Ken Roczen hasn’t been used to being beaten outright lately.
Last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Eli Tomac surely couldn’t have set well with the RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki factory rider, but in Saturday’s La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National at Spring Creek MX Park, Roczen quickly got back to his winning ways. The German rider posted another 1-1 sweep to claim his sixth overall win in the eight rounds of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship run thus far.
“Today was tough as we were faced with a few challenges throughout the day, including a bent shifter during the second moto,” Roczen said. “Fortunately I was able to grab clean shifts in order to make sure that I did not take the chance of losing points. Overall I’m happy to walk away with another win, but I need to go home and improve my starts so we can get out front a little sooner.”
Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia bagged the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac and Roczen early in Moto 1. Tomac wasted no time in passing Barcia for the lead. Roczen took a little longer to move into second place, but he was not about to let Tomac get away, and Roczen was in second place before the end of the first lap as Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin and Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti settled into fourth and fifth plade respectively.
Tomac tried to lay down some fast laps and build a cushion over the field early, but there is little doubt that Roczen is the fastest man in the 450cc class early in a given moto, and he caught Tomac within the first few laps before making a brilliant pass in an unlikely spot on the track to take over the lead on lap four. Once out front, Roczen left Tomac in his wake and went on to score his 12th moto win of the year. Tomac finished second, while Musquin was able to get past Barcia for third. Barcia and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christophe Pourcel completed the top five.
“It was an exciting moto,” Roczen said. “I got the cross [medical] flag, so I had to single every single jump. It seems like the other guys didn’t because they came up really close. But it was a good moto. We’re going to come back for the second moto and try to get another win.”
It seemed as if Roczen would have is work cut out for him after suffering a bad start and colliding with returning Team Honda HRC rider Trey Canard just out of the gate, which ultimately led to an issue with Roczen’s bike. Musquin got his first career holeshot and led the race with BTO Sports/WPS/KTM’s Andrew Short second and Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti, but Roczen was farther back, running just inside the top 10, behind Tomac. Roczen that noticeably began to look down at the left footpeg on his factory Suzuki RM-Z450.
“Off the start, I came off to the right, and me and Trey [Canard] hooked,” Roczen said. “I almost went down. I got roosted over the little double, and I stomped my leg into the ground, and I think it bent my shifter back. I mis-shifted a bunch of times. It [the shift lever] was up and in, and it was really close to the footpeg, so I didn’t shift a whole lot. I tried to stay in the same gear.”
Whatever gear it was, it was clearly the fast one, as Roczen passed Tomac and then cut through the field like a hot knife through butter. Roczen continued his charge to the front, using brilliant line selections on the treacherous Millville track to blow past Musquin for the lead and pull away from the field, winning the race by a whopping 28.4 seconds.
Musquin settled solidly into second and continued to pull away from the battle behind him, in which Pourcel made the pass on Short to take over third on lap two. Tomac wasn’t exactly blizting the field, though he did break inside of the top five by lap three. One lap later, he was by both Short and Pourcel to take over third place. Musquin’s 3-2 bettered Tomac’s 2-3, giving Musquin the highest overall finish of his Lucas Oil Pro Motocross finish of his career in the 450cc class.
Roczen’s fifth 1-1 moto sweep of the season brings his season win total to six, setting a new single season record for the German rider. He’s won 13 of 16 motos thus far and now has 12 career premier class victories. He still maintains his comfortable lead in the Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship series standings, 55 points ahead of Tomac. Musquin is third, 144 points out of the lead as the series heads to Washougal, Washington, for the
2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National
Spring Creek MX Park
Millville, Minnesota
Results: July 16, 2016 (Round 8 of 12)
450cc Overall
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
2. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-2)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO, Kawasaki (2-3)
4. Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna (5-4)
5. Justin Barcia, Monroe, NY, Yamaha (4-5)
6. Trey Canard, Edmond, OK, Honda (6-6)
7. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, CO, KTM (8-8)
8. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, MO, KTM (7-10)
9. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, IA, KTM (9-9)
10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, NY, Yamaha (14-7)
2016 Lucas 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (after 8 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen-387/6 overall wins/13 moto wins
2. Eli Tomac-332/1 overall win/2 moto wins
3. Marvin Musquin-243
4. Justin Barcia-215
5. Christophe Pourcel-202
6. Broc Tickle-171
7. Cole Seely-151
8. Justin Brayton-144
9. Justin Bogle-136
10. Ryan Dungey-131/1 overall win/1 moto win
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