Eli Tomac second in stormy Thunder Valley Motocross in Colorado

Saturday, Jun 1, 2019 6:17 PM Updated Saturday, Jun. 1, 2019 7:12 PM

Rider from Cortez wins Moto 2 hours after lightning halts race

Eli Tomac sets up to pass Ken Roczen for the lead in Moto 2 at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado.

Jim Bensberg/Courtesy photo

Ken Roczen wins the 450 motorcross at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado, after placing first in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. Eli Tomac of Cortez was second overall after winning Moto 2.

Jim Bensberg/Courtesy photo

Eli Tomac finished second overall Saturday at Thunder Valley after winning Motocross 2 on a muddy track in his home state of Colorado.

The weather in Lakewood, Colorado, gave riders fits early in the day, and lightning ended the first 250 moto in the 11th of 16 laps.

With the second-place finish, Tomac dropped to second in the series standings behind Thunder Valley winner Ken Roczen.

In the first 450 moto, Tomac got off to a stalled start and was 11th after one lap. Roczen passed holeshot winner Zach Osborne for the lead, and Cooper Webb was third.

Tomac worked his way through traffic to reach ninth place before losing a spot when he pulled into the mechanic’s area for a clean set of goggles. Refusing to give up, Tomac again battled back and moved into eighth place after 12 laps, and with two laps to go in Lap 14, he passed Baggett to finish fifth behind Jason Anderson. Roczen finished first and was followed by Zach Osborne and Cooper Webb.

Eli Tomac of Cortez finished fifth in his first moto Saturday at Thunder Valley after making an unplanned stop for clean goggles.

Kawasaki Racing

While Roczen stretched out a four-second lead, Tomac battled with Musquin and Baggett for third. Musquin and Tomac raced side by side in the third lap, but Tomac gained the advantage and went by. He quickly challenged Cooper for second, pulled alongside him in the fourth lap and blew by.

He then set his sights on Roczen.

Tomac chipped away at Roczen’s lead lap by lap, and after making several attempts to pass, went to the lead in the 10th lap. He went on to win by nine seconds.

Earlier Saturday, Tomac was fastest in qualifying rounds with a best lap of 2 minutes, 2.527 seconds. Roczen was second at 2:04.198, and Osborne, Anderson and Musquin rounded out the top five.

On June 15, the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series goes to High Point National Raceway in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, for the fourth of 12 races in the series.