RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Bad Luck North of the Border

RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Broc Tickle is seriously injured in Toronto SX crash; Josh Hill finishes 10th.

On a night in which James Stewart passed RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki team principal Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time SX win list with 49 victories, the deceptively tough Rogers Centre track iun Toronto, Canada, played havoc with every racer attempting to chart a course for the podium and marked a major detour for team leader Broc Tickle.

Things quickly went south north of the border for Tickle. A crash in practice forced Tickle to take a trip to the hospital, where it was learned that he had suffered a broken T7 vertebrae. Tickle underwent surgery to repair the damage, and the team later said in a news release that the surgery was successful and that Tickle is expected to make a full recovery.

“We can’t wait to see him healthy and back racing,” said team co-owner Carey Hart. Co-owner Ricky Carmichael added: “I’m extremely bummed about Broc’s misfortune in Toronto. The most important thing is his health and taking every step to insure his comfort and recovery. We all couldn’t be more proud of him and how well he’s been riding, we are looking forward to seeing him get a leg over his bike again soon.”

With Tickle out, Josh Hill was left as the lone rider to fly the RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki colors in Canada. Another solid top 10 qualifying session saw Hill positioned where he wanted to be in Heat 2, however he was squaring off against the fastest qualifiers, headed by fellow Suzuki rider James Stewart (who set a blazingly fast 49 second lap time). A seventh-place start had Hill battling with five other riders for the fourth-place transfer position. Despite getting past Andrew Short for sixth place on the last lap, Hill was sent to a Semi.

A great start in the Semi had Hill second, just behind Suzuki-mounted holeshot artist Mike Alessi. The two quickly outpaced the field and easily made the Main event.

“It’s all about the starts,” said Hill. “I have the speed to run with the leaders and proved it in the Semi.”

A tough start in teh 450 Main left Hill well outside the top 10, but with five laps left in the 20-lap race, he cracked 10th place and then quickly reeled-in the ninth place rider. However, there just wasn’t enough time pass him.

“I know what I need to do,” Hill said afterward. “I guarantee we will be working on starts all this week headed into St. Louis.”

Despite his crash and having to sit out the Canadian round, Tickle hangs onto eighth place in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series points standings. Hill is currently 12th. The RCH Racing Soaring Eagle team heads south to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis for Round 13 on March 29.