Suzuki rider Ken Roczen heads to Daytona International Speedway in search of first Daytona Supercross by Honda win.
RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki riders Ken Roczen and Jake Weimer hope to deliver a win for team boss Ricky Carmichael on a track designed by Carmichael himself when round nine of the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series invades the hallowed Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona Supercross by Honda, March 5.
Heading Roczen and Weimer sit second and 10th respectively in the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series points standings. Last weekend in Atlanta, Roczen finished sixth and turned in his eighth consecutive top six of the year. With two wins already under his belt this season, Roczen comes into Daytona ready to rebound and put another hash mark in the 2016 win column.
“We worked hard in Florida this week,” Roczen said. “We built a Daytona section at the practice track to prepare. Outside of that, we just kept working on the same things. I feel good. I put in good laps this week to be ready for Daytona. Obviously, we didn’t have the night we wanted in Atlanta but we’re going to bounce back. We’ll come to Daytona being aggressive and hopefully leave there with the win so we can make up some points.”
Weimer finished 17th in ATlanta, and the 2010 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Champion is eager to move back inside the top 10.
“Everything is good, and I feel like I’m riding well during the week,” said Weimer, who will make his 59th career 450cc supercross start this weekend. “I feel good. I just need to put together a better Saturday. It’s just little things. Last weekend my starts weren’t that good and unless you’re going a lot faster than the guys around you, it’s tough to do anything so I didn’t really give myself an opportunity to do well. I don’t think there’s anything crazy that needs to be done, I just need to do a better job on Saturday.”
Weimer has a 13th-place average finish at Daytona, with career-best Daytona finish of seventh place in 2012.
“Daytona is different for obvious reasons,” Weimer said. “It’s so different that it’s hard to even categorize it as a supercross track. The space is a lot different than a baseball stadium or a football field so they don’t have the same room to work with. The track is a lot longer but it’s a lot skinnier. The layout is a lot different and the dirt is much sandier and softer than anywhere else we race. It’s more of an outdoor style of track with supercross obstacles. It’s cool just to be in Daytona with everything going on. It’s a cool, unique round.”
Broc Tickle, rider of RCH’s No. 20 Suzuki, is sidelined again this week as he continues to recover from the wrist injury he sustained in a January practice crash.
Over the course of his storied career, RCH Soaring Eagle team co-owner Carmichael scored five premier-class victories in the Daytona Supercross by Honda, including four straight from 2000-2003, and he is hoping to add his first as a team owner this weekend. Carmichael has designed another exciting and demanding racetrack.
“We changed a lot of things from last year,” Carmichael said. “We moved the starting gate back to the center of the track, like it had been in years past. I think that’s going to be a great change. The track is going to be a bit tighter and maybe not quite as fast. It might be a little tricky for the riders so I’m excited about it. We’ve done some things that have worked well in the past and gotten rid of some things that haven’t worked too well. I’m looking forward to seeing how it races. It always looks good on paper but you never really know until the gate drops.”
As a team co-owner, track designer and color commentator for the FOX Sports 1 television broadcast, Carmichael will wear multiple hats this weekend.
“Daytona has always been special to me,” Carmichael said. “It’s a special place. From the first time I raced there in 1997, it just really suited my style. Most people know the history of my outdoor career and how successful I was, so the Daytona Supercross really played right into my hands. That always made it fun for me. It has always been a very tough and demanding track and that suited me well, too. As a fourth-generation Floridian, it was always nice to race in my home state.”
Before the gate drops tomorrow night, Roczen and Weimer will sign autographs and meet fans at Deland Motorsports in Deland, Florida, March 4, from 6–7 p.m. Carmichael, Roczen and Weimer will also sign autographs at DIS on Saturday when RCH will host fans from 2:30-3 p.m. at the Cometic Gasket display, inside the Sprint Fan Zone. Tickets for autographs on Saturday will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the RCH mobile marketing unit, also located in the Fan Zone, beginning at 1 p.m.
The Daytona Supercross by Honda will be televised on Fox Sports 1 Saturday, March 5 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 7 p.m. Pacific.
Your Privacy Choices