Tomac Kicks Off SMX Playoffs with Podium Finish
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac finishes third in weather-shortened SMX Playoff 1 at the zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway / Sep 7, 2025 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac strengthened his position in the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs with a third-place finish in Moto 1. Severe thunderstorms arrived after that moto, forcing officials to cancel the second races due to lightning in the area, making Moto 1 results the final overall classification for SMX Playoff 1 in Concord, North Carolina. His teammates overcame adversity with Cooper Webb finishing seventh in his first race back from injury and Justin Cooper fighting his way back to 11th after a crash at the start of the moto.
Coming in as the seventh seed in the 450SMX Championship after missing most of the supercross season with injury, Tomac had a strong start to the weekend and qualified third. In Moto 1, he slotted into second after the split-lane start met and continued to push, running a good pace to stay within reach of the leader. With four laps to go, he unfortunately had a tip-over but quickly rejoined in third and rode on to secure the podium position. Tomac’s efforts moved him up to fourth in 450SMX standings, 12 points from the top spot.
In his first race back since his knee surgery, Webb was seventh in qualifying and then got a great start to the first moto in fifth. Although he dropped back to seventh in the first two laps, he continued to run a strong pace to maintain the position and finish seventh. It was a valuable points-scoring round for the 2025 450SX Champion, who heads to the second round of the playoffs sixth in the standings and 14 points behind the leader.
Cooper had a strong start to the weekend and was third in Friday’s practice sessions, but ultimately qualified sixth in Saturday’s sessions. The 450SMX red-plate holder unfortunately found himself on the ground after the start of Moto 1 and lost some time after being stuck under the bike. He rejoined at the back of the field thirty seconds from the leader, but put in a determined ride in the tricky conditions. Despite the setback, he fought his way back to 11th with two laps to go, salvaging valuable points to sit third in the championship, 11 points from the top spot.
The three-round SMX Finals continue next weekend with a double points-paying round for Playoff 2 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 13.
Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“With the quick turnaround from motocross to SMX, I thought the race went fairly well for us. The track conditions were very difficult, so finding a setup that worked well and was safe was important, and the team did a great job of that. Eli had a great race going until he lost the front, but I'm happy to see that speed out of him. Webb had a quiet type of race, but coming back from a knee surgery, he looked good and will continue to build momentum. I was bummed for Justin going down in the first turn when a tough block was kicked out in front of him, and then getting stuck under his bike. So coming through the field to 11th was a good recovery. It was not the result we were hoping for, but we have two more rounds to make up some points.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was a good first moto. Of course, my tipover was unfortunate, but up until then, I had the holeshot on my side of the start on the split lane and then came out second on that second or third turn. I was riding really well. I was right there just behind Jett (Lawrence), and like I said, unfortunately I had a little fall, but I was able to get up quickly and stay in a podium position. So, that was good. It was a very tough track. This was one of the most interesting tracks I’ve ever ridden, and it was a true combination of conditions – with crazy deep motocross ruts, and we had to go back inside the stadium there and still get through those supercross rhythms. It was also one of the tougher dirt conditions that I’ve ever ridden in because of the way it was so soft and spongy. We’ll get out of here in third and try to do better next week.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“Overall, it was an up and down day. We came in here a little bit underprepared from the knee injury, and I think it showed a little bit with our speed not being quite where we wanted it to be. But we turned it around in the race and got a great start and finished seventh, which I think was about where I was today. Yeah, it was a weird day not racing the second moto, but we’ll take it. We know what we need to work on. I think next weekend’s race being more Supercrossy will really suit our style. I’m looking forward to bouncing back next week a little bit more prepared with another week under our belt.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was not the greatest of days and was a tough weekend all the way around. The track was definitely tough. I got a good start, but I just got pushed wide, went off the track, and went down. I got stuck under the bike and got burned a little bit. We only had one moto today, so that was unfortunate, but that’s racing. This was the one make-a-mistake round, with the single points. We’ll start looking forward to next weekend.”
2025 SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff 1 450SMX Results
2025 SuperMotocross World Championship 450SMX Standings
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