IT'S ALL ABOUT
THE STARTS
(And Roczen Hasn't Been
Getting Them)
It's no secret that Ken Roczen has been strug-
gling these first three races. The RCH/Soar-
ing Eagle/Jimmy John's Suzuki Team rider
usually does well at Anaheim but went 0-2 this
year and was never really even a threat for a
win at either Anaheim race, nor did he figure
among the leaders at the in-between race at
San Diego. He's had a few crashes, but his
real Achilles heel so far has been his starts.
He's shown that he has the speed by the way
he's able to come up through the pack, and
everyone is waiting for the Suzuki rider to get
a good start and battle up front with Dungey.
"The good news is that we're making steps
forward," Roczen said of his less-than-stellar
results and bad starts. "I've been practicing
my starts; I should feel pretty comfortable with
my starts, but obviously it didn't happen to-
night. But we're going to keep working on that
for sure, because I think that's what's holding
me back from being at the very top.
"The second half of the race [tonight], I feel
like I put in a very strong ride, but I made a lit-
tle mistake with about a lap to go, otherwise I
think I could've brought the heat on Chad, but
it's hard coming from the back of the pack—
[that's the] bottom line. The track was tough
out there; the whoops were something else
today so you really had to keep your focus.
"Three rounds and I've just been getting
bad starts," Roczen reiterated. "My Heat start
[tonight] actually wasn't bad but we're just go-
ing to keep working on it. I'm doing everything
I can to be the best I can be. The speed is
there, fitness is there, everything is solid so
far; I'm really happy with the team and we're
working great together, we'll come back and
be at the very top."
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 53 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 26, 2016 P49
Bad starts have been leaving
Ken Roczen battling in the
middle of the pack, while
Dungey's been cruising up
front with clear sailing.
