STRONG DAY ON TRACK AND IN PADDOCK FOR RCH/YOSHIMURA/SUZUKI FACTORY RACING IN SEATTLE
April 11, 2017
STRONG DAY ON TRACK AND IN PADDOCK FOR RCH/YOSHIMURA/SUZUKI FACTORY RACING IN SEATTLE
SEATTLE (April 11, 2017) – With an outstanding day of marketing activation in the paddock area coupled with a strong night on the track, RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing offered several measures of success on Saturday night when Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, returned to CenturyLink Field.
Prior to Round 14, RCH announced a new relationship with Microsoft in which the global technology giant would showcase Virtual Reality, X Box, and Microsoft Surface devices trackside to the multitude of RCH and Supercross fans.
As a result of those efforts, team and Microsoft officials reported over 30,000 in person impressions in the Seattle paddock with several thousand race attendees visiting the Microsoft/ RCH Digital Transformation Area. A multitude of race fans also participated in one-on-one product demonstrations in one of the most electrifying environments in all of sports.
“The Microsoft/RCH Digital Transformation in the pits in Seattle was an incredible experience,” said RCH co-owner Carey Hart. “The environment and experience itself was even better than we expected. Supercross fans of all ages were beyond enthusiastic about the opportunity to experience Virtual Reality, play Xbox and try the amazing Microsoft Surface products. It’s exciting to see the potential this partnership has for RCH and the industry as a whole.”
As an added bonus, RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing riders Broc Tickle and Justin Bogle logged solid outings on the track while showcasing the Microsoft logo on the swingarms of their race machines.
Tickle, the senior member of the Suzuki RM Army, rode his RM-Z450 to a strong sixth-place finish, notching his seventh top 10 of the season. The strong effort allowed Tickle to tighten his grip on eighth in points where he now paces veteran Dean Wilson by 11 points and two-time Supercross Champion Chad Reed by 15. With three races left on the 2017 calendar, Tickle trails seventh-place Davi Millsaps by 18 points and sixth-place Blake Baggett by 19.
“Seattle was obviously a place I was looking forward to,” said Tickle. “I got my first win there in 2010 in the Lites Class. The track always seems to have soft dirt and it gets rutted and tough. I seem to excel in those conditions so I was looking forward to it going in. I was sick all week leading into the race. I didn’t ride. I didn’t train. I didn’t do anything. I kind of felt off a little bit all day. I just wasn’t feeling it and I’m sure that had something to do with being sick all week so I was stoked to come away with a sixth-place finish.”
Bogle finished fourth in the second 450SX Class semifinal race of the card and despite some trying and extenuating circumstances in the main event, went on the finish 12th and move up to 16th in points after securing his sixth top-12 finish of the season. With only six points separating Bogle from 15th-place Malcolm Stewart, three races leaves “the Captain” time to break through the top 15.
“We had a pretty good night but we’re still looking for a lot more,” said Bogle. “I drilled my start in the semi and was able to ride away but I had a problem, stalled the bike and ended up fourth. The start in the main event was a disaster. I was in pretty good position but I got pushed into a tuff block getting into the first corner and me and a few other guys went down. After that, all I could do was try to make laps and make up for lost time. It’s just kind of par for the course how our season has gone but there were still a lot of positive takeaways. I’m looking forward to the off weekend and gearing up for the last three.”
Monster Energy AMA Supercross takes this weekend off affording the teams and riders a welcome interval after racing for the last 14 straight weeks. Round 15 of the 2017 Supercross Championship from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City will be televised live on FS2 Saturday, April 22 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7 p.m. Pacific.
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