RCH Soaring Eagle grounded at the Monster Energy AMA Oakland Supercross, as Josh Hill breaks a collarbone and Broc Tickle gets jammed.
The following is from the RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki team owned by multi-time AMA Supercros and Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael and freestyle motocross icon Carey Hart:
Qualifying in Oakland’s infamous “black hole” (as Raider Nation refers to the stadium) went well, as Hill was 10th and 11th in the two sessions and within tenths of a second of top qualifier Ryan Villopoto. Tickle was able to bounce back, literally, from last week’s crash, finishing 13th in the first session and just behind his teammate, in 12th, in the second session. But bad luck in both heat races bit the RCH Soaring Eagle teamsters. In the first heat race, Justin Barcia sent Tickle on the long walk back to the pits by making an aggressive pass that knocked Tickle down and out of the race.
In the second heat race, a top-10 start in by Hill was wasted when he hit the ground hard. Hill tried to switch up his lanes at the last minute, and he ended up crashing hard. Once he shook the cobwebs off, Hill realized he had broken his collarbone.
“I felt great all day, and had the speed I needed,” a disappointed Hill said. “I just made a mistake in the heat coming through the pack. I’m not in too much pain. More than anything, I’m just frustrated that I’m going to have to miss a couple races.”
Tickle had also been injured in his collision with Barcia, and couldn’t make the starting line for his semi. The lingering effects of his hard crash in Anaheim the previous weekend were aggravated by the incident with Barcia at Oakland. A jammed wrist had doctors concerned and resulted in Tickle being scratched from the semi.
“I got off to a decent start in my heat and felt the best I have all night,” Tickle said. “Barcia knocked Weimer down in a berm in front of me, and I got on the gas to try and miss his bike, but clipped it and crashed. I sprained my left wrist and my pointer finger. It swelled up really quickly, so we made a decision as a team to pull out on racing tonight.”
Tickle said that he will do whatever it takes to be ready for Anaheim III.
“The last two weeks have been tough” he said. “Last week’s crash set me back this week. I did therapy every day and rode a little Thursday. I was sore, but I knew I could come to Oakland and get through it. Practice was tough today and it showed… My ribs are really sore but with each practice session I started feeling better and I knew adrenaline would help me push through it in the races. I’m really bummed and I want to be out there battling. I want to be at 100% and be where I was before my crash last week physically. Going to get therapy this week and do anything I can to get back to 100%.”
Looking to overcome the bad breaks in Oakland, the RCH Racing Soaring Eagle team returns to Southern California for round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. From the Suzuki Hole Shot Experience to the team autograph signing at 3 p.m., the RCH Racing Soaring Eagle pit will be a fan magnet at Anaheim III. Fans can even win a three-night/four-day, all-expenses-paid getaway to the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort on the spot! If you are in the Southern California area, don’t miss the team riders signing autographs at Malcolm Smith Motorsports in Riverside from 5-7 p.m., on January 31.
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