RCH Keeping it Simple at Utah National

2015-08-13 18:57
Two to go. Not the white flag, or the checkers but in any form of racing, two to go means one thing – finish strong.

That’s the simple philosophy for RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing as the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship visits Miller Motorsports Park for this weekend’s Zions Bank Utah National. With only two races remaining on this season’s outdoor schedule, time is short to earn points, podiums and race wins - simple facts not lost on defending series' champion Ken Roczen and his RCH stablemate Broc Tickle.

While the championship is most likely out of reach for Roczen, both he and Tickle still have ample opportunity to finish off the year on a positive note for RCH team owner’s Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael.

With current 450 Class leader Ryan Dungey holding down a comfortable 79-point lead, the battle for second continues to wage between Roczen and second-place Justin Barcia. Just 13 points separate Roczen from Barcia heading in to the 11th of 12 rounds. At the same time, Tickle is seventh in points but the Holly, Mich., rider can’t rest on his laurels with eighth-place Weston Peick trialing by only three.

After his well-documented struggles to start the season, Roczen has rebounded and put together a solid resume in 2015. While it may fall short of the team’s championship hopes, the 21-year-old German has earned one overall win and three podiums over the first 10 races. Despite winning fewer overalls and perhaps less motos than expected, the 2011 MX2 World Champion boasts an impressive 4.85 average finish over the season’s first 20 motos.

“We’ve spent a lot of time working on the bike, trying to get better,” explained Roczen. “We haven’t won as many races as we hoped but everyone on the team has worked hard and we’re getting better every weekend. We had a problem in the first moto last weekend at Unadilla but in the second moto, I was able to race up front with Ryan (Dungey) and show that we’re not going away. The most important thing is that we keep working and finish out the year strong. We’re gaining on it and I think that’s going to show in these last two rounds. I haven’t won at Utah, but it’s been a pretty good track for me so I’m pumped about this weekend.”

In two prior starts at the Utah National, including 250 and 450 competition, Roczen has finished third and fourth overall, respectively. Interestingly enough, the rider of the No. 1 Suzuki RM-Z450 recorded a 4-3 result in 2013 and 3-4 last year.

After sitting out the entire 2014 outdoor season with a back injury, Tickle has forged a solid first 10 races, highlighted by a pair of top fives and eight top-seven overall finishes. Over those same 20 motos, the 25-year-old veteran rider has been a fixture amongst the top-tier competitors by virtue of an 8.4 finishing average.

Miller Motorsports Park was added to the Pro Motocross schedule for the first time in 2013, affording Tickle only one prior start at the state-of-the-art suburban Salt Lake City venue. That resulted in a disappointing 19th-place overall finish. Still, Tickle knows a positive attitude goes a long way and history won’t hinder his enthusiasm.

“I’ve only raced the Utah National once and I didn’t have the best day so I’m really looking forward to going back and hopefully putting it all together,” said Tickle. “We had a good weekend at Unadilla and hopefully, we can carry that into Saturday. The bike’s getting better and I felt really good toward the end of the motos last week. I’m confident about these last two races. I think we’re in a great spot to finish out the year on a high note.”

Before the pits open and the gate drops at the track, Roczen and Tickle will meet fans and sign autographs on Friday, Aug. 14, from 5 – 6 p.m. at The Edge Powersports and Performance. Located about 50 minutes east of Miller Motorsports Park in Draper, Utah, The Edge is Salt Lake's fastest growing powersports dealership and sells KTM, Suzuki motorcycles and ATVs, Arctic Cat snowmobiles, ATVs and Prowlers.

The first moto of the Zions Bank Utah National will be televised live on MAVTV Sat., August 15 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, noon Pacific. Coverage for the second moto will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on NBCSN at 11 p.m. EDT. All motos can 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.

About RCH Racing …
RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing is a professional Supercross and Motocross team co-owned by 15-time AMA Champion Ricky Carmichael and Freestyle Motocross visionary and entrepreneur Carey Hart. RCH enjoys factory support from Suzuki as well as marketing partnerships with Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Jimmy John’s, Ram Trucks and Bel-Ray. Stay up to date on all the latest RCH Racing news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RCHRacing.

Follow RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing, Ken Roczen and Broc Tickle at:
facebook.com/RCHRacing
twitter.com/RCHracing
instagram.com/rchracing

facebook.com/KenRoczen94
twitter.com/KenRoczen94
instagram.com/kenroczen94

broctickle.com
facebook.com/BrocTickle20
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instagram.com/broctickle

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