A heartbreaking crash late in moto two at High Point Raceway just one week ago robbed Ken Roczen of his first victory in his brief career in America. Sometimes, such devastation can mentally wreak havoc on a rider, not just for that race, but the season.
Early on Ken Roczen put to rest any doubts that he wasn’t mentally prepared to do battle with the very deep and talented 250 class. Roczen would bang his way through the field early with championship rival Justin Barcia locked to his hip. Also up front early was Eleven 10 Mods' Alex Martin, who’s a week removed from a season high finish at High Point. Martin would crash early in the race, which lead to a 16th place finish.
Meanwhile points leader Blake Baggett and last weeks winner Eli Tomac were lurking in fourth and seventh, respectfully.
In what has become the norm early in the 2012 season the quartet of Roczen, Barcia, Baggett and Tomac set the pace up front. Barcia hounded Roczen like a dog in heat for the majority of the moto, while Baggett was up to his typical games—lying in the weeds, waiting to pounce down the stretch.
An unbelievable charge through the pack in moto two at High Point saw Eli Tomac become the first repeat winner of the 250 class in the 2012 season. But Budds Creek proved to be a very different story as Tomac was off the pace early and was never able to put together a consistent charge. Tomac would finish fifth after losing a spot to Marvin Musquin late in the race.
Up front mere seconds separated the three musketeers of Roczen, Barcia and Baggett. After stalking Roczen for most of the race Barcia was finally able to make a pass stick through the sweeping left-handed rollers right before the finish line. Roczen, thrown off by the unforgettable pass, was quickly gobbled up by Baggett seconds later. But the German still had some fight left in him as a mere second would separate the trio on the final laps.
Unfazed by the suffocating pressure put on by Baggett and Roczen, Justin Barcia would take the moto one win in unbelievable fashion. Ken Roczen pushed Baggett all the way to the finish line, finishing just tenths of a second behind the points leader. Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac would round out the top five.
Moto 1 Overall Results
- Justin Barcia
- Blake Baggett
- Ken Roczen
- Marvin Musquin
- Eli Tomac
- Wil Hahn
- Jason Anderson
- Ivan Tedesco
- Blake Wharton
- Jessy Nelson
- Kyle Cunningham
- Travis Baker
- Jake Canada
- Phil Nicoletti
- Dakota Tedder
- Alex Martin
- Gareth Swanepoel
- Ryan Zimmer
- Zack Freeburg
- Kyle Peters
- AJ Catanzaro
- Killy Rusk
- Sean Hackley Jr
- Lowell Spangler
- Hunter Hewitt
- Mike McDade
- L. Vonlinger
- Tevin Tapia
- Steve Roman
- C. Lackore
- Gannon Audette
- Cody Robbins
- Myles Tedder
- Ozzy Barbaree
- Michael Dougherty
- Matt Moss
- Levi Kilbarger
- Joey Peter
- Jacob Hayes
- Malcolm Stewart
