Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 6, 2015 P49 an outdoor one for them and now I got a Supercross one. We'll have more in the future. I can't wait. I'm just so happy with everything." Sometimes there are surprises in racing, but in this case the first- timer's plans went accordingly. "I was sitting on the line and I just pictured the race in my head," Nelson said. "And that's exactly how it came out: if I got a good start I needed to sprint for a few laps and put in a smooth race. I'm glad I did that and am super happy." His plan for the season: "Just take it race by race and have fun, that's it." RCH SUZUKI'S FIRST WIN For race-team owners Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael, Ken Roczen's A1 win was a signifi- cant milestone in each one of their already highly successful careers—it was their first win ever in Supercross as race-team owners. Hart first got the ball rolling when he formed the Hart & Huntington/Rockstar Team in 2008. In 2013, Carmichael came on board as co-owner, bring- ing with him support from the Suzuki factory, and they soon formed the RCH (Ricky Carmichael/Carey Hart) Suzuki Team, with riders Broc Tickle and Josh Hill. Roczen, who had just won the 450-class outdoor National title, joined the team after the 2014 season and they resigned Tickle, who missed much of the 2014 season with a back/neck injury. "I'm really happy for the guys," Carmichael said. "I'm happy for Ken and I'm happy for Broc (who finished eighth). He had a near career-ending injury last year—I'm really happy for him. But most of all, I'm happy for the guys behind the scene, the guys at the shop who bust their asses every week. When Carey and I had this vision a couple of years ago—three years ago now—who would've ever thought? But this was our goal and to see it happen and come to fruition is very comforting. I'm also happy for the sponsors: Jimmy Johns Suzuki, Sycuan, Bel Ray, Dodge, because without them and their funding, this wouldn't be possible—Suzuki, SMAI and the guys in upper management for believing in our goal." "It's been a long time coming," said Hart. "We started this program back in '08, and we really gained momentum when Ricky came on board. I've got to say, that between Ricky, Mark Johnson, Kyle Bentley and the whole technical team, it's just been like a perfect storm. We got Ken this year and everybody has been working so well together in the preseason, and when we got here today, it felt like we were at the test track, just another day on the bike. Everyone was cool and calm, and everything went so seamless. I just could not be happier for these guys." Hart said Roczen's win under his roof was one of the happiest mo- ments of his career. "Those 20 laps were about the longest 18 and half minutes of my life!" he said. "Each lap felt like it took an hour. I grabbed my kid and my wife (singer Pink) on about lap 12 and took off running down to the floor, and to watch him go across that finish line and see those lights fire up; it was the best feeling in the world." Both Carmichael and Hart added that they were especially happy for Tickle and his return. "I'm so happy for Broc," Hart said. "He is just such a good guy and to see him come off that in- jury that he had last year—that first gate drop could have been a men- tal nightmare, but he rose above, he had a great preseason, and he's been riding strong the whole time. I couldn't be happier for Broc. Carmichael, a five-time Super- cross Champion, says it's hard to compare his first win as a team owner to any win as a racer. "It's a lot different, when I was racing, it seemed like wins were more personal, now it's more about the team—the success as a team. It's hard to explain. It's gratifying. You're not actually doing it, but your team is doing it, so that's what's really cool." For Hart, Carmichael and the crew, it's now on to the next race. "Everyone has the best outlook," said Hart of the team's immediate future. "It's just race by race, got to take the good with the bad. Two through 10 (rounds) are probably the hardest to win, and it's just, put your head down and work hard. I have all the confidence in the world with these guys and everyone has their head on straight, and Ken is having a good time. He's really meshing well with the team. We'll just tick them off as we go." Kit Palmer For team owner Ricky Carmichael, the opening round could not have gone much better.

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