Roczen Returns to Podium at Southwick

Southwick, MA – Red Bull/KTM Factory 250 Motocross class rider Ken Roczen returned to the podium for the ninth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with a 3rd place overall finish. His teammate, Marvin Musquin, finished 4th overall for the day at the MX-338 race track.

When the gate dropped for moto one, Roczen was sitting in the bottom ten while Musquin earned a 2nd place start. Musquin dropped temporarily to 3rd on the 2nd lap but was able to put his KTM 250 SX-F back into the runner-up position by the sixth lap. At that point, he held on the gas and was able to maintain his position through the remainder of the moto to earn his best finish of the season.

Meanwhile, Roczen worked his way up from a 10th place start to 6th position by the second lap of the race. At the halfway point, he moved up two more positions and was able to secure 4th place. From there, he put 17 seconds on the 5th place rider as he tried to close in on the top three. Unfortunately, he was unable to close the gap before the moto end and remained in 4th when the checkers flew.

The Red Bull/KTM teammates switched starting patterns in the second moto. This time, it was Roczen with a great start while Musquin was stuck back in 8th place off the gate. Roczen started 2nd in the first moto and quickly passed Jessy Nelson for the lead by the start of the second lap. Roczen maintained the lead for the majority of the moto with heavy pressure coming at the two lap board. It was on this lap that Blake Baggett began to apply heavy pressure to take the lead. Baggett passed once and Roczen was able to put a wheel on him and sneak back into the lead. On the second attempt, Baggett made the pass stick and took over the lead. Roczen held on for a hard fought 2nd place. Musquin came from an 8th place start to move into the top five and take 5th overall in the second moto.

Roczen’s 4-2 moto finishes earned him the final spot on the podium with a 3rd place overall result. His teammate’s 2-5 results placed him in 4th overall for the day.

“I am really happy with my finish today,” claimed Roczen after the race. “I felt much better at this round than I have in the past couple races. I felt like I had the speed to win a race today. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the win but I am a step closer than I was before and am excited to have my confidence back.”

Next Event: New Berlin, NY – August 18, 2012

Overall Results 250 Motocross Class –

1. Blake Baggett – 3-1

2. Eli Tomac – 1-3

3. Ken Roczen – 4-2 – KTM

4. Marvin Musquin – 2-5 – KTM

5. Justin Barcia – 7-4

6. Malcolm Stewart – 6-7 – KTM

7. Alex Martin – 8-6

8. Jessy Nelson – 5-11

9. Travis Baker – 10-10

10. Ryan Sipes – 12-12

11. Justin Bogle – 11-13

12. Jason Anderson – 37-8

13. Wil Hahn – 21-9

14. Blake Wharton – 9-28

15. Cole Thompson – 13-18

16. Jacob Hayes – 16-16 – KTM

17. Tony Lorusso – 15-17

18. Zack Freeberg – 33-15 – KTM

19. Shawn Rife – 14-29

20. Martin Davalos – 35-15

Overall Point Standings 250 Motocross Class –

1. Blake Baggett – 400

2. Justin Barcia – 376

3. Eli Tomac – 368

4. Ken Roczen – 345

5. Marvin Musquin – 294