Roczen, RCH Ready to Get Back on Track in Thunder Valley2016-06-03 11:45When a catastrophic failure ultimately results in a fourth-place finish, you must be doing something right. When you’re able to bounce back from that same fourth-place performance and answer with a dominant victory, well, that’s the stuff championships are made from. So went the story for Ken Roczen and his RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki Factory Racing team last weekend at Round 2 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. As a result of his never-give-up performance last Saturday, Roczen held on to the points lead and comes into tomorrow’s True Value Thunder Valley National displaying the red plate that signifies the championship leader on his Suzuki RM-Z450 for the second straight week. “This is how I should be riding and how things should be if we want to win a championship,” commented Roczen. “If I want to win a championship, I have to be fit and the bike has to run good. Everyone has to do their job. The team has to give me a good bike and in return, I have to be healthy and give them a good body. When everything is working, it’s a good combination.” Roczen’s affinity for the Lakewood, Colo., racecourse is evidenced by sound results. In four previous starts at Thunder Valley – two on a 250 and two aboard a 450 – the 22-year-old has an incredible second-place overall average finish. In eight total motos, Roczen has earned seven podiums and finished no worse than fourth. Dating back to his first 250 start at Thunder Valley in June 2012, Roczen has finished third, second, first and second overall, respectively. Last May, the 2014 Pro Motocross Champion earned a 3-2 finish at Thunder Valley where a flat tire ultimately cost him a win in the second moto. “I’m pretty stoked about this weekend,” Roczen continued. “We had an issue in the first moto last week but we were able to put that behind us and win the second moto and hang on to the points lead. Everyone kept their composure, I focused on my riding and we went and won the second moto. We did what we had to do. Thunder Valley should be another good race for us. We’re at a point where we expect to win. The goal for us is nothing short of the championship. Even if we have problems, we need to make the most out of it like we did last weekend.” For his part, Roczen’s RCH stablemate Broc Tickle finished 10th overall last weekend and is looking for a winning formula at Thunder Valley. The Holly, Mich., rider has eight total professional starts at the Colorado track, but with only two podiums to show for 16 motos, it’s no wonder the rider of RCH’s No. 20 RM-Z450 feels like he has unfinished business at Round 3. Still, Tickle returns to the site of his best overall finish last year where he raced to a pair of top fives and a fourth-place overall result. “I’m looking forward to Colorado,” offered Tickle who comes into Round 3 11th in points. “Last year I got fourth overall and it was a good race for me. We got a top 10 at Glen Helen and I feel like this weekend should be better than that. We’ve got something to build off of. I was better last weekend than I was the week before so that’s the goal tomorrow. If we can keep getting better, we’ll be right there racing for podiums and top fives.” Before the pits open and the starting gate drops, Tickle will meet fans and sign autographs tonight at RPM Motorsports. Located at 13th and Wadsworth in Lakewood, Colo., RPM Motorsports is one of Colorado's largest powersports superstores and offers an exceptional line of Suzuki on- and off-road motorcycles, ATVs and scooters. The first moto from Round 3 of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship from the True Value Thunder Valley National will be televised live on MAVTV Sat., June 4 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 11 a.m. Pacific. Television coverage for the second moto will shift to NBCSN at 4 p.m. EDT, 1 p.m. Pacific. All motos can also be streamed live online through ProMotocross.com or the NBC Sports Live Extra app. More than 60 hours of coverage will be featured on NBC, NBCSN, and MAVTV throughout the 12-round championship, highlighted by nearly 40 hours of LIVE coverage and three hour-long showcases on network television via NBC. -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. 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 twitter.com/Broctickle instagram.com/broctickle Source: Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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