ROCZEN SCORES PHOENIX SUPERCROSS VICTORY ON SUZUKI RM-Z450
February 8, 2016
Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen broke through at round five of the Monster Energy AMA/FIM Supercross Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium to win his first Supercross final of the season. Roczen piloted his potent and agile Suzuki RM-Z450 to the checkers in front of 53,055 fans in the first series visit to the venue.
Team Suzuki highlights for this weekend’s racing in Phoenix included:
- RCH Suzuki’s Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen earning his first win of the season and moving up to second in the 450SX points standings.
- Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki’s Kyle Cunningham scoring another top-10 finish in 250 West competition on a Suzuki RM-Z250, taking eighth in Phoenix.
- A total of nine Suzuki riders making the evening program in Phoenix, including seven Suzuki RM-Z450 riders and two aboard the Suzuki RM-Z250.
Roczen’s Phoenix Victory Highlights Great Night for RCH Suzuki
Ken Roczen has been improving every weekend so far this Supercross season, and on Saturday night, he broke through to score his first victory of the year aboard his RCH Suzuki RM-Z450. It was a convincing flag-to-flag win, with Roczen’s Suzuki exploding out of the gate before carrying him to a 4.540-second margin of victory.
The longest start straight in Supercross history played right into the strength of Roczen’s powerful Suzuki.
“The start was so important,” said a jubilant Roczen after the victory. “That was the longest Supercross start I’ve ever seen hands down. This stadium is awesome and the crowd went crazy. The track got really rough. It was super hard-packed and high speed, so that was something else for sure. We’re going to keep working hard and see if we can get a few more of those.”
With his win Roczen moved up from fourth to second in the series points.
RCH Suzuki team co-owner Carey Hart was thrilled with his rider’s victory. “It was a great night,” Hart said. “In that main, he was pretty much flawless. Hopefully this will give us some momentum going into San Diego and then as we head back east.”
Cunningham Remains Solid on Motorcycle Superstore Suzuki RM-Z250
Kyle Cunningham nailed down his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in 250 West competition with an eighth in Phoenix on his Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki RM-Z250. Cunningham remains inside the top-10 of the AMA 250 West Region Supercross point standings.
Cunningham made the main event in spite of the high pressure of coming through the Last Chance Qualifier. He won the LCQ, giving him a boost of confidence going into the main.
“Having to go through the LCQ is never nice, but we put it in the main there with the win,” Cunningham explained. “In the main there was a big pileup in the second turn. Somehow I came to a complete stop and missed all of it. I just put my head down and rode as hard as I could. I came from somewhere around 18th to eighth, which is a good result. The bike was working really well. The guys on the team have done a great job.”
Nine Suzuki Riders in the Night Show at Phoenix
A total of nine Suzuki-mounted riders qualified and raced in the evening program in Phoenix. In the 450 class, there were seven riders aboard Suzuki RM-Z450s. In addition to Roczen, his RCH fill-in teammate Jake Weimer and Team3BR DSC Construction Suzuki’s Nicholas Schmidt made the premier class main. Jeff Alessi (Motoconcepts Suzuki), Alexander Nagy (MicroBilt/PRBC Suzuki) Teddy Parks (TPJ/Fly Racing/Suzuki) and Johnnie Buller (Inspired Nutraceuticals Suzuki) all qualified their Suzuki RM-Z450s for the evening program. Joining Kyle Cunningham aboard the Suzuki RM-Z250 in the 250 West Supercross class in the night show was Killian Auberson (TPJ/Fly Racing/Suzuki).
Yoshimura Suzuki Looking Ahead
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing missed the Phoenix round with both James Stewart and Blake Baggett sidelined. Yoshimura Suzuki will return as soon as either rider is ready to ride. Baggett is hoping to race this coming weekend at San Diego II.
Team Suzuki riders will be in action this coming Saturday, Feb. 13 at round six of Monster Energy AMA Supercross back at PETCO Park for the San Diego II Supercross. You can catch the action live on Fox Sports 1 next Saturday evening starting at 10:00 pm Eastern.
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