Eli Tomac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eli Tomac |
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| Nationality |  American |
| Born | November 14, 1992 Cortez, Colorado, US |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
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| Championships |
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Elijah Phillip Calvin Tomac (born November 14, 1992) is an American professional Motocross and Supercross racer competing in the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships; a two-time 450cc AMA Supercross Champion, a four-time 450cc AMA Motocross Champion, a one-time 250cc AMA Supercross & AMA Motocross Champion. He is second all-time in 450cc AMA Supercross wins with 52, and third all-time in 450cc AMA Motocross wins with 32.
Tomac began his professional career in 2010, winning his first race in his rookie debut. He made his 450cc debut part way into the 2013 Supercross schedule, and moved to the class full-time in 2014.
He won his first outdoor 450cc event at the 2014 Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota, US. His first 450cc Supercross win came in 2015 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tomac was part of the Kawasaki factory racing team from 2016 to 2021. He joined Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2022 season.
In 2022 Tomac won a record setting sixth Daytona Supercross, passing previous record holder Ricky Carmichael with five. In 2023 Eli won his 7th Daytona Supercross.
Contents
Amateur career
As an amateur Tomac won eight Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Championship titles. He didn't win titles right away or through his first five years (from 1999 through 2003). His first title came in 2004. Tomac's amateur titles are as follows:
- 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 won the 125cc FIM Junior World Championship, held in Taupo, New Zealand.
250cc career
2010
In 2010, Eli Tomac became the first rider in the history of the sport to win his professional debut, winning the 250cc AMA 2010 Hangtown Motocross season opener in Rancho Cordova, California. At that time he was riding for Team Geico Honda.
2011
For 2011, Eli ended the 250cc Supercross season with two wins and six podium finishes. Finishing 2nd To Broc Tickle by 6 points in the 250SX West Championship.
2012
For 2012, Eli won the 250cc Supercross championship with seven podium finishes and five 1st place main event wins. He finished 3rd in outdoors with 4 overall wins.
2013
For 2013, Eli narrowly missed out on defending his title, finishing 2 points behind Ken Roczen in the 250cc Supercross championship with five wins. He won the AMA Motocross 250cc title with 7 overall wins and 12 out of 12 podium finishes.
450cc career
2015 season
Despite injuries in 2014 & 2015, Eli finished second to Ryan Dungey in the 450cc Supercross championship with eleven podium finishes. He started the outdoor motocross season with two overall wins, two overall podiums with five straight moto wins before being sidelined by an injury.
2017 season
- Supercross
After six rounds of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, Eli was in fourth place in the 450 class overall point standings. His mixed results (5th, 6th, 8th, 1st, 1st, 15th) put him 29 points behind supercross points leader Ryan Dungey. Following round 6, Tomac won 6 of the next 8 races and was tied for 1st place in the point standings with Dungey. At round 15 in Salt Lake City, UT, Tomac put forth a dominating effort to win his 9th supercross main event in 2017. Going into the penultimate round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in East Rutherford, NJ, Tomac held a 3-point lead over Dungey. However, in the main event, a series of mistakes led him to finish in 8th place. Ryan Dungey would go on to win the race and take an eight point advantage over Tomac with one round remaining. At the final round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Las Vegas, NV, Tomac finished 2nd and Dungey placed 4th. Eli was unable to close the points gap, coming up 5 points short of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship.
- Motocross
Tomac began the 2017 AMA Motocross Championship season by winning the opening round. Throughout the series, Tomac would win 4 overalls and finish on the podium at 7 of the 12 rounds. He would go on to win the 2017 motocross title scoring a total of 470 points. Marvin Musquin finished second with 453 points and Blake Baggett finished third overall with 451 points.
2020 season
- Supercross
Coming into the 2020 season, Tomac was once again picked as a favourite for the 450cc championship. He showcased a newfound consistency this year in which he finished on the podium twelve times as well as a worst finish of 7th, which came at the opening round.
His first win came at round 3 in Anaheim, California. From then until round nine in Atlanta, Georgia. Tomac would finish 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 1st, 4th. Coming into the tenth round at Daytona, Eli found himself tied on points alongside Ken Roczen with 200. Tomac would win his fifth race of the season as well as his fourth Daytona Supercross. Following his win on March 7, the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Shortly after, Feld Motor Sports announced the season would finish in four weeks with seven rounds in Salt Lake City, with Sunday and Wednesday rounds only and the first race being contested on May 31.
Tomac would show a new level of consistency, speed and composure in the last seven rounds with him finishing 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd & 5th. This was more than enough to grant him his first 450cc class AMA Supercross Championship. He ended the season with 384 points, 25 ahead of Cooper Webb on 359, and 30 clear of Ken Roczen with 354.
2021 season
- Supercross
2021 was Eli’s contract year at Monster Energy Kawasaki. Tomac struggled to find consistency in his results for the season. Coming in as the defending champion, he managed to win three races as well as 8 podiums on his way to a 3rd place finish in the championship.
- Motocross
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Tomac began the national’s by placing 9th, 10th and 3rd in the opening rounds. He ended the season with two overall wins and a distant 2nd place finish in the point standings.
