[News]

TOMAC CLAIMS EIGHTH DAYTONA VICTORY

4 months ago | Photos: KTM / SMX

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac earned a record-breaking victory at Round 8 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship at Daytona International Speedway – claiming an eighth-career Daytona Supercross win in the premier class and his fourth of the current SMX World Championship season. Tomac’s string of Daytona wins began all the way back in 2016 with Kawasaki. Tomac went on to win there with Team Green again in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021, then 2022 and 2023 with Yamaha, and now 2026 with KTM.

Tomac entered Daytona already as the rider with the most wins, as he had already notched up 7 wins in an 8-year span. Tomac kicked off the weekend with the second-fastest qualifying time and a holeshot victory in Heat 1 in typical Tomac style – with a 5.092s winning margin.

Making a top-five start in the Main Event, Tomac surged to the front by Lap 6 with a series of decisive passes before holding strong to deliver his fourth victory of the year and the 57th of his premier class career. With his Daytona Supercross success, the two-time Supercross title-winner now sits just one point outside of the 450SX points lead.

Eli Tomac: 
“Somehow I have won eight Daytona Supercrosses! I just go out there and roost the berms like I’m at my home track – I love this dirt and the way it develops. Of course, I had to work for it there tonight, I went through all my main competition and just had a great time on my motorcycle. I love spraying these sand turns, I’m so thankful to get it done with Red Bull KTM, and to make up some championship points this weekend.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450SX teammate Aaron Plessinger made an encouraging start to the round, posting the eighth-fastest qualifying time before racing to a P4 finish in his Heat Race despite a fall in the early stages. In the Main Event, Plessinger went on to record his season-best result in P6, leaving him now eighth in the 450SX standings as the series approaches halfway.

Aaron Plessinger: 
“Daytona was okay, I just need to focus on myself and continue to improve. Sixth place is not bad, but I expect more out of myself – I know the team expects more out of me and I would like to do better. So I need to go back to work this week and also work at putting myself in better positions. I chose the wrong gate tonight and I got the best jump that I could, although with the gate that I chose, it didn’t do me any favors. I was in the top 10 after the first corner, and then just pushed and made a few passes, but I think if I were in a better position, I would have been fighting for either a podium or a smooth P5. The team is working hard for me – we’ll look at bringing some momentum into Indy next weekend.”

Four-time world champion Jorge Prado remained sidelined for Round 8, with the 25-year-old continuing rehabilitation and recovery from a right shoulder injury sustained in Seattle.

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