in the 450 Class. He quickly earned a second-place finish. He then won his first 450 Class overall victory at the Spring Creek National. He finished fifth overall in the standings that year.
In 2015, Tomac showed a lot of improvement. He won his first 450SX race in Phoenix. He also won in Detroit and East Rutherford, getting three wins in total. He finished second overall in the standings, right behind champion Ryan Dungey.
Tomac started the 2015 Motocross Championship very strong. He won the first five races. However, his season ended early due to a crash. He dislocated his right shoulder and tore a muscle in his left shoulder. This required surgery and a long recovery.
- 2016-2021
- Monster Energy Kawasaki Team
In 2015, Eli Tomac made a big change. He left GEICO Honda to join Monster Energy Kawasaki for the 2016 season. People expected him to be a top contender. His 2016 season had ups and downs. He won one race in Daytona but struggled with being consistent. He finished fourth overall in Supercross. In Motocross, he was fast but finished second behind Ken Roczen.
After six races in the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, Eli was in fourth place. He had mixed results early on. But then, he won six of the next eight races. This put him tied for first place with Ryan Dungey. At round 15, Tomac won his ninth Supercross race of 2017.
Going into the second-to-last race, Tomac had a small lead. However, he made some mistakes and finished eighth. Ryan Dungey won that race and took an eight-point lead. In the final race, Tomac finished second, but Dungey finished fourth. Eli ended up five points short of the championship.
Tomac started the 2017 AMA Motocross Championship season by winning the first race. He won four overall races and finished on the podium in seven of the twelve rounds. He went on to win the 2017 motocross title.
Eli's 2018 Supercross season started with a challenge. A crash in the first race caused a shoulder injury. He missed the next race. But Tomac showed great determination. He won eight main events that season. He had a huge win in St. Louis, leading every lap. However, the early injury meant he finished third overall.
In the 2018 Motocross Championship, Tomac was amazing. He won the first five races. He had eight overall wins and won 15 out of 24 individual races. He won his second straight 450MX title.
In 2019, Tomac won six Supercross main events. These included wins in San Diego, Daytona, and Las Vegas. Despite these wins, he finished second overall in the standings. He was 18 points behind Cooper Webb. In the Motocross Championship, Tomac was very dominant. He won many races and clinched his third straight 450MX title. He became only the fourth rider in history to do this.
For the 2020 season, Tomac was a top favorite. He showed great consistency, finishing on the podium twelve times. His first win was at round 3 in Anaheim. He then had a strong run of results.
By round 10 in Daytona, Eli was tied for points with Ken Roczen. Tomac won his fifth race of the season and his fourth Daytona Supercross. After this, the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the season was finished in Salt Lake City.
In the final seven races, Tomac continued to perform well. He secured his first 450cc class AMA Supercross Championship. He finished the season with 384 points, 25 points ahead of Cooper Webb.
2021 was Eli’s last year with Monster Energy Kawasaki. He struggled to be consistent in Supercross. He won three races and had eight podium finishes. He ended up third in the championship. In Motocross, he had two overall wins and finished second in the standings.
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- 2021-Present
- Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team
In his first season with Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha, Tomac won his second 450SX Supercross title. He won seven main events and was on the podium 11 times. He secured the championship at Round 16 in Denver. He was the first rider to win a Supercross title for Yamaha since 2009. He also won the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award in 2022.
Moving to the outdoor season, Tomac had a close battle with Chase Sexton. After a slow start, he gained momentum and won several races. The championship came down to the final race. Tomac won both races at Fox Raceway II, securing his fourth 450MX title. He was the first person since Ryan Dungey in 2015 to win both the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships in the same year.
After winning both championships in 2022 and the MXON with Team USA, Eli was expected to have another great year in 2023. The 2023 season also introduced the new SuperMotocross World Championship. This combined the Supercross and Motocross championships with new playoff races. Eli first planned to only race Supercross. But he later decided to compete in the entire championship.
For most of the 2023 AMA Supercross season, it was a close three-way battle between Eli, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton. After Webb got injured, the title race was between Eli and Sexton. The championship was decided at the second-to-last race in Denver. Eli had an 18-point lead. However, while leading the main event, Eli crashed. He ruptured his Achilles tendon. This injury forced him out of the race and he lost the championship to Sexton. Eli missed the rest of the 2023 season to recover.
Eli signed again with Star Yamaha for the 2024 SuperMotocross Championship. He trained with his teammate Haiden Deegan. At the start of the 2024 AMA Supercross season, Tomac struggled a bit. This was due to his recovery and getting used to a new Yamaha bike. In the second half of the season, Eli started to show his speed. He had several podium finishes and won round 12 in St. Louis.
Eli missed the first nine races of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross season because of a thumb injury. He returned to racing at Budds Creek, finishing seventh overall. The next weekend, he finished third at Ironman Raceway. This was his second race back in nearly two years.
On August 21, 2024, Tomac announced he had signed with Star Racing Yamaha for the entire 2025 SuperMotocross season.
Motocross of Nations Participation
Eli has raced for Team U.S.A. at the Motocross des Nations five times. This is a big international team race.
