KEN ROCZEN’S IMPRESSIVE COMEBACK RIDE HIGHLIGHTS ANAHEIM 1 FOR SUZUKI
January 11, 2016
The 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship, kicked off Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, and Suzuki was a big part of the evening’s stories. Suzuki will have an even bigger presence at Supercross events this year with additional backing of support teams, including in the 250 West and East Regional Series.
Suzuki highlights for this weekend’s racing at Anaheim 1 included:
- Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen making a strong comeback on his RM-Z450 after a crash to rally to a solid top five finish in the Main Event.
- Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart delivering an impressive comeback to AMA Supercross competition aboard his RM-Z450 before being an incident took him out of the show.
- A total of 10 Suzuki riders - seven on Suzuki RM-Z450s and three aboard Suzuki RM-Z250s – qualified for the evening program at Anaheim 1.
Roczen Overcomes Adversity
RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen shook off tough luck and used his potent Suzuki RM-Z450 to make a strong come-from-behind charge after a tumble in the main event. He finished the day taking home a truckload of points with a strong fifth-place finish.
“I had to go to the Semi where I got third, which was alright,” Roczen said. “I got a terrible start in the second start of the Main and went down again in the second corner. I literally had to come from dead last. I think I was riding pretty good. I’m glad the day is done because it was really rough for me today, but in the end it was a good run.”
Roczen’s teammate Broc Tickle was just edged out of a top ten finish carding a solid 11
th. Tickle looks to build on that next weekend.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Stewart was Solid in Comeback Before Tough Luck Hit
Things were going better than planned most of the day for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart in his return to the series, before a hard crash caused by a competitor took him out in the Main. His Suzuki RM-Z450 carried him to third in qualifying and powered him directly to the Main from his Heat race.
“James came in ready to race,” said Yoshimura Suzuki team manager Mike Webb. “Everything was going to plan, maybe even better than we expected. He was strong in timed qualifying, went out and qualified directly into the Main from his Heat race, had a great start in the final and then out of nowhere he ends up on the ground due to no fault of his own. It’s a real shame for all the work he put into this comeback, but I’m hopeful he’ll be able to bounce back soon and quickly put this behind him.”
Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki's Cunningham Makes 250 West Main
Kyle Cunningham put his Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki into the main for the first round of the 250 West Series. “In the main I was running top 10 and made a couple of mistakes,” Cunningham said. “I got tangled with someone and went down the first time, then went down again which really killed the results. We learned a lot of things. All the guys over a Motorcycle Superstore have been so great to be working with, and Suzuki’s support with the RM-Z250 has been awesome.”
Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki is just one of the many new teams putting Yellow RM-Z's on the track for 2016.
Yoshimura/Dirt Candy Graphics/Suzuki,
TPJ/Fly Racing/Suzuki and
MicroBilt/PRBC/Suzuki have also chose the superior handling characteristics of Suzuki motocross bikes for their 2016 Supercross racing efforts.
Team Suzuki will be back in action next Saturday, Jan. 16, at round two of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Petco Park in San Diego. Fans can meet and get autographs from many of Suzuki’s athletes on Friday Jan. 15 from 6:00pm - 7:00pm at Southbay Motorsports, 1890 Auto Park Place, Chula Vista, CA 91911.
The San Diego races will be shown live on Fox Sports 1 starting at 7 pm local time.
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