Red Bull/KTM Daytona Race Report

March 11, 2012, 1:35pm

Daytona, FL – Red Bull/KTM rider Ken Roczen put together a solid run under the worse conditions seen this season to earn a 4^th place finish for his team at the Daytona Supercross.

Rain throughout the day led to a track that was nearly flooded when the night program began. Riders were turning lap times just under 1 minute and 27 seconds in the practice sessions and by the end of the evening the quickest time was near the 1 minute 40 second mark.

Roczen had a great start in his heat but a crash on the opening lap dropped him to 10^th place. He quickly recovered and came back to pass his way into 4^th to easily transfer to the main event.

He found himself up front again in the main event. He rounded the first corner in 5^th place and immediately set to work pressuring the 4^th place ride of Alex Martin. By the second lap he had moved around Martin and began working on Blake Wharton. After another strong lap he was able to triple past Wharton to move into podium position. He remained in 3^rd place until the end of the race when he made a small mistake that cost him the podium. He managed to get back into his line and salvage 4^th place in a night where many people struggled to finish.

“Tonight was the hardest race I have ridden,” remarked Roczen. “Everything was wet and slippery. It was so hard to hold on to the grips. It was even hard to not slip off my seat. It was definitely a challenge and I am happy to finish safely.”

In a race where only the tough survived, Red Bull/KTM rider Marvin Musquin put in one of his most impressive performances to date after earning a 4^th place finish in the Supercross class aboard his KTM 350 SX-F at the Daytona Supercross.

Musquin finished 9^th last weekend at the St. Louis Supercross in only his first Supercross class race on the KTM 350 SX-F. Just one week later, Musquin powered his KTM to the front of the pack early and took a 4^th place result in front of the Florida race fans.

Heavy rainfall throughout the day had flooded the course causing mechanical issues and multiple crashes for many riders. Musquin proved he had the technical skill and physical strength to handle the extreme conditions in order to keep out of trouble.

Musquin was placed in the second heat race where he earned a great start and went on to finish 3^rd overall. His heat finish earned him a great gate pick as the riders began to line the gate for the main event.

His gate pick paid off and Musquin pulled another decent start in the main event. The worsening track conditions caused the AMA officials to reduce the amount of laps in the main event from 15 to 12 laps. Musquin came around the first lap in 4^th place. At the midway point he began to close in on the 3^rd place ride of Kevin Windham. Unfortunately, Musquin had a small spill causing him to lose the time he had gained on Windham. Musquin recovered without losing a position and held on to 4^th place through the checkers.

“I had so much fun in this race,” stated Musquin. “The conditions were tough but it was so fun. I am really disappointed my teammate, Ryan Dungey, couldn’t be here and I tried to do well for him tonight. It would have been nice to be on the podium but I am really happy to get this close. I want to thank my team and my mechanic for helping to prepare my bike for a race this challenging.”

Musquin’s teammate, Ryan Dungey, remains 2^nd in the series point standings despite not racing the Daytona Supercross. Dungey is currently at home healing up from a surgery to plate his collarbone. He plans to return to racing when he is 100% which is estimated to be within the next 4-6 weeks.

Next Event: Indianapolis, IN – March 17, 2012

Overall Results SX Class:

Overall Point Standings SX Class:

Ryan Villopoto – 221
Ryan Dungey – 192
James Stewart – 177

Overall Results SX Lites Class: