Source: Supplied.

Damage control was the top priority for Eli Tomac during the 450SX main event at Arlington’s sixth round of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

Carrying a pair of consecutive main event victories into the event, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider entered the event inside AT&T Stadium with momentum on his side and a 17-point gap between himself and series leader, Ryan Dungey.

Occupying third position during the main event, which was restarted due to a downed Justin Brayton, Tomac’s championship momentum came to a sudden holt due to a front-end issue following a hard crash entering a turn.

After entering the mechanics area in hope of a fix for the issue, the factory Kawasaki contender was forced to ride the remainder of the 20-minute race without a front brake resulting in a 15th place finish.

“We started off really well today, we had some trouble in our heat but recovered strong in our semi,” said Tomac. “In the main my start after the red flag was much better.

“I felt pretty strong until my front end issue. I knew that recovering as best as possible could be key at the end of the championship, so I dug deep and fought all the way to the end – it’s a long season and we still have a lot of laps left.”

Scoring just six championship points in Arlington, Tomac now drops to fourth in the standings behind Dungey, round six winner Marvin Musquin and Cole Seely.