by Davey Coombs
250 Words: Atlanta
Sunday, February 26, 2012 | 12:35 PM
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PrintSupercross is a game of inches, especially when its a 15-lap Lites main event. We saw that last night at the jam-packed Georgia Dome when many young stars made simple mistakes that cost them plenty. Take Ken Roczen, for instance. The Red Bull KTM rider was poised to make a run at Justin Barcia and maybe get a crack at starting another one of those Barcia-can't-beat-Roczen-in-his-dreams threads going on the message board, but then he released the trigger a hair too soon, inched under the starting gate and got stuck. The German rode like the champ he is afterwards and salvaged sixth-place, but his foil was long gone with the win.
Or take fellow KTM rider Malcolm Stewart's painful-to-watch night. He looked very fast and confident while leading his heat race, only to misjudge a rhythm section and come down extremely hard on his head and shoulders. He got back up, walked it off, and lined up for the LCQ, only to have his bike fail to start. They did not hold the gate (just like they didn't for Ryan Dungey at Southwick last year, which goes to show that there is consistency in the race-starting procedure) and Mookie's night ended way too early. He had podium speed, and if things went his way, maybe even a win.
Roczen salvaged a sixth-place finish after getting stuck in the gate off the start.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Blake Wharton made enough small mistakes to surrender first a heat race win and then a podium spot, and guys like Darryn Durham and Kyle Cunningham were just plain off.
Add it all up, and the guys who gave away the least inches—the ones who made the least mistakes—reached the box. Blake Baggett and the rookie Justin Bogle were consistently fast, and they reward was second and third, respectively. And GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia seems to be learning more and more about the craft of race management, making fewer mistakes while moving forward all the time. Management and momentum—the career traits of the two guys leading the big-bike class now in Villopoto and Dungey—is something that's going to make Barcia tough to beat in this region.
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Justin is doing exactly what he should be doing to be succesful is this and the premier class. I believe that he has put his ego aside and is listening to those that are working with him and it is paying big dividends. If he continues on his current path I believe he will make an immediate impact next year on the 450. Well done Justin.
Roczen hasn't proven shit yet that he can beat Barcia...At the moment Barcia own the little German
Not on the Roczen bandwagon, but I believe it was a clutch problem. He slowly crept to the gate, then if you watched, he had trouble pulling the bike back with the clutch pulled in as if it was not fully releasing.
Bogle has good speed for a rookie and if he gets out front ..Roczen looks so smooth as he rides...Justin "Fast an Furious" Barcia seems to have the complete package..speed, comfort, confidence and tenacity = REPEAT
Can't handle the truth, eh Coombs?
Can't wait to see Barcia and Roczen with a one, two start together!!! We will see an epic battle for sure!!! It will be coming soon. Just wish Roczen was healthy at the beginning of the West Coast rounds. Bad for us, but good for the East Coast people!!!
Also showing consistency was how long they held the gate drop for the Lites last night, sort of like A1 with the West Coast guys. And I agree with uneasy_rider, I think K-Roc had some clutch slip on the long gate drop.
Bam Bam looks awesome this year.
For what it's worth
Average Best
Barcia 53.543 52.125 (Lap 1)
Roczen 53.867 52.45 (Lap 10)
+ .324 + .325
Heads up racing soemone goes down
JimM
Pala374
My bad
Barcia-----53.543-----52.125 (Lap 1)
Roczen-- 53.867----- 52.45 (Lap 10)
------------- + .324----- + .325
I remember watching a vid where lil Bobbles (malcolm) said he liked the electric start. I wonder how he likes it now!!!!
Barcia is at the top of this very fast East Coast crew. Roczen is right there though. And cant wait for them to go head to head, it will happen eventually. I aint buying the clutch problems, the guy just made a mistake it happens. He is a little antsy on the gate, it happens. But this is Barcias title, just like last year when he put it to Wilson. He is very good at supercross..
Really getting sick of the love fest that is going on for little Stewart on both TWMotocross and here on RacerX. The kid hasn't proved nothing to no one! there are 8-10 other riders in this class that deserve a hell of a lot more pub than "Mookie" (stupid nick name)...but wait he's JS7's little brother so we should annoint him...no thnak you.