In 2013, after winning his 250cc AMA Motocross title, he was chosen for the MX2 position. The race was in Germany. A crash in the first race put him in 16th place. In the second race, Eli finished second after a long battle. Team U.S.A. finished second overall.
In 2014, Eli was chosen for the Open Class position. The race was in Latvia. He struggled in his first race, finishing sixth. After crashing with other riders at the start of the second race, Eli made an amazing comeback to finish third. Team U.S.A. finished third overall.
In 2018, after winning the 450cc AMA Motocross title, Eli became the team captain for the MXGP class. The race was at Red Bud MX in Michigan. Eli finished fourth in the first race on a very muddy track. In the second race, Eli crashed but raced from the back to finish seventh. Team U.S.A. finished fifth overall.
In 2022, after winning both the 450cc AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross titles, Eli was again the team captain for the MXGP class. The race was also at Red Bud MX, and it was muddy again. Eli (racing with number 101) started strong for Team USA, winning the first race. His teammate Justin Cooper finished ninth. Chase Sexton finished second in the second race, and Cooper was fourth. This put Team USA in a great position to win. In the third race, Eli started tenth. He was told that Team USA had enough points to win, so he didn't need to push too hard. He finished sixth, and Team U.S.A. won overall for the first time in 11 years!
In 2024, Eli was chosen to fill in for an injured Chase Sexton in the MXGP class. This was less than two weeks before the event. The race was in Winchester, England. In Saturday's qualifying race, Tomac had a bad start but moved up to seventh place. Team USA qualified tenth for Sunday's races. The next day, Eli started well and moved into second place. He finished second in the first race. In the second race, Tomac got the holeshot (first to the first turn). He finished third. Team USA finished second overall, just behind Australia.
AMA Supercross and Motocross Results
| Year | Rnd 1 |
Rnd 2 |
Rnd 3 |
Rnd 4 |
Rnd 5 |
Rnd 6 |
Rnd 7 |
Rnd 8 |
Rnd 9 |
Rnd 10 |
Rnd 11 |
Rnd 12 |
Rnd 13 |
Rnd 14 |
Rnd 15 |
Rnd 16 |
Rnd 17 |
Average Finish |
Podium Percent |
Place |
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| 2010 250 MX | 1 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.50 | 8% | 6th |
| 2011 250 SX-W | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.33 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2011 250 MX | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | OUT | 13 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.45 | 36% | 4th |
| 2012 250 SX-W | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.90 | 88% | 1st |
| 2012 250 MX | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.75 | 67% | 3rd |
| 2013 250 SX-W | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.00 | 88% | 2nd |
| 2013 250 MX | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.58 | 100% | 1st |
| *2014 450 SX | DNS | OUT | OUT | OUT | 21 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 2 | DNS | OUT | OUT | 6 | 9 | 3 | 2 | DNS | 9.11 | 33% | 13th |
| †2014 450 MX | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 88% | 5th |
| 2015 450 SX | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4.65 | 65% | 2nd |
| ‡2015 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 7 | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | - | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 67% | 14th |
| 2016 450 SX | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5.00 | 29% | 4th |
| 2016 450 MX | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.67 | 83% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 SX | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3.35 | 71% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 MX | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.75 | 58% | 1st |
| 2018 450 SX | DNF | DNS | 1 | 1 | 13 | DNF | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.21 | 86% | 3rd |
| 2018 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 1st |
| 2019 450 SX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.41 | 59% | 2nd |
| 2019 450 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| 2020 450 SX | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2.52 | 71% | 1st |
| §2020 450 MX | 3 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.67 | 56% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 SX | 13 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 4.94 | 47% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 MX | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.58 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2022 450 SX | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | Out | 2.75 | 69% | 1st |
| 2022 450 MX | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| ¶2023 450 SX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | DNF | OUT | 2.73 | 73% | 2nd |
| ~2023 450 MX | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2024 450 SX | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 10 | OUT | 5.25 | 38% | 4th |
| 2024 450 MX | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.00 | 50% | 21st |
| 2025 450 SX | 5 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 17 | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 6.80 | 20% | 16th | |
| 2025 450 MX | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Notes:
- 1) As of 2023, the AMA Motocross Season (MX) has 11 rounds. The AMA Supercross Season (SX) has 17 rounds.
- * Missed Rounds 1,2,3,4,10,11,12 & 17 of 2014 450 SX due to injuries.
- † Missed the first 4 Nationals of 2014 due to injury.
- ‡ Missed the remaining Nationals after Round 3 of the 2015 MX Series due to injury.
- § The 2020 MX season was shortened to 9 Rounds.
- ¶ The 2nd round of the 2023 SX (SMX) series (Oakland, CA) was rescheduled due to flooding. DNF Round 16 (Denver) due to injury (ruptured left Achilles tendon) while leading the main event. Missed final round with injury.
- ~ Missed all 11 rounds of 2023 450 MX due to injury.
Eli's Personal Life
Eli was born and grew up near Cortez, Colorado. His parents are John and Kathy. His dad, John, was a champion mountain bike racer and is now Eli's manager. Eli has one brother, Greg. Eli grew up on his family's ranch and started riding dirt bikes when he was very young. He became a professional racer in 2010.
Eli got married in 2021. He and his wife have a daughter and two sons.
Eli still lives and trains in Cortez, Colorado.
