Toronto, ON (March 6, 2017)- Eli Tomac proved to be unstoppable in Toronto Saturday night, taking a dominant victory over title rival Ryan Dungey.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider topped both qualifying sessions, led every lap in his heat race and led wire-to-wire in the 22-lap 450SX main event. It was his fourth victory of the 2017 season.
The race kicked off with Tomac out front as Broc Tickle and Blake Baggett gave chase, but much of the attention shifted to the back of the pack as Dungey, Chad Reed and Marvin Musquin were left buried. Dungey and Reed went to work, picking off several riders to crack the top five prior to the halfway mark.
Dungey would catch and pass a pair of KTM riders in Baggett and Davi Millsaps to take over third. Tickle would be next on his list and after a brief battle, it was the reigning champ edging out Tickle for second. Tickle held on to third, resulting in a best-career finish for the RCH Racing rider.
Heat 1 winner Reed recovered to finish fourth in the main ahead of Baggett, Cole Seely, Millsaps, Dean Wilson, Justin Barcia and Justin Brayton.
Dungey now holds a 24-point lead over Tomac as the series heads to Daytona. Musquin falls to third in points (-39) following a 13th-place finish.
In the Eastern Regional 250SX class, it was once again Zach Osborne emerging victorious.
The Husqvarna rider, who earned his first career win last weekend in Atlanta, started the main event in third behind Dylan Ferrandis and Joey Savatgy. Savatgy and Osborne would work past Ferrandis, setting up a head-to-head duel between the two championship contenders.
Following a brief stint out front, Savatgy would lose the lead to Osborne on Lap 7. Then a crash a few laps later dropped the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider to sixth.
Savatgy’s teammate Adam Cianciarulo capitalized on the mistake, taking over the runner-up spot. Christian Craig would round out the podium ahead of Colt Nichols and Ferrandis.
Canadian Cole Thompson, from Brigden, ON, was the lone Canadian representative in Toronto. He finished 12th after qualifying 17th in the 250SX class.
450SX Results – Toronto
1.) Eli Tomac
2.) Ryan Dungey
3.) Broc Tickle
4.) Chad Reed
5.) Blake Baggett
6.) Cole Seely
7.) Davi Millsaps
8.) Dean Wilson
9.) Justin Barcia
10.) Justin Brayton
250SX Results – Toronto
1.) Zach Osborne
2.) Adam Cianciarulo
3.) Christian Craig
4.) Colt Nichols
5.) Dylan Ferrandis
6.) Joey Savatgy
7.) Jordon Smith
8.) Kyle Peters
9.) Cameron Mcadoo
10.) Anthony Rodriguez
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