Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/697689
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 / JUNE 25, 2016 BLOUNTVILLE, TENNESSEE / MUDDY CREEK RACEWAY P74 My Own Race: 94 KEN ROCZEN 1ST 450MX (1-1) Despite winning both motos and claiming his fourth overall victory of the season, Ken Roczen didn't have one of his better days. "I kind of struggled a little bit all day," Roczen said. "It wasn't my favorite track at all. I didn't feel at home on the track today. Besides that, though, I still feel like I rode good. For me, it doesn't matter if I win by 20 seconds or half a second; a win is a win. Eli was fighting hard and I was able to keep him behind me, and that's all I care about and all that matters. I'm just as happy as in the previous races when I had a bigger gap. My mentality on it [Tomac pressuring him in the second moto] was that I wanted to win but I'm not going to go for it for whatever price. I wanted to keep him behind me for as long as I could. I don't think my bike was working as great here…I had to muscle the bike a little too much. But I knew he [Tomac] was going to be strong and be able to push me hard. I think I could've found some better lines to make it easier on me." 3 ELI TOMAC 2ND 450MX (2-2) Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac appears to be on the verge of getting his first outdoor win of the year. He challenged Roczen in both motos but came up a little short, going 2-2 for second overall. "The track started off pretty soft and wet, making a pretty slick racetrack," said Tomac. "The conditions made practice a bit difficult but the track came around quite well by the afternoon. Muddy Creek is a little tight, which makes it a bit of an effort to get past lapped riders, but overall it was a good day. In the second moto I did everything I could to push towards the end, I nailed a few more lines and was really close to the end goal. A 2-2 is a good result and we're going to continue to build off this momentum." 14 COLE SEELY 4TH 450MX (3-6) Honda HRC's Cole Seely had one of his best outings of the championship. He passed Broc Tickle for the lead in the first moto, eventually giving way to both Roczen and Tomac. He slipped off the lead pace a bit, finishing out the race still in third but 35 seconds behind Tomac and about 10 seconds ahead of Christophe Pourcel. Seely got another good start in the second moto and eventually finish sixth (1:13 behind Roczen) for fourth overall. "It was a little bit of a bummer to not get on the podium after having such a good start to the day, but we've made our way into third in the points standings," said Seely. "I can't get down when the season overall is going well and we're racing up front. We'll just keep trying and hopefully get up there next weekend." Seely moved up to third in the 450MX-class championship but is 45 points behind Tomac. 4 BLAKE BAGGETT 8TH 450MX (8-7) Yoshimura Suzuki's Blake Baggett returned to action at Muddy Creek after suffering a broken collarbone at the season opener at Hangtown (though he did ride the first moto at Glen Helen a week later before pulling out). He had a pretty strong ride in the first moto, having worked his way up to eighth after a 15th-place start. The second moto he had a better start in ninth and managed to pull back two places, finishing just a few seconds behind Cole Seely in seventh. "All in all it was a pretty good weekend—inside the top 10 in both motos," Baggett said. "Not too bad for a comeback. I felt pretty good." 20 BROC TICKLE 3RD 450MX (6-3) It was a great day for the Soaring Eagle/ Jimmy John's/RCH/ Suzuki Factory Racing Team having both of its riders—Ken Roczen and Broc Tickle—fin- ishing out the day on the 450MX podium. It's been a while since Tickle last finished on the podium, and a great start in the second moto, that saw him lead the first full lap before getting passed by his teammate, certainly helped. Tickle and most of the pack, however, just didn't have the speed to hang with the two front-runners, Roczen and Tomac. Tickle ended up finishing 51 seconds behind Tomac in third. Still, it was a positive day for Tickle. "I've been working really hard," Tickle said. "I haven't had a podium