Eli Tomac on Saturday won the 450 Supercross at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, for a fourth consecutive win and a commanding lead in the 2022 series standings.
Top contender Jason Anderson crashed after colliding with Justin Barcia in the 11th of 27 laps, and finished sixth.
After a reported review, Barcia received only 20 of the 23 points awarded for a second-place finish, leaving him in a tie with Anderson for second place in the standings. Marvin Musquin was third, and Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb rounded out the top five.
Delayed official results gave Tomac a 51-point lead over Anderson and Barcia, 255 to 204. It was Tomac’s sixth victory of the year, with six races to go in the championship series.
The short, rutted track complicated the race for the front-runners, who began encountering lapped riders in the seventh lap, and favored riders who could navigate the crowded field of 22 competitors.
The race started simply enough.
Barcia won the holeshot, with Anderson, Malcolm Stewart and Tomac in tow.
But as early as the second lap, the race began to look like a three-way run for the finish after Tomac passed Stewart and the three leaders pulled slightly away from the pack.
Tomac immediately closed the gap to Anderson and began his challenge for second place.
Barcia slowed in Lap 8, and Anderson and Tomac pushed to the front, creating a tight three-way race. Anderson drew first blood, passing Barcia in Lap 10, but Barcia and Anderson collided in the next lap, sending Anderson into the dirt. He remounted in seventh place.
Tomac remained in second place, less than a second behind Barcia. Musquin moved into third ahead of Stewart, Sexton and Webb.
As the front-runners settled, Tomac passed Barcia for the lead the lead in Lap 20 and hit the throttle for a three-second lead.
“I was just kind of waiting and sitting and going behind him,” Tomac told Swapmoto Live after the race.
After passing Barcia, Tomac said, he “tried to run away.”
“There’s certain guys where you have to go,” Tomac said.
Barcia talked about the battles during the race, and the pass that led to Anderson’s crash.
“I felt like I had to go for it,” Barcia said. “So, I don’t want to see anyone go down. That’s a bummer for sure.”
Tomac finished third in the second qualifying heat after completing the first of nine laps in fourth place. In the second lap, he passed Webb to tuck in behind Barcia. Barcia passed Malcolm Stewart for the lead in Lap 3, and led the rest of the way.
Anderson won the first heat start to finish. Sexton stormed to the front to finish second after starting in seventh place. Dean Wilson, who started in fourth place, moved up a notch to finish third.
During timed practice runs earlier Saturday, Tomac posted the fastest lap, at 43.041 seconds. Anderson was second, at 43.124 seconds, and Stewart, Sexton and Barcia rounded out the top five.
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship series next goes to Lumen Field in Seattle for the 12th of 17 races this season.
