RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki team is ready for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship opener this weekend.
The RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing team owned by Ricky Carmichael and Cary Hart has regrouped and is ready to tackle the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship full force, according to the team.
Two weeks ago, RCH limped out of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Series with the team’s main star, Ken Roczen, still on the sidelines due to an ankle injury sustained at the Atlanta II Supercross. That left Broc Tickle to fly the flag alone, and Tickle finished the season eighth in the series standings, improving by one position over his ninth-place finish in 2014. Furthermore, Roczen gave the team two supercross wins before suffering his injury. In the end, however, the team fell short of the championship goal it had set for itself.
But the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship brings a fresh start, and RCH says that it now has a renewed sense of enthusiasm as defending series champion Roczen is healthy and back on form. The 21-year-old Roczen became the first German rider ever to win an AMA premier-class motocross title, winning it in his rookie season by earning seven moto wins and claiming four overall wins. He only finished off the podium twice all season. Roczen, who also won the FIM World MX2 Championship back in 2011, knows the pressure that carrying a championship title can bring.
“I’m going to be riding with the number one plate on my bike so I’ll have a big target on my back,” Roczen said. “I want to defend the title really bad. Being able to defend is usually the hard part. You can win a championship, but defending it is the hard part. I’m going to put in every effort to be able to defend the championship, and hopefully that will be another dream come true.”
Roczen scored his first career Lucas Oil Pro 450cc National win at the Hangtown National in Sacramento, California, last year. The event, which was round two on the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship calendar will serve as the 2015 series opener this weekend, and Roczen knows that a win there could set the tone for a successful title defense.
“Over the years, I’ve always had good results at Hangtown, so I’m excited about it,” Roczen said. “I love racing at Hangtown. The track is awesome and it’s somewhat of a hometown race because it’s in California. I love the dirt there. It usually gets pretty rough. I like it a lot.”
Roczen’s success as a two-time outdoor series champion also gives him an insider’s perspective on how to win those titles.
“On the podium is always great, but we’re going to have to ride for race wins, too,” Roczen said. “Just being consistent and in the top five isn’t going to be enough. You’re going to have to take every single podium you can get but still ride smart. You can’t try too hard and crash. You have to be super-consistent, but it’s definitely going to come down to who has the most wins. That’s the mix you need. You have to be consistent but you have to go for wins, too. The level of competition is just so high right now, and that makes it super hard to win.”
The Hangtown National will mark Tickle’s return to Lucas Oil outdoor competition, as the 25-year-old Michigander missed the entire 2014 outdoor season while recovering from the serious back injury he sustained at the Toronto Supercross in march of 2014.
“I’m looking forward to outdoors,” Tickle said. “I feel really good on the bike. The team worked hard and Ivan [Tedesco, the team’s test rider] did a great job getting the bike set up. I think I’m going to come out for the outdoor season and surprise some people. I’ve had a lot of good days at the track since we started working on our outdoor program. It’s been fun.”
The new season also brings new team livery, as RCH will morph its traditional supercross partnership with Dodge to showcase the company’s Ram Trucks brand for the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. According to team co-owner Carey Hart, the move is a calculated one.
“We’ve discovered that while both Supercross and Motocross enthusiasts are avid fans, their consumer habits don’t necessarily line up,” Hart said. “The outdoor fan typically drives a truck and identifies more closely with outdoor sports and recreational activities. That’s why the Ram Truck sponsorship is such a great fit for our outdoor program.”
The first moto from Round 1 of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will be televised live on MAVTV Saturday, May 16 at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 2 p.m. Pacific. Television coverage for the second moto will shift to NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m. EDT. All motos can also be streamed live online through ProMotocross.com or the NBC Sports Live Extra app. NBC, NBCSN and MAVTV will combine to televise over 60 hours of racing over the course of the 12-round season.
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