I am the farthest from being a James Stewart fan but I do like Malcolm, probably because he is earning his way and not living off of big brothers fame and fortune. He obviously is talented on a bike cause you dont lead heat races against the best riders in the world on big brothers fame. Give him a break, most people would fold under the pressure of being "Bubbas little brother". He is putting in the work and it shows, and he wasnt the only rider to crash while leading in Atlanta.
First of all yes one picture can tell a 1000 words! Look at that pic of Roczen stuck in the gate! Also study the lap times and you can tell how fast he was with an open track. I whatch the live timing lap by lap there is a lot of info to consume in 52secons. I dont think any of you could go from last to 6th in that competition? yes some of you pros may be hiding behind a name here on the comments that is ok. Yes I want to see a 1-2 start with Roczen and Barcia! They are both gonna make it in the long run. As I also think Baggett wiil.
All I can say is I have been stuck behind the gate before and with that and the adrealin going you can do alot , my personal best is from last to first at a night race in the over 30 expert class in 86 Passed 16 people in 1 and 1/2 lap. That gate makes you mad.
@welker-cool, wish I could have seen that race!
The Roczen Barcia battle will hapen and Bam Bam will Bam Bam. He will own Roczen like he did Wilson.
On to 450 next year - not saying RV speed yet but a contender for a win rookie season IMO.
Someone before said that they felt the east wasn't as deep as the west talent wise...IDK about that but the two guys to watch so far - as far as raw speed ride hondas for the same team - Wilson too when he rides like he knows he can...Roczen has shown nothing yet IMO
DC- Wharton completely lost his front brake at the 1/2 way mark of the main.... if not, he handles Bogle & has has 2nd podium in a row... He was second last week if DD doesn't whiskey him.... check the times... As it is, he's still 3rd in points....
If you sincerely believe Roczen has nothing for Barcia, you need glasses or a reality check. He's the real deal. Considering he's coming off a freshly broken arm, the kid is doing fine so long as he stays off the gate.
I really like Bogles TV interviews, so refreshing from the pro circuit kids, hes got a bright future, and I remember from an earlier interview stated he hadnt had any SX track experience. Watch him for a championship next yr.
As for Barcia, his interviews crack me up as well. hes matured for sure, cant wait to see him on 450's next yr. Watch out Villo & amigos
@chosen--Agree 100%, that was very well thought out there bud..
Everyone talks about Barcia "maturing", didnt he wax the rest of the East coast last season too?? And I dont think he punted one rider during the season last year neither..
@bd200, do you really believe he jumped to early and hit the gate? this kid is a profesional with a world title to his credit, clutch problem for sure!!
He has a hydraulic clutch, and as they load the clutch it creates tremendous heat. Brake fluid, or any hyraulic fluid for that matter has a water content. The heat can create air bubbles in the fluid creating clutch to fade and release just enough to creep the bike. Looked like that to me as well, he couldnt stop. The same thing happens to the rear brake on my HOnda. Silicone DOT 5 fluid solves the problem.. but creates problems with rubber seals. Great ride Dungey, I grew up beating on his brother Jade. Great kids
Another way to look at this
Barcia will be twenty / Roczen will be 18
Barcia has how many Pro SX starts vs Roczen
JimM
Pala374
JB #1 is killin it...overcome a bad start in race one and won to a holeshot and a win in race 2..WHATEVER HAPPENS each race is in his hands..anyone else wins its cuz #1 through it away..Kind of like the 450 class...LOL..
That said... The Roc is good, but he is even with Bagget, Boggle, and even Wharton...watch Dallas again and see how fast Mookie caught The Roc early in the race on the same bike..No disrespect to how fast he can turn it, but no one close to BARCIA #1 in my opinion (which is backed up every time the gate drops)...
Other is Wharton he looked great early. He just seems to have one bad moment every main event though. One mistake in 15 laps not bad til it costs you a position. I think he will challenge for a win soon. Boggle too.
The break out "under the radar" rider so far is Jake Canada though. 2 top tens to start the season. Good job! Like to see So Cal on the east
@ rickmatuzio The KTM hydraulic clutch doesn't work like that. The hydraulic part of the clutch only replaces the cable mechanism on the clutch and never comes in contact with anything near the clutch plates. If he had problems with the hydraulics it would have to be loss of pressure and that WOULD cause the clutch to stay engaged.
