ROCZEN HIGHLIGHTS TEAM SUZUKI'S OAKLAND SUPERCROSS
February 1, 2016
Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen’s podium finish in round four of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, FIM Championship at O.co Coliseum was one of many highlights for Team Suzuki in a strong showing Saturday night in Oakland, California.
Team Suzuki highlights for this weekend’s racing in Oakland included:
- RCH Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen scores his best Supercross finish of 2016 with a second.
- New RCH Suzuki fill-in rider Jake Weimer has a solid debut with the team with an eighth-place main event finish.
- Of the six manufacturers in the race, Suzuki ties for the most riders in the Oakland Supercross main event with five riders racing the potent Suzuki RM-Z450.
- Nicholas Schmidt, with Team3BR DSC Construction Suzuki, takes the victory in the 450 class Last Chance Qualifier.
- Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki’s Kyle Cunningham scores another top-10 finish in 250 West competition on a Suzuki RM-Z250.
Roczen’s Runner-Up Finish Highlights Great Night for RCH Suzuki
Ken Roczen continued his steady climb at round four of the Supercross series in Oakland. He made yet another exciting charge in the main event to finish second on his powerful Suzuki RM-Z450. It marked Roczen’s best result of 2016 and moved him up in the standings, just two points out of second.
“Last weekend we were third, now second, so we’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Roczen said. “I made some poor line choices in the middle of the race and that allowed Ryan (Dungey) to gap me a little bit. I was fighting hard and we’re making improvements, so all in all a pretty good weekend.”
Roczen’s solid result advanced him from sixth to fourth in the series points.
Jake Weimer moved to the RCH Suzuki squad to replace the injured Broc Tickle and he scored an excellent eighth-place result, matching his best finish of the season. Weimer’s quick adaptation to the RM-Z450 speaks volumes to the reputation Suzuki has for building great handling motocross bikes.
Cunningham Strong Again on Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki RM-Z250
Kyle Cunningham recorded his third consecutive top-10 finish in 250 West series with an eighth in Oakland on his Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki RM-Z250. Cunningham’s finish keeps him in the top-10 of the AMA 250 West Region Supercross point standings.
Cunningham tapped into the tractable power and precise handling of his Suzuki RM-Z250 to work his way up after a tough start.
“I got a bad jump in the main event and started 19
th,” Cunningham explained. “I rode a really solid race. I came through the pack, made a lot of passes. It was a great ride to pass as many people as we did, but I definitely want to get up front and run with those guys and to do that I need to get up front quicker.”
A First for Yoshimura Suzuki
It was a notable night for Yoshimura Suzuki in Oakland, with both James Stewart and Blake Baggett finally racing together as teammates. Unfortunately though, an event that started with such positive energy was tempered as Stewart pulled out of the main event with vision issues and Baggett fell hard in a heat race banging up the same shoulder he’d recently had surgery on. Baggett ultimately finished his first race of 2016 in a gutsy 15
th place; Stewart exited just past midway and was credited with 22
nd after running near the front early in the race.
Other Oakland Notables
Nicholas Schmidt, with Team3BR DSC Construction Suzuki, put the spotlight brightly on Suzuki when he won the 450 Last Chance Qualifier.
Also of note was the fact that with Ken Roczen, Jake Weimer, Blake Baggett, Nicholas Schmidt and James Stewart, Suzuki put five riders in the premier event in Oakland, which was tied for the most riders in the field for a single manufacturer.
Team Suzuki riders will be in action this coming Saturday, Feb. 6 at round five of Monster Energy AMA Supercross at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, a new venue for the series. You can catch the action live on Fox Sports 2 next Saturday evening starting at 9:00 pm Eastern. Suzuki riders will be in the area on Friday, Feb. 5, from 6:00PM - 7:00PM to sign autographs for fans at Ride Now Powersports, 8546 W Ludlow Drive Suite 100, Peoria, Arizona.
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