DIRT NEWS

perfect score for Eli Tomac saw him win the inaugural FIM World Supercross Championship Grand Prix in Cardiff ’ s Principality Stadium . The American secured the WSX ( 450 ) class win with three GP race victories , while compatriot Shane McElrath took the overall honours in the SX2 ( 250 ) class . Tomac was third quickest in qualifying , behind Rick Ware Racing ’ s Joey Savatgy and pace-setter Ken Roczen . And it was Roczen who was shaping up to be the man to beat ; winning his heat and setting the fastest lap in the night ’ s superpole session with a huge quad in the rhythm section wowing fans . Unfortunately for him , things began to unravel for the German in the GP race main events . Leading the first of three he was caught out by the changing track conditions , crashing and handing the lead to Tomac . He recovered to finish third , behind fellow Honda pilot Vince Friese on the MotoConcepts machine . It was a Tomac , Roczen one-two in the second of the three GP races , with the pair having to fight through the field , before Tomac made it three from three in the third to cap a perfect evening . While Savatgy was second in the final race , the MotoConcepts outfit bagged two more GP race top-three finishes , with Friese and teammate Justin Brayton taking a third apiece . With all the points tallied up , Tomac was the clear winner , with Roczen and Friese completing the night ’ s podium . “ To be honest I started off a little bit slow and Ken [ Roczen ] rode really well in that heat race and in the superpole I just never manned up for the quad , to be straight up ,” world championship leader Eli Tomac said . “ That thing was a big nope I was going to stay with the triple-single and it ended up working out . All three mains were a little bit different ; obviously I got the gift from Ken in the first and then had to make a couple of passes in the second but I think the most technical part of the night was the dirt : it was tough , very hard pack . I actually almost fell in the third , near the mechanics in that last left-hander . But overall I just enjoyed the whole schedule and the racing . Coming in here I thought that the eight and 12- lap races were going to be a little short but that wasn ’ t easy and it obviously showcased some good racing and I had a lot of fun doing it . The

KIWI RIDER 21