“People Booed Ricky Carmichael…” | Jason Anderson on Anaheim 2

Summary

Eli Tomac discusses his comeback from last to seventh in the main event at the supercross race, crediting his new bike for increased stability and speed. He analyzes the track's challenges, preferring the edge lines despite their risk. Tomac reflects on fans' reception to him versus Jett Lawrence after their clash last week, emphasizing racers must stay true to themselves. With four winners in four races, Tomac sees the competition as deep but believes consistency will reveal the championship contenders over the 10 round season.

Takeaways

• 😊 Eli says the new bike chassis helps with stability and consistency through corners
• 👍🏻 Eli credits passing and speed to being able to hold outside lines longer before moving to main line
• 😎 Eli thinks staying to outsides is faster but rut becomes safer option late in mains
• 🤔 Eli doesn't expect tracks to stay rough for main events after seeing them get smoothed out
• 🏁 Eli acknowledges competition is tough with 4 winners in 4 races but believes consistency will show true contenders
• 🧐 Eli doesn't think he rides overly aggressive, just really eager to win at times
• 🙂 Eli aims to apologize if he makes a bad pass but wants to win badly
• 😕 Eli says fans' opinions change quickly - he can go from loved to hated week to week
• 👍 Eli thinks Jett can regain fans' love by pushing through negativity and becoming great
• 🤞 Eli hopes to be one of the championship contenders after more races

Q & A

What improvements has Jason's new bike provided over his old chassis?

The new bike is more solid from the beginning of the corner to the apex, allowing Jason to carry more speed through that section. It also has less pitch which makes it more stable and less prone to front end errors.

Why was the 3-3-4 rhythm lane working so well for Jason?

Jason says the 3 jump didn't look very difficult, so he was able to carry good speed through that section. Since not many other riders were doing it, it gave Jason an advantage over them.

How was Jason able to make passes while riding the outside lines early in the race?

Jason says he had the speed and ability to send it past some guys when he wanted to make passes riding the outside lines. So he took advantage of that before switching to the safer inside lines later in the race.

How did the track change from practice to the main events?

It dried out quite a bit due to the wind. So when they prepped it for the mains, the track was better despite having fewer ruts. The rhythm lanes were still torn up though.

What is Jason's perspective on fans' opinions changing quickly?

He says fan opinion can change very fast - they may like you one week and hate you the next. So he focuses on staying true to himself rather than worrying about what fans think.

What does Jason think Jett Lawrence needs to do moving forward?

Jason says Jett needs to stand his ground and keep pushing to become great. If Jett puts his head down and improves, Jason thinks fans will come around and start to support him more over time.

Why can Jason sometimes come across as overly aggressive?

He says he never lacks in effort or desire to win. So sometimes Jason gets overeager making moves, even apologizing in his head mid-race knowing it was overly aggressive.

Does Jason feel the competition is deeper this year?

Not necessarily deeper in talent, but just very evenly matched at the top right now. He expects the contenders to separate over the full 10 rounds though.

How is Jason's championship standing despite not winning yet?

Jason says consistency has him only 7 points back in standings. If not for a penalty, he'd be just 3 points from the overall lead.

What is Jason's plan moving forward this season?

His plan is to keep putting himself in contention week in and week out until he breaks through to the top spot on the podium.