2022 season
- Supercross
At the 16th round of the 2022 AMA Supercross Championship in Denver, Eli clinched the 450cc title over runner-up, Jason Anderson. Although he got 5th, he only needed to secure a 14th or better to win the championship at his hometown race. This is now his 2nd 450cc title in Supercross, and his first ever year on the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. He was subsequently awarded the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award at the 2022 ESPY Awards.
- Motocross
Tomac won his first AMA Motocross race of 2022 at round 4, High Point. He would then place 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd & 2nd. He battled Chase Sexton until the final round where he held a 1 point lead going into the first moto at Fox Raceway II. Eli went 1–1 and secured his 4th 450cc Motocross title as well as being the first person since Ryan Dungey in 2015, to win both the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships in the same year.
2023 season
- Supercross
Fresh off from winning both the 2022 Supercross and Motocross championships as well as the MXON with team USA, Eli was a strong favourite for a repeat of the previous year. 2023 would also be the inaugural year for the new SuperMotocross World Championship, in which the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships would be combined along with three hybrid "SuperMotocross" playoff rounds. Eli initially signed on only to compete in the supercross portion of the championship, but later signed on with Star Yamaha to compete for the entire championship.
For a majority of the 2023 AMA Supercross season, the championship would be a tight three-way battle between Eli, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton. After Webb dropped out of the supercross season due to injury at round 15, the championship would once again come down to Eli and Sexton. The title came down to the penultimate round in Denver. Eli entered Denver holding an 18 point lead over Sexton. However, while leading the main event Eli overshot a jump that led to a hard landing in which he managed to stay on his bike. The force of the landing ruptured his Achilles tendon, dropping Eli out of the race and ultimately ceding the championship to Sexton. Eli would later sit out the 2023 Outdoor season and the SuperMotocross playoff rounds to recover from his injury.
2024 season
Eli re-upped with Star Yamaha for the 2024 SuperMotocross Championship, signing to compete for the entire season. He would train with 250 rider/teammate at Star, Haiden Deegan at the Tomac Ranch and began training in the fall of 2023.
- Supercross
Coming into the 2024 AMA Supercross season, Tomac was picked as one of the main contenders for the 450cc title despite still recovering from his Achilles tear. Eli struggled for consistency early in the season as he both continued with his recovery and adapted to an all new MXGP inspired Yamaha bike. In the second half of the supercross season Eli began to show pace and consistency, with several podium finishes and a win at round 12 in St. Louis.
- Motocross
Eli was forced to miss the opening rounds of the 2024 Outdoor season due to a thumb injury.
Motocross of Nations participation
Eli has participated as part of Team U.S.A at the Motocross des Nations on four occasions.
2013
In 2013 fresh off of his Outdoor Motocross 250cc title he was chosen for the MX2 position. The race was held in Teutschenthal, Germany. A crash in the first Moto relegated him to 16th. In Moto 2 Eli finished 2nd after a race long battle with Ken Roczen. Team U.S.A. placed 2nd overall.
2014
In 2014 Eli was chosen to fill the Open Class position. The race was held in Kegums, Latvia. He struggle to a 6th place finish in his first Moto. After crashing with other riders at the start of the 2nd Moto, Eli put on a charge racing all the way up to a 3rd place finish. Team U.S.A placed 3rd overall.
2018
In 2018, after winning the 450cc AMA Motocross title, Eli accepted the team captain position in the MXGP class. The race was held at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, MI. Eli raced to a 4th place in Moto 1 on a rain soaked, muddy track. In Moto 2 Eli crashed but was able to race from the back of the pack to a 7th place finish. Team U.S.A placed 5th overall.
2022
In 2022, after winning both the 450cc AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross titles, Eli accepted the team captain position in the MXGP class once again. The race as in 2018 was also held at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, MI and started out with a déjà vu feel as it had rained heavily the night before leaving the track soaked and muddy. Eli (racing with number 101) set the tone for Team USA by racing to an overall Win in Moto 1 with his MX2 teammate Justin Cooper (motorcyclist) taking a 9th. Chase Sexton finished 2nd in Moto 2 with Justin Cooper scoring a 4th place leaving Team USA in the drivers seat for the overall win. In Moto 3 Eli started 10th but advised through his pit boards that Chase was in 3rd and it wasn’t needed for him to race with urgency as they had enough points to win. He finished in 6th place and Team U.S.A took the overall win for the first time in 11 years.
AMA Supercross/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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Notes:
- 1) As of 2023, the AMA Motocross Season (MX) is 11 rounds, The AMA Supercross Season (SX) is 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 to take place after the 6th round due to flooding; but is still classified as the 2nd round. DNF Round 16 (Denver) due to injury, ruptured left achilles while leading the main event. Missed final round with injury.
- ~ Missed all 11 rounds of 2023 450 MX due to injury.
Personal life
Tomac is the younger of two sons of former competitive BMX, road cycling and mountain bike racing champion John Tomac and wife Kathy.
Eli was born and raised outside of Cortez, CO to parents John and Kathy. John is a former mountain bike racing champion and is Eli's manager. Eli has one brother, Greg. Eli grew up on his family's ranch and rode a dirt bike from a young age. He rose up through the amateur ranks and turned pro in 2010. He and longtime girlfriend Jessica Steiner welcomed daughter Lev Loe in 2020 and son Noah in 2021. Eli and Jessica married in 2021. They welcomed another son, Luca is 2023. Eli continues to live and train in Cortez.
