GEICO Honda riders fired-up for Phoenix Supercross event

PHOENIX
(Jan. 11) – With the first race of the season providing little taste of
success, the riders in the GEICO Honda stable are ready for bigger
things at the second stop of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross tour this
Saturday at Chase Field.

Lites
West rider Eli Tomac overcame physical and mental hurdles to finish on
the podium in the opener at Anaheim. Tomac suffered through a crash and a
mechanical failure in the heat race to rebound for a win in the last
chance qualifier. In the main, he overcame a lousy starting gate and
pushed his way through the pack for a hard-fought, third-place finish.

"Hopefully
I will have a little more luck on my side this weekend," Tomac said. "I
feel like I was the strongest guy in that main event. I feel like if I
can get a good gate and a top three start that I can definitely be there
for the win."

Having
to make so many passes during all those laps in Anaheim also gave Tomac
a good barometer of where he compares to the competition.

"I
was catching that whole lead pack there at the end in Anaheim, so I
know where their speeds are at and how long they can work hard," he
said. "I felt solid the whole 15 laps of the main. My conditioning is
not an issue."

Tomac's
teammate, Wil Hahn was No. 1 in the first heat and finished eighth in
the main -- light years ahead of his outcome in 2011.

"I
made a mistake during the race last week, but it was better than
leaving the track on a stretcher like I did last year," said Hahn, who
suffered a broken back last year. "So, eighth place is a lot better. We
got all the jitters dialed out and we're ready to go the rest of the
way."

Hahn
said he got a shot of confidence after a strong start during his heat
race and looks to continue his good fortune in the Valley of the Sun.

"I
love going to Phoenix, the stadium is awesome," Hahn said. "The dirt
there is a little more dry and I tend to like that a little more. I'm
just as confident now as I was starting the season."

GEICO Honda Supercross rider Kevin Windham is looking to improve on the foundation he laid down in Anaheim.

"It's
tough out there, and it's going to be that way every week," Windham
said. "I didn't make any major mistakes on the bike last week and had a
consistent ride. I felt stronger as the race went along. We'll see how
the track in Phoenix fits my style."

Before
getting down to business on Saturday, Windham, Tomac and Hahn will
meet  fans and sign autographs from 6-7:30 p.m. PST on Friday at RideNow
Powersports Peoria, located at 8546 West Ludlow Drive in Peoria, Ariz.
Go to http://tinyurl.com/geicohonda for more information about the event.

Practice
on Saturday gets under way at 12:30 p.m. PST from Chase Field in
downtown Phoenix. The main event gets under way at 7 p.m. SPEED TV will
air the event live starting at 9:30 p.m. EST.