Eli Tomac on Friday in San Diego | Transcript 2

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Eli Tomac has become one of the more articulate athletes in recent months: his perspective is fascinating. Even those few words are spoken more often than not, the amount that one can extract and dissect from that is infinite. Tomac's discussion with Lewis Phillips on press day at round three of 2024 Monster Energy Supercross, San Diego, falls underneath that category.

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from this interview is that the fire burns brighter than ever – there was a sense that unfinished business exists and his existence in off-road sport is to take care of that. The action within Snapdragon Stadium could be telling, as it is so apparent that Tomac expects to unleash his potential. The third round has kickstarted his title bid on three occasions in the past.

Vital MX: Tell me. How is the Eli Tomac stood before me today different to the one from twelve months ago?
Eli Tomac: Well, I was in Snapdragon Stadium and coming off of my Anaheim 1 win! I think that was round two. My health is good now, other than that, and I feel the same physically. I am just doing my thing. It is the same motorcycle now. Actually, not much has changed.

More content, maybe?

No. No, not at all. I am the same competitive guy. I have the same mindset as I have always had and that is trying to be the best Eli that I can be.

Do you still feel like there are steps to take to be the best Eli you can be? When a rider gets to the tail end of their career, no one talks about a rider getting better. Do you, in yourself, feel like you can still be better?

Yeah. I do believe that you can finetune things and be better. I never want to stop searching for those things.

You made major bike changes after Anaheim 1 but did not get to test those in a race situation, so what are you expecting from the bike this weekend?

My mindset is that I need to ride something that I can make it through the whole main event on. You never know going into Anaheim 1, so I am basically going back to what I know and should be just fine.

You have struggled at Anaheim 1 and in January in the past. Not last year though, so did that make it harder for you to mentally accept your struggles this time around?

It was tough. Frustrating. It is just the way that it goes. You have got to be able to rebound.

How many weeks do you think that it will take to get to one hundred percent with yourself and the bike as a complete package?

I hope it is now. I hope it is now. I would say that I have felt nothing with my achilles on the motorcycle over the past month or so. There are no excuses there. Zero excuses physically. I have no excuse with the motorcycle either. I have to be at one hundred now.

One more quick thing. Have you had to change the position of your feet on the pegs, because of the achilles?

Early on, I noticed that my foot would slide more towards the heel and I would favor it. I am back in my normal position now. I was subconsciously putting my foot more towards the heel in October and not the ball of my foot where my heel could drop. Initially, yeah. I would say that it is normal now.