Tomac a title contender?

delbrekko
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1/13/2017 6:11am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 7:03am
How can we say year after year that Tomac is a title favorite when he wins a race or 2 every year with some solid finishes in there and subpar finishes after that. I've even heard industry "experts'" say they only expect 1 win out of him and more out of Seely and Anderson and maybe even Musquin but none for them are considered title contenders.
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Turbojez
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1/13/2017 6:17am
Who said he is? As far as I'm concerned there's a big difference between title threat and title favorite.
delbrekko
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1/13/2017 6:19am
Turbojez wrote:
Who said he is? As far as I'm concerned there's a big difference between title threat and title favorite.
If you watched any of the Racer X preview shows he was considered in the same group as Dungey and Roczen.
Motofinne
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1/13/2017 6:22am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 6:34am
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even close to a 450 title. The package isn't good enough to beat Dungey or Roczen, not at the moment. Average starts, too many crashes, too many races where he drops lots of points.

And people want to believe that the racing is going to be close and that there will be multiple title contenders when that never, ever actually happens. There is always 1 or maximum 2 guys dominating and Tomac has never been that guy on a 450.


And with all that said, i know people will call me a hater. That is fine, but these things are facts. Everyone can't win.

I think the comparison between Ducati, Yamaha and Honda in MotoGP is pretty good. Tomac is like the Ducati fighting against Dungey(Yamaha) and Roczen(Honda). Blazing speed but not consistent enough and excels at certain tracks/conditions.
TXDirt
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1/13/2017 6:29am
Motofinne wrote:
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even...
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even close to a 450 title. The package isn't good enough to beat Dungey or Roczen, not at the moment. Average starts, too many crashes, too many races where he drops lots of points.

And people want to believe that the racing is going to be close and that there will be multiple title contenders when that never, ever actually happens. There is always 1 or maximum 2 guys dominating and Tomac has never been that guy on a 450.


And with all that said, i know people will call me a hater. That is fine, but these things are facts. Everyone can't win.

I think the comparison between Ducati, Yamaha and Honda in MotoGP is pretty good. Tomac is like the Ducati fighting against Dungey(Yamaha) and Roczen(Honda). Blazing speed but not consistent enough and excels at certain tracks/conditions.
I think this is a good summary on Tomac. I agree.

The Shop

Starcrossed
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1/13/2017 6:29am
Yeah, he's going to be the champ allright. After hearing how dialed in he is for the last three months, how his fitness is on another level, how he hasn't had to touch the bike AT ALL, he comes out and loses spots to guys who weren't even mentioned in the same sentence as him, pre-season. Well if he wants to be the champ he better go back and work on something because he's not even close to seeing a podium at this stage, never mind the fucking championship.
jeffskii
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1/13/2017 6:34am
I think alot of this comes from him taking Villopotos vacant spot at Monster Energy Kawi. They won the SX championship four years in a row, so people know the team is capable of dominating. People assume he is going to be a contender because he is on a winning team. I am a huge ET3 fan, and as much as i hoped hed be a major player in this championship, i dont see it happening. I was excited to see him start second place but seeing him drop back was not a good sign. We are only 1/17 rounds in and anything can happen. I would not be surprised to see Kenny make a major mistake and take him out of the championship hunt.
moto0852
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1/13/2017 6:37am
No one I've heard has him as title "favorite". As said above "title contender" is what he is most commonly referred to as.
mx836
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1/13/2017 6:37am
Motofinne wrote:
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even...
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even close to a 450 title. The package isn't good enough to beat Dungey or Roczen, not at the moment. Average starts, too many crashes, too many races where he drops lots of points.

And people want to believe that the racing is going to be close and that there will be multiple title contenders when that never, ever actually happens. There is always 1 or maximum 2 guys dominating and Tomac has never been that guy on a 450.


And with all that said, i know people will call me a hater. That is fine, but these things are facts. Everyone can't win.

