On Saturday, Eli Tomac and his team officially announced that Tomac will extend his contract with Star Racing Yamaha to compete in the 2024 Motocross season, including the three-round SuperMotocross at the end of the season.
“We can officially announce that we are in for the full SMX season,” Tomac said in an article written by Cycle News. “It really came down to wanting to continue what we have going on. I’ve been feeling great on the motorcycle. We’re getting into our groove, and I feel like we’re going to be really strong in Pro Motocross and for the SMX series. I’m excited to keep racing.”
His team at Star Racing Yamaha confirmed the report.
“Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing is pleased to announce that Eli Tomac will line up for the upcoming Pro Motocross season and race the entire 2024 SuperMotocross World Series. The two-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX and four-time Pro Motocross 450MX Champion is excited to build off a strong supercross season to make a run at his fifth premier class title outdoors.”
The announcement came the day as the Supercross race in Denver where Tomac was sidelined after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in the 450 main event last year.
In Heat 1, Tomac raced Malcolm Stewart, Hunter Lawrence, Cooper Webb and Dylan Ferrandis among others.
Hunter Lawrence claimed the hole shot while an injured Webb raced right next to him on the inside of the track. Ferrandis went down on the first turn.
Stewart ended up placing third behind Webb and Hunter Lawrence, with commentators noting that Stewart, like Tomac, is recovering from an injury. Last year, Stewart underwent a knee surgery. He clocked the second-fastest lap time in the qualifying rounds, according to announcers.
In Heat 2, Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Jason Anderson, Justin Cooper, Justin Barcia and Vince Friese battled.
Friese and Jett Lawrence both fought for the hole shot, with Jett Lawrence claiming it. Barcia stayed right on Friese’s tail, while Sexton remained close behind in fourth place.
Sexton moved to second place, four seconds behind Jett Lawrence with only a few minutes left in the race.
Jett Lawrence claimed his seventh heat race victory of the year, with Sexton in second and Anderson close behind in third.
In the 450 main event, Jett and Hunter Lawrence blasted out of the gate, with Hunter Lawrence surprising the crowd and commentators by claiming the hole shot over his brother and overall points leader.
Sexton wrecked going around the slippery first corner, while Cooper maintained his pressure on the brothers. Tomac passed Cooper for third before crashing and losing four positions after losing his grip on the bike.
Sexton moved from last to third place, while Tomac fell to ninth place.
Around the 10-minute mark, Jett Lawrence passed his brother for first place.
Though Jett Lawrence nearly lost control of the bike in the whoops, he managed to hold on for the win. Jett Lawrence’s first-place finish marked the seventh different winner in Denver, something the announcers said has only happened twice in the history of Supercross.
It was the first time that brothers finished one-two in a Supercross race.
Anderson placed third, and Barcia fourth. The injured Webb placed fifth, and Tomac was 10th.
With Webb’s fifth-place finish, he pushed the overall points championship decision to the final race in Salt Lake City. Tomac sits in third place for overall points.
The final race of the 2024 Supercross season will take place in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
| 1. Jett Lawrence | Honda | 351 |
| 2. Cooper Webb | Yamaha | 336 |
| 3. Chase Sexton | KTM | 307 |
| 4. Eli Tomac | Yamaha | 282 |
| 5. Jason Anderson | Kawasaki | 282 |
