RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing Looks to Rebound In Anaheim

CHINO HILLS, Calif. (January 29, 2015) – No one said it was going to be easy and last weekend that old cliché proved prophetic for RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing.

After two wins and a second-place finish in the season’s first three races, Ken Roczen was the man to beat heading into last weekend’s Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, at O.co Coliseum in Oakland. Roczen’s RCH teammate Broc Tickle was coming off a season-best, fifth-place finish the week prior and was steadily gaining ground in the championship standings.

Unfortunately, the RCH tandem’s momentum was stalled last weekend when both Roczen and Tickle came up short on the same triple during the 450SX main event, sending Tickle to the paddock for an early exit and leaving Roczen 15th in the official rundown. 

Following the event, Tickle made a voluntary trip to nearby Sutter Eden Medical Center where he was examined, released and cleared to travel home with the team. However, after consulting with his personal physician this week, Tickle and team owners Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael chose to park the No. 20 Suzuki RM-Z450 this weekend while Tickle recovers from a back injury sustained in Oakland. The injury was unrelated to the one he suffered last year at the Toronto Supercross.

“I’m disappointed that I’ll miss this weekend but, given my recent experience with back injuries, I’ve learned to take the doctor’s advice,” explained Tickle who slipped from seventh to 12th in points. “I don’t want turn a one-race injury into something bigger. It should be a pretty quick recovery and I can still do everything training-wise, except for riding. I need to stay off the bike for five to seven days. After that, I should be ready to go for San Diego in two weeks.”

Roczen’s scary impact with the face of the same triple didn’t take quite the physical toll on him as it did his teammate, but the miscue ultimately cost Roczen a lap and left him deep in the running order at the conclusion of the event.

“I’m going to keep working this week,” said Roczen, who now trails point leader Ryan Dungey by four heading into Round 5 at Anaheim. “I’m feeling great. I feel great on the bike. Everything is good. I’m not too worried about the championship. It’s only four points. We’ve got a lot of racing left. Oakland could have been another good night but I messed it up. Luckily, I wear Fox helmets and Oakley goggles to protect my head and eyes. Otherwise, my incident last weekend could've been a whole different story.”

Despite the setback, this weekend’s event at Angel Stadium of Anaheim offers great hope for Roczen and, statistically speaking, provides a tremendous boost of confidence. The 20-year-old German rider hasn’t missed a podium in his five Anaheim 450SX Class starts. Roczen is going for his third straight Anaheim victory this season and fourth overall. Since joining the 450SX class full time last season, Roczen has won three times at Angel Stadium and finished no worse than third.

“I’m really bummed for Broc not being able to race this weekend,” said Carmichael. “I know how hard he’s worked. The good thing is that he won’t be out very long. He's a student of the sport and, in fact, I’m sure he’ll use this weekend as a learning tool. Broc will be at the track this weekend with his teammates and play a key role in everything we’re doing. For Ken, obviously it wasn't the weekend he wanted in Oakland. He's still a young guy. It’s all part of the process. He's an intelligent competitor and learns from his mistakes. What happened at Oakland was one of those times where you learn what not to do. Sometimes, that’s the best way. Ken is a mentally tough guy. One of the strongest I have been around so that's a nice feather in his cap. He’ll be ready to roll Saturday night.”

Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, returns to Anaheim this weekend for the series’ third and final visit of the year to Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Race five of the 17-race Supercross schedule will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 Saturday, Jan. 31, beginning at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  
About RCH Racing …
RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing is a professional Supercross and Motocross team co-owned by 15-time AMA Champion Ricky Carmichael and Freestyle Motocross visionary and entrepreneur Carey Hart. RCH enjoys factory support from Suzuki as well as marketing partnerships with Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Jimmy Johns, Sycuan Casino, Dodge and Bel-Ray. Stay up to date on all the latest RCH Racing news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RCHRacing.

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