Eli Tomac Joins Team USA for the 2024 Motocross of Nations 3

Yes, Team USA still has a chance at glory in the 2024 edition of the Motocross of Nations, as it’s just been announced that Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac will take the place of Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton in the MX1/MXGP category. The baton has been passed from one team captain to the former, as Tomac re-enters the race aboard his YZ450F since he missed running the number one in 2023, due to injury.

The last time Eli entered the event was just back in 2022, where he dawned the #101 on home soil at RedBud. In this rendition of the race, he finished second in his category, while helping Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper take home the combined classification win. Now lining up with the #22, he will race alongside his teammate Cooper Webb (#23), and Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger (#24) to represent the USA.

Eli Tomac - “Due to the unfortunate racing incident Chase was involved in at the final round of SMX, I was the next one in line to take his place for Team USA. Aaron, Cooper and I are ready to give it our best effort at Matterely Basin. This is very short notice for my team, but we are going to make it happen!”

Sadly, the excitement of Tomac joining the lineup has come at the cost of Chase Sexton’s entry into the historic event. Sexton’s unfortunate end to the season in Las Vegas has also cost him his chance to lead Team USA in 2024, as himself and the team have deemed his hand injury as being too much to be properly competitive for the race in just under two weeks time. Considering Sexton’s forward intentions with the event, wanting to lead the USA back to the top of the box (as he assisted with in his last entry alongside Tomac and Justin Cooper in 2022), we know this had to be a touch choice. If there was any way that Sexton felt like he could grit it out and be competitive at the race, he would’ve lined up, no questions asked.

This year’s team has also been hit with other hardships, as just a week ago another tweak to the entry list had to be made when Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas was left with a similar situation as Chase Sexton. An Injury had occurred and there was a chance to race through it, but the betterment of the team had to come first. Cooper Webb answered the call in this case and will race a 250 in the MX2 division for the first time ever at Motocross of Nations, and only his second appearance ever at the event. A full eight years after he had last swung a leg over a Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing YZ250F.

These words could almost lead into explaining a third replacement situation, as Aaron Plessinger is also facing his own adversities coming into this event. A shoulder injury at the beginning of the 2024 AMA SuperMotocross Playoffs has set the Cowboy back a bit over the past few weeks. With less than two weeks to recover between races, there’s pressure on Plessinger both from himself and the fans to be as close to 100% come gatedrop in Matterley Basin. Luckily for the team, Plessinger’s injury has proven to not be as inhibiting as the ones faced by Hymas and Sexton, leaving one of the originally announced riders on the team that will actually line up across the pond.

Plessinger and Webb are both lining up with intentions to correct their past memories of this event, both have something to prove and are digging deep to find redemption.

Video covering the news

Eli Tomac however doesn’t need redemption, as he already found it in 2022 when he won this event after three prior attempts that came up just short for different reasons. Tomac has nothing left to prove with his illustrious career and to take the call with less than two weeks to prepare, this might be Tomac’s finest hour.

Plain and simple, if you’re American, it’s time to rally behind these guys.

Read the press release below for more...

Tomac in for Team USA’s 2024 MXoN Campaign

 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac joins Cooper Webb and Aaron Plessinger to make another Team USA title run at this year’s Motocross of Nations

MARIETTA, Ga. – September 23, 2024 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing is excited to announce that Eli Tomac will join Team USA and race the MX1 class at the 2024 Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Motocross of Nations (MXoN). With the support from Yamaha and Star Racing, the eight-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross Champion answers the call to fill in for the injured Chase Sexton. Captain of the 2022 MXoN title-winning Team USA, Tomac joins Cooper Webb and Aaron Plessinger to battle for top honors at the Matterley Basin Circuit in Winchester, U.K., on October 4-6. 

Jim Roach – Yamaha Racing Department Manager for YMUS
“Team USA’s MXoN rider line-up shuffled on Lap 1 Saturday night in Las Vegas when Chase was unfortunately injured. However, Eli is willing to step in and represent the USA and Yamaha Racing. Yamaha is excited to have both Eli and Cooper joining Aaron for the 2024 MXoN line-up. This will be an exciting race!”

Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It was an unfortunate event that Chase was injured this past weekend at the SMX Final. Eli was asked to join Cooper and AP (Aaron Plessinger), and he was willing to come on board on short notice. It’s going to take a lot of work from everyone on our team to make this happen, but Star Racing is happy to support both Eli and Cooper in this effort and represent our country at MXoN.”

Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“Due to the unfortunate racing incident Chase was involved in at the final round of SMX, I was the next one in line to take his place for Team USA. Aaron, Cooper and I are ready to give it our best effort at Matterely Basin. This is very short notice for my team, but we are going to make it happen!”