Roczen, RCH Look for Three of a Kind in Las Vegas2016-05-07 08:05After picking up wins in the last two rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing and Ken Roczen, rider of the No. 94 Suzuki RM-Z450, look to make it three in row when the 2016 season officially comes to a close tomorrow night in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium. While Roczen was forced to concede the 2016 title to three-time series champion Ryan Dungey last week at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the nine-time Monster Energy Supercross winner looks to put an exclamation point on the indoor season by earning his sixth win of the year. In the season’s first 16 races, the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion has put together an impressive string of successes, not finishing outside the top six since the season began. Over that same span, Roczen has earned five wins, 11 podiums and 13 top fives, positioning him to close out the 2016 indoor campaign with a career-best points showing. Meanwhile, Roczen returns to the site of his 2015 Monster Energy Cup win, where he looks to become one of just a handful of riders to earn six or more premiere class wins in a single season. “We’ve had a great season and obviously it would be nice to finish it off with another win,” explained Roczen, who has locked down second in the championship by an insurmountable 37 points over third-place Jason Anderson. “We really hit our stride the second half of the season and the last five races have been awesome. I feel like I’m one with the bike and that’s really the difference. Unfortunately, the championship got away from us but we’ve had a great run ever since Santa Clara so our plan is to wrap up Supercross with another win and head into outdoors with the momentum we need.” Broc Tickle, rider of RCH’s No. 20 Suzuki is looking for a boost in performance to close out his 2016 Supercross season. Tickle was injured in a practice crash early in the year and has only competed in six events, with a best finish of 11th coming in the season opener in Anaheim, Calif. Last weekend, Tickle raced with the leaders early and went on to turn in a hard fought 13th-place showing. “Going into Vegas, we’re still building momentum,” said Tickle who finished second in 250SX competition at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2011. “I’ll try to improve on Saturday night and then we’ll have a weekend off before we head into the outdoor season. I’m really looking forward to that. This summer should be fun.” Jake Weimer had an up and down season that started out with Team Tedder before moving to RCH, prior to Round 4 in Oakland, to pilot the No. 12 Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450. Since then, the Rupert, Idaho native has earned four top 10s and comes into tomorrow’s season-finale 13th in points with only six markers separating him from the top 10. “My goal this weekend is a top 10,” said Weimer, the 2010 winner of the 250SX Class East/West Shootout. “I want to try and finish this thing off strong and on a high note. That would be important to me.” With all but one race in hindsight, five-time Supercross Champion and RCH co-owner Ricky Carmichael pointed out the peaks and valleys of the team’s season and is rightfully optimistic about Saturday night. Carmichael will be in Las Vegas this weekend to assume his post as part of the broadcast team for the event’s live telecast on FS1 and FS2. “Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the season turned out,” explained Carmichael, a three-time Las Vegas winner. “We came up short on the championship, which is a bummer, but it's the best season we’ve had to date from a points and wins standpoint. That’s an accomplishment by RCH I’m very proud of. We’re looking forward to wrapping it up with another great finish from all our guys.” Before the starting gate drops at the track, Tickle and Weimer will meet fans and sign autographs at Carter Powersports, tonight from 6 - 7 p.m. Located just minutes east of the Las Vegas Strip, Carter Powersports is a premier Suzuki dealer and proudly offers new and used motorcycles, parts and accessories, clothing and replacement parts. The curtain rings down on the 2016 season Saturday night where Round 17 of Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will be televised live on FS2 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7 p.m. Pacific. Coverage will shift to FS1 at 11 p.m. EDT, 8 p.m. Pacific. -30- About RCH Racing … RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing is a professional Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro 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 and Bel-Ray. Stay up to date on all the latest RCH Racing news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RCHRacing. Source: RCH Racing Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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