Roczen Shines in Las Vegas

May 9, 2011, 1:05am

Red Bull/KTM rider Ken Roczen won his first race on the KTM 250 SX-F at the final round of the West Lites AMA Supercross Series in Las Vegas, NV.

The final round of the series had riders from both coasts compete in a final race for their respective series championships before taking the top 20 riders and placing them into a ten lap East/West Lites Supercross Shootout.

In the West Lites fifteen lap main event, Roczen nailed the holeshot on his KTM and pulled out to an early lead. Roczen led the first three laps before washing out in a turn before the finish line jump. Roczen recovered quickly and was able to move into 2^nd place behind Cole Seely. He then closed the gap on Seely the next few laps and moved closer to retaking the number one position. Soon Seely suffered a crash and allowed Roczen to regain the lead. Once back out front Roczen began to pull away from the rest of the riders and stretched his lead.

Roczen went on to take his first career Supercross Lites win 12 seconds ahead of 2^nd place rider Broc Tickle. “It feels so good to take the holeshot and the win in Las Vegas. I have always dreamed of racing in Vegas and to see the happiness on my teams face makes this the greatest win of my career,” remarked Roczen.

After only a short break Roczen was back in action and lining up for the ten lap shootout. Roczen had another decent start within the top six. He remained close to the lead riders and crossed the line the first lap in 5^th. By the fourth lap he had climbed up to 4^th and on lap six he passed Martin Davalos to move into 3^rd. Roczen spent the next few laps all over the 2^nd place ride of Cole Seely but was unable to make the pass at the end of ten laps. Roczen finished 3^rd overall for the night putting his KTM on the podium for a second time.

Also finishing well in Vegas was Red Bull/KTM Team rider Andrew Short. After getting a flat tire in his heat race Short had to get in the main event through the LCQ. Short easily won the LCQ and headed toward the main event where he lined up with his teammate, Mike Alessi, who qualified 5^th into the main from his heat.

At the start of the Supercross main event, it was Alessi with the holeshot on his KTM 350 SX-F. Alessi remained inside the top five until a crash a few laps into the race sent him over the bars. Alessi tweaked his knee slightly and hit his head and decided to return to the pits to recover and was unable to finish the race.

Short did not have as decent of a start and began the race in almost last position. He quickly climbed through the pack and had moved into 11^th by the fifth lap. In an amazing charge through the pack Short was able to remain smooth and pass a few more riders while also capitalizing on the mistakes of others as many riders hit the ground. At the end of the twenty lap main event Short had moved up to 5^th overall. He remained in that position to finish the race in 5^th place.

“I had no idea I was in 5^th place. I knew that I had a bad start and thought that I was still so far back. I couldn’t believe when I crossed the finish line and saw my number on the top five board. I was really stoked to walk away with a 5^th place result after the start I had at the beginning of the race,” remarked Short.

The team will now begin to prepare for the outdoor season. Alessi and Roczen will head to the Glen Helen MXGP next weekend while Short will prepare for the start of the Outdoor Motocross Series to be held on May 21, 2011 at Hangtown Raceway.

Overall Results West Lites Main –

1) Ken Roczen – KTM

2) Broc Tickle

3) Kyle Cunningham

4) Eli Tomac

5) Cole Seely

6) Tyla Rattray

7) Ryan Morais

8) Travis Baker

9) Martin Davalos

10) Josh Hansen

Overall Results East Lites Main –