SEATTLE (Apr. 17) -- It was good to be a GEICO Honda rider during the 15th round of Supercross in Seattle. Fan favorite Kevin Windham and teammate Eli Tomac both earned runner-up finishes under the Saturday night lights at Qwest Field, Windham on his 450cc ride and Tomac on his 250cc Lites bike.
Windham, who won Seattle last season, always rides well on muddy racetracks and Seattle delivered for him again as rain leading up to the race made it treacherous for many riders.
"I did well because I was able to keep it on two wheels. That was the battle this whole race," Windham said. "The track changed each lap and I was just able to ride it out and keep my GEICO Honda upright."
The veteran rider has been working hard to crack the top five each weekend but has fallen short of a medal finish until this round.
"When you haven't been on the podium all year long, this feels like a win," Windham said. "All my guys have been working hard all season long and I'm so glad to be up here for them."
In Lites West action, Tomac earned his fifth straight podium finish with his second-place result. Tomac had a tough day with the rain and the mud, but made up for it a few laps into the main event.
"I'm feeling awesome," said Tomac, who gained five points in the world rankings. "I finished ahead of the guys I needed to get ahead of in the championship fight so I'm really happy with that."
Tomac worked his way up from as far back as seventh place. The fluid rider rode hard but stayed smooth as he picked the riders ahead of him, gaining on every single one, including eventual winner Cole Seely.
"I definitely turned around my day," Tomac said. "My practice wasn't that great, neither was the heat race, or even my start in the main, but I got fired up and made up for it when it mattered. I wanted to outdo the guys ahead of me in points, and I did."
Tomac made up some valuable ground in the championship points standings by finishing ahead of current points leader Broc Tickle. Although Tomac did not improve his third-place ranking, he is only seven points out of the lead heading into the second to last race of the year.
"It's nice to be on the offensive side of things," Tomac said. "I'm the guy in third chasing them so I've got nowhere to go but up. I like where I'm at and hopefully I'll make up points at the last two races and can sneak in and take that championship."
Fellow GEICO Honda Lites rider Jimmy DeCotis' day was cut short in Seattle due to an injury he suffered in the first practice session. DeCotis dislocated his right elbow on a landing in what seemed to be a routine jump for the rookie rider.
"I landed weird and my elbow just came out of place," DeCotis said. "I felt it right away so I pulled over and laid down for a couple of minutes. They got me in the rig and got it back in place, which is a good thing. It's still tender but it's already starting to heal."
DeCotis was disappointed his day was cut short, as he was looking forward to earning his first podium of the season as well as helping his teammate Tomac's championship chase.
"I'm hoping to get back out here by Salt Lake City, but we'll see" DeCotis said. "I'm just really bummed I couldn't get back out there tonight."
The GEICO Honda team has put a rider on the podium at 12 consecutive races.
The next stop on the Monster Energy Supercross Series is April 30 at Rice-Eccles Field in Salt Lake City.
PHOTOS http://www.customphoto.com/FC/FC15/
PHOTOS http://www.customphoto.com/FC/FC15/
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