Second-Place Result at AMA Pro Motocross Finale Earns Roczen Second in Series

2019-08-26 10:15
The 2019 AMA Pro Motocross season came to an exciting close at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, as Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen battled hard throughout both of the day’s 30-minute-plus-two-lap motos to finish second overall with 2-3 scores, securing second in the championship points standings.

Roczen kicked off the day with a fifth-place start in moto one, then swiftly made passes and took over the lead before the green flag. He continued to push once in front, opening a small gap early in the race. At the halfway point, Roczen was unable to maintain his early pace, allowing Eli Tomac to close and begin applying pressure. It turned into a three-way battle for the lead, as Marvin Musquin moved in and ultimately made the pass into second behind the German. Roczen didn’t give up easily, fighting hard to maintain the front spot, but he ultimately relinquished the lead on lap 15. In moto two, Roczen got off the line to an eighth-place start but moved into second on the opening lap, then made an impressive pass into the lead over the large uphill jump. Once again, the Roczen laid down strong laps out front and fought hard to fend off advances but eventually gave up two positions, taking the checkered flag in third.

NOTES

On the eve of the AMA Pro Motocross finale, Team Honda HRC hosted a team barbecue in the Ironman MX pits to honor Cole Seely, who recently announced his retirement from professional racing. After dinner, Team Manager Erik Kehoe, Technical Director Takashi “Sam” Mishima and HRC Technical Support Naoki Serizawa presented Seely with custom trophies, one from American Honda and the other from Japan’s Honda Racing Corporation and HGA (Honda motorcycle R&D). Seely spent 10 years in the Honda family. The GEICO Honda team was also in attendance, bidding farewell to longtime rider RJ Hampshire, who departs for another team next season.
Following his recent successful strategy, Ken Roczen scored the top spot in qualifying for the third consecutive week, laying down the fastest laps in both sessions, with a top time of 2’00.762”.
After the racing action concluded, Roczen and his crew joined the rest of the riders and teams for an end-of-season barbecue and awards banquet hosted by series promoter MX Sports. Roczen was presented with the award for second in the championship. “I’m really happy,” he said. “Since the actual championship was wrapped up [early], second was my ultimate goal for the last round. It’s not how I’d want to get it, with [Marvin] Musquin getting hurt in moto two, but it’s not over until it’s over, so I’ll take it.”
Despite the 2019 season’s ups and downs, Roczen was pleased overall, having campaigned every race in both the AMA Supercross and the AMA Pro Motocross series. “I’ve had a lot of stuff thrown at me these past three years, so honestly, the biggest goal and accomplishment from this year is racing all 29 rounds,” he said. “We achieved that this year and it’s going to be a huge setup for the next year already.”
The GEICO Honda crew wrapped up the season on a high note, with Chase Sexton finishing fourth in the first 250 class moto before scoring a third-place moto-two result, landing him fourth overall aboard his CRF250R. In his final showing with the squad, RJ Hampshire secured seventh overall with 9-6 marks. Rookie Amsoil Honda rider Jett Lawrence wrapped up the day in 13thwith 12-14 finishes, while teammate Jo Shimoda was 15thwith 14-16 scores.
Now that the season is over, Roczen will take nearly a month off to allow his body time to rest and recover before he begins his preparation for the Red Bull Straight Rhythm on October 5. “I’m honestly looking forward to just taking some actual time off,” he said. “I just want to get healthy and the only way for me to do that is to not really do anything and just rest. After the season I’m going to Hawaii, Germany and Lake Powell.”
Media contact:

Mandie Fonteyn // Jonnum Media // mandie@jonnummedia.com // +1 (951) 537-0454

Ken Roczen 94
“This season has been tough. We had a lot of ups and downs but I’ve also checked off and accomplished some goals, including finishing the whole year, battling for wins and getting back to 1-1 at Unadilla. I tried to ride my heart out this year, gave it my all each weekend and never backed down, which is important to me. Overall today was good though, finishing second on the day. The first moto was crazy; we were going 100% the whole race. I had Eli [Tomac] and Marvin [Musquin] on me almost the whole time, so it made for a three-way battle, which hasn’t happened too much this year; it was cool to race it but also exciting for the fans. It was a bummer to give up the win in the final laps but the track was really gnarly and I just made some mistakes. I just wanted to go out in the second moto again and just fight hard. I think this year will set us up good for 2020 but in the meantime, I’m looking forward to a much-needed break.”

Ken Roczen
Erik Kehoe
Team Manager
“Well that's a wrap on the season. It was great to see Ken end on a strong note with another podium and securing second in the championship. He definitely had some highs and lows throughout the year, but overall it was a success with Ken racing every round. He made a lot of progress and showed some incredible speed all year, so this is definitely something we can build on in 2020. Once he takes some time off to allow his body to rest and recover, Ken will be a total threat.”

Erik Kehoe
Oscar Wirdeman
Mechanic (Ken Roczen)
“Today was pretty bittersweet. Not only did it mark the end of the season but it was also my last race with Ken. We’ve had a fun and crazy few years together, filled with a lot of highs and lows, so I’m going to miss working with him. This year overall has been positive considering we made it through the whole season, but it did have its difficulties. It was great to see him capture three overall wins this year, finish the season with another podium and second in the championship.”

Oscar Wirdeman
450MX Moto 1 Results
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1
MUSQUIN
Marvin 25 FRA 25 Red Bull KTM
2
ROCZEN
Ken 94 GER 22 Team Honda HRC

Source: Honda Racing Corporation

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story