Believe it or not, if Ken Roczen wins the Phoenix Supercross, he can do something that no other rider in history has ever done. What is it?
After giving his new team its first-ever AMA Supercross win, reigning Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion Ken Roczen is coming to Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, with the hope that he can duplicate his performance. If he can, he could make a little history.
With a win at this weekend’s Phoenix Supercross, Roczen could become the first Suzuki rider in AMA Supercross history to win the first two rounds of the series. Suzuki riders who have won the supercross series opener but not won the second round include Roger DeCoster (500cc, 1974), Tony DiStefano (1976), Kent Howerton (1981), Greg Albertyn (1997) and Davi Millsaps (2013). Suzuki riders who failed to win the opening round but came back to win the second round include Darrell Shultz (1981), Ricky Carmichael (2005, 2006) and Ryan Dungey (2010).
The RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing-backed Roczen turned in a dominant performance in last weekend’s 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The German rider took the lead just after the first turn and led every lap in the 20-lap main event to land RCH’s first-ever 450cc Supercross win.
“It was good to grab the win in the opening round at Anaheim,” said Roczen, who now has the chance to become the first Suzuki rider in history to win the first two events of the season. “We just want to stay consistent and not get hyped up too early. We all need to just focus on doing our job. Going into Phoenix, I want to be aggressive again. It’s going to be a little bit of a harder track but I’m usually pretty good at that. In Germany, we didn’t have a watering system so I’m used to riding a lot of hard-packed tracks. I’m really looking forward to it. I think we can do some damage again. I want to be as aggressive as the track allows me to be.”
Naturally, Roczen is the current Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series points leader, and he comes into Phoenix with a three-point advantage over Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson. Roczen finished sixth at Phoenix in his rookie 450cc supercross season last year.
RCH’s Broc Tickle finished eighth at Anaheim in his comeback from the devastating injury he suffered at last March’s Toronto Supercross. Although Tickle currently sits eighth in points, the 25-year-old Holly, Michigan, rider said he was frustrated following his performance last weekend, even though he knows that his eighth-place finish was solid considering that it marked his return to supercross.
“I’m looking to build off Anaheim,” said Tickle, who won the 2011 AMA 250cc West Supercross Championship. “I was kind of frustrated after the race because I felt like I should have been better but, in the grand scheme of things, eighth is pretty good for being off the bike for so long. I just want to be better than I was at A1. That’s the goal. Keep maintaining, building and doing as much as we can to get closer to the top five.”
The Phoenix round is the second stop of the 17-races Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series tour. The event will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 Saturday, January 10, beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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