Eli Tomac is consistently strong coming out of off-weeks, and Round 10 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, was no exception as he led Qualification 1.
As with the 250 riders, speeds during the second qualification session slowed for most.
Tomac cased a jump on what may have been his fast lap attempt in the second session, but his first qualification was enough to give him the best gate pick. This is the 49th time in his career that he has posted the fastest lap.
“I really wanted that last lap back,” Tomac told Peacock’s Haley Shanley. “I spun a little bit, or got a little cross-rutted, or maybe hit a rock on that rhythm section because the start of that lap was good. I’m not surprised the first session was faster. It just got a lot more dried out, beat up, and the ruts were pretty tough at the end.”
Hunter Lawrence (51.396) was notably one of the riders who picked up the pace in the second session. He jumped from sixth in Q1 to second overall.
Ken Roczen’s (51.528) Q1 time held up for third overall.
Cooper Webb (51.556) matched his time in both sessions and sat fourth overall.
Justin Cooper (51.729) rounded out the top five.
Group A Qualification 2 Results
Qualification 1
Tomac (50.962) took his time getting to the top of the board in the first qualification session in Birmingham, but he got there at the end by more than half a second ahead of Roczen (51.528).
Webb (51.556) topped the chart early but ended third overall.
Fourth-place Cooper (51.729) and Malcolm Stewart (51.776) rounded out the top five.
Championship leader Lawrence (52.002) was just outside the top five in sixth.
Jorge Prado (52.179) brought out a red flag during the first qualification session when he came up short on a jump. Prado ended his session at that point, but rode back to the paddock under his own power. Prado landed seventh on the chart.
Group A Qualification 1 Results
Combined Results after Qualification 1
