IN
THE
WIND
P22
TICKLE, ROCZEN
OKAY AFTER
CRASHES
It was a tough night for the RCH
Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Su-
zuki Factory Racing Team at the
Oakland Supercross, January 24.
Both of its riders, Ken Roczen and
Broc Tickle, got rattled in the 450
main by landing short over a triple
jump in separate incidences. Tickle
was unable to finish out the race
and was taken to a local hospital with back pain,
but according to the team, Tickle is okay and is
expected to ride the next race at Anaheim III.
"Unfortunately, I crashed on the start in the main
and was in the back of the pack," said Tickle. "I
got back going but I came up short on that triple
and jammed my back. I was hoping to tough it out
and salvage as many points as I could but my body
was telling me something different. We'll regroup
this week so I can be at Anaheim next weekend
ready to rock."
Roczen took a handlebar to the face but sol-
diered on. "I just totally brain farted," Roczen said
of the jump. "I'm so mad at myself. I tried to triple
and came up short. I hit my face and my goggles
on my handlebar so I had to stop and just check
myself for a minute."
Ken Roczen gets
a face full of
handlebar when
he landed short
at the Oakland
Supercross.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KINNEY
JONES
LEIB BUSTED UP
M
ichael Leib suffered a season-
ending injury at the Oakland
Supercross. The Rocket Perfor-
mance/On Track/RXR-supported
racer crashed during qualifying, get-
ting spit off his bike in a rhythm sec-
tion. The fall resulted in a broken leg
(tibia/fibula) and injuries to his foot
that required surgery. Afterward, he
Tweeted "looks like the surgery went
well. Time to heal up now."
Leib started the year off in 10
th
at
Anaheim I and was holding down 12
th
in the 250 West Supercross Cham-
pionship when he went down.
An injury at
the Oakland
Supercross
will most likely
keep Michael
Leib off the
bike for the rest
of the series.