I think the comparison between Ducati, Yamaha and Honda in MotoGP is pretty good. Tomac is like the Ducati fighting against Dungey(Yamaha) and Roczen(Honda). Blazing speed but not consistent enough and excels at certain tracks/conditions.
Eli Tomac's problem is mental IMO. He has all the tools necessary to win and has proven it in the past. It's just a matter of if he can pull it together. Only one person can win.
motosurf
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1/13/2017 6:38am
Yeah, he's going to be the champ allright. After hearing how dialed in he is for the last three months, how his fitness is on another...
Yeah, he's going to be the champ allright. After hearing how dialed in he is for the last three months, how his fitness is on another level, how he hasn't had to touch the bike AT ALL, he comes out and loses spots to guys who weren't even mentioned in the same sentence as him, pre-season. Well if he wants to be the champ he better go back and work on something because he's not even close to seeing a podium at this stage, never mind the fucking championship.
Ummm I think Anderson dungey and musquin, were all mentioned in the same sentence as him. He came out won his heat race, top 5'd the main, I'd say that's not bad. Considering the only people that beat him are the people everyone's expecting to be up there. You guys are acting like he went out there and got beat by friese or something. How is he not close to seeing a podium?? You've got to be joking right?? Your post is all wrong and you seem to not know what the hell youre talking about.
mx836
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1/13/2017 6:39am
Yeah, he's going to be the champ allright. After hearing how dialed in he is for the last three months, how his fitness is on another...
Yeah, he's going to be the champ allright. After hearing how dialed in he is for the last three months, how his fitness is on another level, how he hasn't had to touch the bike AT ALL, he comes out and loses spots to guys who weren't even mentioned in the same sentence as him, pre-season. Well if he wants to be the champ he better go back and work on something because he's not even close to seeing a podium at this stage, never mind the fucking championship.
Ever heard of arm pump? I'd love to see you ride a SX track with it.
JB 19
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1/13/2017 6:39am
If you watched the last two MXGP's you would understand why he was/is considered a title threat.
1/13/2017 6:39am
Take away one fateful day in Colorado and I don't think we're having this conversation
TXDirt
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1/13/2017 6:41am
I don't think anyone ever said he was "title favotite". More like a "title contender" and there is a big big difference. Ken and Dungey are title favorites. No one else has been mentioned. Oh, there are contenders. Sure. But that doesn't make you a title favorite.
davistld01
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1/13/2017 6:46am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 6:49am
I like Eli Tomac...but this year, I certainly don't see him as a title favorite at all. He's not on the same page as KR, RD or even Musquin. Skill level...maybe. But performance capability...given his current circumstances, no. Of course, this is my opinion only.

Eli has never come close to being on the same lap time that he was on the Geico Honda for the last half of his last season on the red bike. I'm not on a "blame the bike" kick or anything...but I truly believe that Eli and John got greedy and bit the Green bait because of the money carrot that was dangled in front of their noses. The bike is clearly "the bike that RV made", and Kawasaki has a reputation for not being very generous when it comes to personal setup preferences for their riders. Tomac is also a really mental rider...and it shows in every interview he does, whether he says it or not. He doesn't look all that comfy on the bike, and is not nearly as smooth as he used to be. I don't think he's happy at all...and it's not all about his finishes so far.

But, he seems like a good guy...very quiet and humble enough. I hope he gets a win or two this year, to keep his attitude and confidence up. And, I hope too that after this, his final year (I think) on Team Kawasaki, he'll set his sights on having a longer career...and not just filling his bank account. I believe he'd look like his old self on a Honda...or maybe even a Suzuki (new bike coming in 2018?).
Park Boys
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1/13/2017 6:52am
He was the only one on Roczens level at A1 at least for a lil bit. Needs to do it week to week.
ToolMaker
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1/13/2017 6:52am
You guys are brutal. the guy is fast. No he's not "the" favorite or "a" favorite but
he still is a title contender. We'll see how the series goes. My favorites are KR and
RD. After RD pulled into 2nd he was holding/gaining on KR until the flag situation.
However with that much lead KR still had something extra if challenged, but also
believe RD still had extra but no need to take risks at round 1. I think we have
potential for good racing though. Having said that, outside of KR and RD,we have
half a dozen "potential title contenders" Tomac will have is hands full.
TM
NVA57
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1/13/2017 6:53am
He was close to winning back to back 250 SX titles (he wadded himself in the whoops, the same season where Roczen eventually won the title) so he knows how to ride SX. Then both seasons on the Honda 450 he got injured early in the season if I recall that correctly, but still had a few race wins.

