ST. LOUIS, Missouri: The clock resets this week in at The Dome at America’s Center for the Love Moto, Stop Cancer Supercross race, Round 12 of the 2026 SuperMotocross World Championship with Eli Tomac holding a four-point advantage over Hunter Lawrence and 14 over of third-place Ken Roczen.
“It feels that way,” Tomac tole NBC Sports before his Press Day ride on Friday. “And it seems like everyone’s had their mulligan now, so things are kind of reset. I’m glad to have red plate back and I got to take it and run with it now. Do what I can to keep it.”
But Tomac is taking nothing for granted.
In 2023, Tomac ruptured his Achilles tendon while leading the penultimate race of the season. Tomac held a large lead over Chase Sexton and needed to gain a little to clinch the title—but it was less than a full race worth of points. With Tomac out, Sexton won that race and the finale in Salt Lake City. He was crowned champion at the end of the season.
“I am also the guy that has found out that it’s not over until it’s officially over,” Tomac said. “So it’s definitely not over if you’re within a race worth of points. And I found that out from, of course, personal experience.”
Tomac is taking a guarded approach to the final six races of the 2026 season, but he is not obsessing about his performance in the past two races, in which he finished third in Birmingham and fifth in Detroit. Tomac had a massive crash in Alabama that affected his riding; he was also under the weather.
Detroit was another matter, but equally explainable.
“I needed to improve on some things, but I also have struggled at that track the last two times I’ve been inside that stadium,” Tomac said. “In 2024, I got lapped there straight up without any real problems, if I remember correctly. And I was just a little bit off last week and fifth is what I had. It’s a strong field and sometimes it’s what you got to take.”
As to his overall health, Tomac says he is perfectly fine. Commentators have speculated that he may have been experiencing back pain in recent weeks, but Tomac insists that is not the case. His riding in St. Louis will complete the story.
