Spectacular Sixth-Place Finish for Tickle, RCH at Metlife Stadium

As the old racing adage goes, if you can’t win, be spectacular.
 
Broc Tickle, rider of the No. 20 RM-Z450 for RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing, may not have won at Metlife Stadium, but he certainly was spectacular en route to a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
 
Tickle was racing with Andrew Short in the very late stages of the 20-lap main event when the two tangled in the rhythm section, launching the Holly, Mich., rider from his machine and over the tough blocks. Incredibly, despite being ejected from his No. 20 Suzuki and doing a perfect flip over the handlebars, Tickle landed on his feet, picked up his bike and ended up no worse for wear.
 
“I was sixth on the last lap, racing for fifth, and right at the finish line there was a three-five-three in the rhythm section, and I thought Shorty (Andrew Short) was going to go for it and at the last second he backed off,” explained Tickle from the RCH team transporter following the race. “I went for it and was already committed so I ended up jumping into the back of him and went for a pretty gnarly ride. Luckily, we were far enough ahead of seventh so it didn’t cost us any positions.”
 
The top-six showing was Tickle’s 10th top 10 in 15 races this season and he maintains eighth in the 450SX championship point standings. With one race left on the 2015 schedule, Tickle trails seventh-place Jason Anderson by 17 and is 21 back from Trey Canard in sixth.
 
The series enjoyed a historic afternoon in the shadows of the New York City skyline as 60,582 fans were on hand inside the home of the New York Jets and the New York Giants to be a part of the series’ first-ever live broadcast on the FOX television network.
 
The 2011 Supercross West Coast Lites Champion was competitive well before the starting gate dropped on the main event. He was fifth- and sixth-fastest, respectively, in Saturday’s two timed qualifying sessions and parlayed those results into a third-place finish in the first 450SX heat race of the day.
 
“I was really stoked about the track, it was super-soft and kind of reminded me of Seattle in 2010 when I got my first win on a 250,” Tickle continued. “I was really excited to get out there and race. We had shortened practices and I felt like we made changes in the right direction. I got a good start in my heat race and finished up third, so that was good.
 
“We made a couple changes before the main and went in the right direction but the start was terrible in the main event. I got a crappy jump and got pinched off. I think I came around the first corner almost last. I worked past a group of guys, got up to ninth or eighth, and guys just started making mistakes and losing positions. I definitely felt better this week. I had more intensity. I had a lot of fun riding outdoors last week so I think changing my routine made a big difference.”
 
After rattling off 16 races in 17 weeks, Monster Energy Supercross wraps up the season in style with the series’ traditional trip to Las Vegas for this weekend’s season finale. 
 
The 17th and final race of the year rings down the curtain on the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross season Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium. Live television coverage on FOX Sports 1 begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7 p.m. Pacific.

Adam Sinclair