Roczen Races to Runner-Up Finish In Seattle

With age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes performance. While Ken Roczen came up just short of that ever-so-elusive first win of 2019 at the Seattle Supercross, the affable fan favorite and rider of the Wiseco-sponsored No. 94 Honda CRF450R turned in a spirited second-place finish Saturday night.

After suffering a series of well documented injuries over the last two seasons, an older and wiser version of the 24-year-old German finds himself focusing first on finishing, and then finishing first.

 

Round 12 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross proved to be another step forward for Roczen, who was either at or near the top of the speed charts in qualifying and on the top step of the podium after winning his heat race.

 

When the starting gate dropped for the main event, Roczen rounded the first corner fourth in the running order, but it took him just one set of jumps and one more corner before he was up to third. Moments later, the two-time Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion took over the runner-up slot, where he raced for the remainder of the 20-minute-plus-one-lap main event.

 

“Seattle was a lot better for me,” explained Roczen following his fourth runner-up performance of the season. “I’m still not 100 percent with whatever is going on with my body, but the feeling that I had on the bike was good all day. It was the same for the races. I just tried to go out there and have fun, and I rode really well. I had a good heat race and then got a good start in the main. The track was super technical, especially with the whoops, which were very tough. Overall, it was a huge step in the right direction. I think we’re all pretty happy with how it ended up this weekend. It’s a big monkey off our back.”

 

Roczen’s Team Honda HRC stablemate Cole Seely turned in a spirited effort at Round 12, where the Costa Mesa, Calif., resident finished fourth in his heat race and came home with a respectable ninth-place finish in the main event.

 

“I finally put myself in a good position to run up front this weekend,” said Seely. “Honestly, I’m not in the best shape right now and the training I didn’t get to do last year, because of my injury, is really catching up with me. I lost a lot with cardio and strength and I’m feeling the impact of that now. I’m doing what I can during the week but it’s hard to build strength and build endurance during the season and not feel too flat on the weekends. Of course, I’m doing my best. I’ve had some speed and finally got to show that. It’s a hard pill to swallow fading that far back, but at the same time, it’s the position that I’m in right now. I’ve never had a year like this where I’m building throughout the entire season. It’s hard and it’s different, but we’re going to keep pushing and keep fighting.”

 

With 12 rounds complete and five rounds left to contest, Roczen is fourth in points while Seely sits 10th.

 

Meanwhile, the Western Regional 250SX Class was back in action, where RJ Hampshire and Cameron Mcadoo carried the Wiseco colors for the GEICO Honda team. Despite both riders going down in the first corner and having to race their way through the 22-rider field in the junior circuit’s main event, Hampshire finished sixth while McAdoo was credited with an eighth-place finish at night’s end.

 

“These last few weeks I’ve really been tested,” commented Hampshire in an Instagram post. “Still in one piece and looking forward to Houston.” 

 

Monster Energy AMA Supercross returns to Houston’s NRG Stadium this weekend to mix it up at the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. The 13th race on the 2019 Supercross schedule will be televised live on NBCSN Sat., March 30 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 5 p.m. Pacific.

Adam Sinclair