Everyone who doesn't believe Tomac is capable of winning the title seems to only recall his 2016 season.
gabrielito
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1/13/2017 7:00am
TXDirt wrote:
I don't think anyone ever said he was "title favotite". More like a "title contender" and there is a big big difference. Ken and Dungey are...
I don't think anyone ever said he was "title favotite". More like a "title contender" and there is a big big difference. Ken and Dungey are title favorites. No one else has been mentioned. Oh, there are contenders. Sure. But that doesn't make you a title favorite.
X2 Who ever said he was a favorite?
Jerkolantern
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1/13/2017 7:05am
Take away one fateful day in Colorado and I don't think we're having this conversation
Ding Ding Ding man he was KILLING Everyone, like Bubba and Ricky used to
IWreckALot
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1/13/2017 7:06am
I'll give him 2 more races to see what he does. Rome wasn't built in a day. The season has never been won at A1. Same with Dungey. Dungey's never won A1 but has won some championships. If he can't consistently be top 3 and pushing the leaders in a race or two, his chances are all but gone.
wanglimp
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1/13/2017 7:08am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 7:17am
We are only one race in, I think Tomac has potential to do some damage. He just has to start getting everything aligned with himself. Fun fact, 60% of every supercross championships since 1974 have been won by someone other than the winner of the first race.
ob
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1/13/2017 7:09am
Wow it was only A1, who knows. Seems he ocasionaly has the speed, he could figure it out. Maybe
Starcrossed
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1/13/2017 7:10am
I'll give him three races to see what he does. You're only as good as your last race. It's a marathon not a sprint. Money doesn't grow on trees. Last one in is a rotten egg.
agn5009
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1/13/2017 7:20am
Take away one fateful day in Colorado and I don't think we're having this conversation
Yeah we would because we're in the SX season, not MX. ET hasn't shown much in SX since moving up. The only way he has a chance at this title is if Dungey and Roczen miss races. And I'm a huge ET fan.
UpTiTe
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1/13/2017 7:24am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 7:26am
Motofinne wrote:
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even...
I think it's because he can go incredibly fast outdoors for a lap or a few motos. The fact is that he has never been even close to a 450 title. The package isn't good enough to beat Dungey or Roczen, not at the moment. Average starts, too many crashes, too many races where he drops lots of points.

And people want to believe that the racing is going to be close and that there will be multiple title contenders when that never, ever actually happens. There is always 1 or maximum 2 guys dominating and Tomac has never been that guy on a 450.


And with all that said, i know people will call me a hater. That is fine, but these things are facts. Everyone can't win.

I think the comparison between Ducati, Yamaha and Honda in MotoGP is pretty good. Tomac is like the Ducati fighting against Dungey(Yamaha) and Roczen(Honda). Blazing speed but not consistent enough and excels at certain tracks/conditions.
Your analysis is spot on.


I do think though that one day something will click and we will see the Tomac that everyone expects
jbomx363
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1/13/2017 7:24am
Love these threads after 1 race is in the books.

Don't know who these "experts" are you speak of, but they all were bidding on him when he was available.

He was 2nd qualifier.. enough speed. If it wasn't for arm pump.. who knows how the night would of finished.

Roczen is the man of the hour, let's see how this is shaking out right before Daytoner.
1/13/2017 7:26am Edited Date/Time 1/13/2017 7:27am
I think at the moment for Tomac it's a mental game(lack of confidence) and trying too hard to correct it, I personally only get arm pump when I don't breathe while trying my hardest so with Tomac I believe him on his excuse there is no other explanation why he dropped off so hard but still when he was in second and going well I think Dungey was still little faster..

RedRum666
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1/13/2017 7:28am
ob wrote:
Wow it was only A1, who knows. Seems he ocasionaly has the speed, he could figure it out. Maybe
Indeed..... Eli is a top 3 dude .....easily.... his inconsistancy from the past needs to be remedied in order for him to be a true contender......Before he dropped the anchor via arm pump, he looked pretty damn good/ fast/ smooth to me.....

Call it A1 jitters.....getting nervous....what have you......he came out with a top 5..... so lets see what happens.... he was actually pulling on RD5 and MM before he dropped.....

" you cant win a title at A1....but you can lose it "........ #truth

I want to see either Kenny or Eli win the title.....enough of the Dungey show.....

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