Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac celebrate with the team in Vegas. Image: Simon Cudby.

After each winning 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Lites titles in their respective regions, GEICO Honda teammates Justin Barcia (East) and Eli Tomac (West) enjoyed a hard fought battle at the Las Vegas finale.

Going head-to-head in the Davey Coombs Sr. Memorial East/West Shootout, both champions rose to the top, further cementing the fact that GEICO Honda has stepped up their game in 2012.

East Coast Lites champion Barcia enjoyed the competition from his teammate.

“What an awesome night all the way around, there’s no better way to finish my 250 Supercross career than with a double win,” said Barcia.

“It was fun racing Eli in the Shootout. Once we both got around [Martin] Davalos it was just a battle. He pushed me the whole way. We both wanted the win, but in the end making sure we were 1-2 was the best-case scenario.”

West Coast Lites Champion Tomac looks forward to more races with Barcia in the upcoming outdoor series.

“The course was pretty technical and you really had no place to relax, everyone was riding all-out with nothing to lose and I knew I couldn’t let up,” Tomac explained.

“The Shootout was intense. Being only 10 laps it was a sprint the whole way. I stayed on Justin’s rear wheel the best I could.

“We were both going for it. That was fun. Hopefully we’ll have some more races with each other when the outdoor season starts.”

Both Barcia and Tomac will line-up again to go head-to-head at round one of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship on 19 May in Hangtown, CA.