RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki rider Ken Roczen will be seeking the 2015 Anaheim sweep while teammate Broc Tickle lays low for a week.
RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen will be looking to rebound from a nearly disastrous fourth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season and lift the spirits of his injury-plagued RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki team when the series returns to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, for round five tomorrow night.
With two wins and a second-place finish in the season’s first three races, Roczen was on fire coming into O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California, last weekend, and his RCH teammate, Broc Tickle, had also carded a season-best, fifth-place finish at Anaheim II one week earlier.
But the team’s mojo was dented after both Roczen and Tickle came up short on the same triple during the 450cc main event in Oakland, forcing Tickle out of the race while Roczen recovered and soldiered around the track to a disappointing 15th-place finish. Tickle would make a trip to Sutter Eden Medical Center where he was examined, released and cleared. However, after consulting with his personal physician this week, Tickle, with the full support of team owners Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael, will not be in the lineup for Anaheim III in order to assist with the recovery of a back injury sustained in the Oakland incident; it is worth noting that the injury is unrelated to the one Tickle suffered last year at the Toronto Supercross.
“I’m disappointed that I’ll miss this weekend but, given my recent experience with back injuries, I’ve learned to take the doctor’s advice,” Tickle said. “I don’t want turn a one-race injury into something bigger. It should be a pretty quick recovery, and I can still do everything training-wise, except for riding. I need to stay off the bike for five to seven days. After that, I should be ready to go for San Diego in two weeks.”
Roczen’s impact on the face of the same triple looked more serious than it was, but it did cost him a lap and left him deep in the pack for the rest of the race. Undaunted by the turn of events at Oakland, Roczen, who now trails point leader Ryan Dungey by four heading into Anaheim III, said that is simply going to go back to work.
“I’m feeling great,” Roczen said. “I feel great on the bike. Everything is good. I’m not too worried about the championship. It’s only four points. We’ve got a lot of racing left. Oakland could have been another good night but I messed it up. Luckily, I wear Fox helmets and Oakley goggles to protect my head and eyes. Otherwise, my incident last weekend could’ve been a whole different story.”
Statistically speaking, Anaheim rounds have been very good to Roczen. The 20-year-old German rider hasn’t missed a podium in his five Anaheim 450cc starts, and he will be gunning for his third straight Anaheim victory. Since joining the 450Scc class full time last season, Roczen has won three times at Angel Stadium, including Anaheim I and Anhaim II this season, and he has never finished worse than third.
RCH team co-owner put the week’s news in perspective.
“I’m really bummed for Broc not being able to race this weekend,” Carmichael said. “I know how hard he’s worked. The good thing is that he won’t be out very long. He’s a student of the sport and, in fact, I’m sure he’ll use this weekend as a learning tool. Broc will be at the track this weekend with his teammates and play a key role in everything we’re doing. For Ken, obviously it wasn’t the weekend he wanted in Oakland. He’s still a young guy. It’s all part of the process. He’s an intelligent competitor and learns from his mistakes. What happened at Oakland was one of those times where you learn what not to do. Sometimes, that’s the best way. Ken is a mentally tough guy. One of the strongest I have been around so that’s a nice feather in his cap. He’ll be ready to roll Saturday night.”
Race five of the 17-race Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Angel Stadium will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 Saturday, Jan. 31, beginning at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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