RCH Factory Racing confirmed that it has re-signed 2011 AMA Supercross Lites West Champion Broc Tickle of Holly, Michigan, to ride a second Suzuki factory-backed RM-Z450 alongside new recruit Ken Roczen for the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series and the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
RCH says that Tickle, 25, had shown great promise on the Ricky Carmichael- and Carey Hart-owned team over the last season two seasons, but a crash while practicing at the Toronto Supercross left him with fractures of the T-6 and T-7 vertebra, two broken ribs and a collapsed lung, ending his 2014 season.
Tickle has fully recovered from his injuries, however, making it an easy decision for RCH re-sign him to the team for 2015. Tickle said that he is excited to be back.
“We’ve had an awesome two years together and for Carey and Ricky to bring me back after my injury really shows what kind of guys those two are,” Tickle said. “They stuck with me and kept a spot for me. We were heading in the right direction until I got hurt in Toronto. I’m glad all that’s behind us, and I feel great. I’ve been riding and getting ready for the Supercross season for the last month, and I’m really pumped with the progress we’re making. All of the work the team has done building and testing with Ivan Tedesco over the summer and fall has definitely paid off. The bike is amazing.
“I’m also really excited that Thor, Bell, X Brand and Sidi will be my personal sponsors for 2015,” Tickle added. “Some of the brands I’ve worked with in the past with great success and some are new to me. I’m looking forward to building strong relationships with all of them and having a breakout year with RCH Factory Racing.”
After winning the 2011 Supercross Lites West title for Monster Energy Pro Circuit, Tickle made the jump from the 250cc class to the premier 450cc class the following season. A fifth-place finish in the final 2012 Supercross point standings and a ninth-place finish in the result outdoors netted him a new opportunity for 2013 with RCH.
The new combination proved to be a consistent mix for Tickle and RCH, with a solid first season paying off in the form of eighth-place finishes in both Supercross and Motocross season-end points.
Last season, Tickle kick-started the 2014 campaign with back-to-back eighth-place finishes at Anaheim One and Phoenix before a pair of incidents in heat races at A2 and Oakland kept him from competing in each race’s 450 SX Main Event. From there, he only finished outside the top eight once over the next six stops, including a career-best fourth-place showing at Daytona International Speedway, before the injury in Toronto.
“I’m very excited to be bringing Broc back for a third year with the team,” team principal Hart said. “He was showing major gains each week last year, leading up to Toronto. We’re all looking forward to picking up where we left off, and having a very successful year of Supercross and Motocross.”
RCH Factory Racing has seen steady progress on and off the track since Hart and Carmichael formed a joint venture in 2013 and achieved the pairing’s first podium finish in April of this year at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tickle’s number 20 RM-Z450 will showcase sponsorship from Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Jimmy Johns, Sycuan Casino, Dodge, Bel Ray and Rockford Fosgate.
“We’re glad to have Broc back with RCH for 2015,” Carmichael said. “We were really happy with the progress he was making last year. You could see his confidence building as he got better every week. We all know he got hurt in Toronto but, up until then, he put together some solid races and had the finishes to show for it. We’re looking forward to having him around this year so he can finish what he started last season. I know that’s at the forefront of Broc’s mind, as well.”
The 2015 Monster Energy Supercross season kicks off Saturday, January 3, 2015, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. The first of 17 races on the 2015 Supercross schedule will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
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