Eli Tomac returned to racing Saturday and placed seventh overall in the 450 Motocross at Budds Creek after missing the first nine races of the series with a thumb injury.
The Cortez racer had been sidelined since the Supercross season.
“Back outdoors, and it feels good,” Tomac said trackside in Mechanicsville, Maryland.
Tomac’s team also announced that he will be racing the full, four-round World Supercross season this year, silencing speculation that he would sit it out.
In the first moto, Hunter Lawrence claimed the hole shot, with Justin Cooper on his heels. As they raced in the first lap, Cooper jumped long, rear-ended Lawrence and crashed. Lawrence briefly went off the track, and yielded his lead to Aaron Plessinger. Christian Craig was third, with Chase Sexton in fourth, Phillip Nicoletti in fifth, and Tomac in sixth.
After dropping to eighth place in Lap 2, Tomac battled into fourth place in Lap 5, behind Lawrence, Plessinger and Sexton. Jason Anderson of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was fifth.
After Sexton overtook Plessinger in Lap 6, Lawrence nearly crashed in a dip in the track, but held on to beat Sexton, who recovered from a crash in a curve.
Plessinger finished third, and Tomac and Anderson rounded out the top five.
In the second moto, Lawrence again claimed the hole shot, with Plessinger in second and Malcolm Stewart in third. Commentators noted that it was Stewart’s first time in the top three all season.
After the first lap, Lawrence led Plessinger and Sexton, and Stewart dropped to fourth. Tomac was in 17th place in the field of 40 riders.
If Sexton were to lose this race, commentators said, his streak of four straight Motocross overall race wins would be broken. If he won, he would have his fifth straight win.
While Lawrence raced with a small lead, Plessinger and Sexton battled back and forth for second place in Laps 6-9. Sexton crashed, allowing Plessinger to pass, but Sexton was up quickly and raced elbow to elbow with Plessinger before reclaiming second place in Lap 9.
Meanwhile, Tomac had climbed from 17th place into 12th.
Sexton passed Lawrence for the lead in Lap 13 and went on to beat Lawrence by 9 seconds in Lap 19. He extended his streak to five overall Motocross wins.
Plessinger was third, and Cooper and Stewart rounded out the top five. Tomac was 11th.
Sexton leads Lawrence by 28 points in the overall standings, 454 to 426, meaning that the Pro Motocross Championship will be determined at the final race Saturday at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Reporter Bailey Duran contributed to this article.