Looked to me like the age old trick, based on where Rocwas sitting before he started to creep. You sit several inches back from the line - creep fwd slightly, then nail it when the gate drops. That slight momentum can get you a great jump. It can also get you stuck in the gate. Great ride for Kid Roc after that though.
That said, Chowderhead - point us to this 'direct from KTM and the rider' info? You might actually have a point. But you sure idiot yourself up trying to make it.
Gratz to Barcia, Lites guys gonna have to step it up, and race him. To do that, ya can't get cought in the F'N gate. He aint gonna slow down for ya fellers....@ Welker, I won Niles 1st 250 moto by 1 min,....second moto, bike died on the line, took off as the leaders were comming around,,, finished 3rd second moto, exploding berms all around the track sooooo Pizzed. Ya got lucky Doug williams. ;) It does motivate ya, and builds serious character. (niles was cheery pickin track, when red bud was closed.) I hated my RM 250 C2. ;) and rode it like that!
When is RacerX and unnamed other publications going to stop pimping the Stewarts? It's sickening.
NicolaTesla- I have never seen a KTM clutch apart, but I do know how hydraulic clutches work. If the oil is far enough away from the heat source like you say, then I could be wrong. I know clutch plates turn blue when they are slipping, and blue colored steel is 570 degrees F. At that temperature, heat transmits along ways.. and after that even GOOD oils begin coking. Who knows, maybe the parachute seal in the master cylinder was leaking a little bit.. Letting the clutch apply slowly over time. I know that ONE single air bubble is enough to make something feel spongey.. As you know air is compressible, liquids are not. Regardless.. if it wasn't a clutch problem it was a huge mistake. These guys rarely make those mistakes at this level.. When they do jump a gate they have such amazing balance that usually they go right through it. (funny note: Watching Craig Decker jump the gate at Millville last year, he tore the gate right off the hinges, drove over it, and went on to pass and beat Gavin Faith. Craig still rips at 35 years old). It was funny as hell.. Gavin beat him (craig was all over him) first moto, and Craig was obviously in a hurry to get out of that gate so I suppose that could have happen to Ken Rozcen too. Who knows.
Malcom did the sweetest tuck and roll in the last milli-second before impact, his self-preservation instincts are amazing. Probably knew he was in trouble when, for some reason, the rear wheel on his bike stopped rotating mid-flight, doh!
Someguy, I am sure Roczen has something for Barcia, and I can't wait to see them go at it at Daytona, as well as all summer long. But that comment Barcia-couldn't-beat-Roczen-in-his-dreams was aimed at a friend on the message boards that ran that as his tagline for much of last year. So far, Barcia is up 2-0, but Ken's had his problems, and Ken is getting faster. Once he settles in (and Blake Baggett too) both will have something for Barcia, but Justin is in the driver's seat right now.
Thanks for reading, gang.
DC
I agree with Davey, but now that Barcia is being trained by my 2 all-time favorite heros that I wanted to be: Jeff Stanton and Mike LaRocco..i am in his corner. STANTON will make a man out of Barcia. Roczen and Malcom will for sure win races, and Bagget made a fan of me with his LAROCCO charges from the back last summer. Its great no matter how you look at it
Roczen's Master/ Slave Cylinders are being autopzied as we speak by the CSI moto master Roger D. IF this issue was truely clutch creep they will pin point the criminal seal responsible and the proper punishment will be administered. OR Roger will "pimp slap" K Roc for his premature reactulation on the line !
Gang, I need to clarify something in this report: Roczen has since explained that he did not release the trigger too soon, as I wrote, but rather had a clutch problem that caused him to creep into his gate and get stuck. If you check "The Moment" by my colleague Steve Matthes, Ken explained the problem with the clutch more to him.
http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/02/27/the-moment-atlanta
Regardless, the point of my short pieve remains: Supercross is a game of inches, and those inches are costly. Whatever happened to Ken's bike cost him a shot at the win, and he obviously has the skills to challenge Barcia for wins here in the East Region.
DC
MX Sports
Since the last bike I raced (with a creeping clutch) was European (Maico) and since none of my cable operated clutches on my Japanese made MX bikes creeps at the gate, I'm gonna call all such incidents "Eurocreep"