Roczen Takes 2nd at Phoenix Supercross
OutdoorHub 01.13.13
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen earned his second straight podium of the season when he finished 2nd overall in the 250SX class at the second round of the Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship held at Chase Field.
Roczen was placed in the first heat where he nailed the holeshot and pulled out to an early lead. Out front, he repeatedly knocked off fast laps and had pulled to a 6 second lead by the halfway point. He led every lap to the checkers to take his second heat win of the season.
“It feels great to get the heat win tonight,” commented Roczen. “Racing is the best form of training, and luckily, I was able to get some good laps in during that heat and I feel confident going into the main. The track is really good tonight and I am ready for the big show.”
When the gate dropped for the main event, Roczen had a bad jump off the gate and found himself in mid-pack around the first corner. He quickly set to work picking up positions but lost valuable time to the front runners as he moved through the pack. By the halfway point Roczen had moved into the top five, a lap later he made a pass on both Jessy Nelson and Cole Seely to move into podium position. With four laps to go, he set his sights on the 2nd place ride of Martin Davalos and began to reel him in. On the final lap, Roczen made a pass to take over the position and went on to take his second podium of the season.
“I am disappointed in my start tonight,” stated Roczen after the race. “I just had a bad start and had to spend too much time coming through the pack. My focus this last week has been my starts and I will continue to work on them in order to get up front early and battle for the lead in the next rounds.”
