Motocross Results
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 had reason to curse their ill-fortune as Ken Roczen could only place fourth at Glen Helen for the Grand Prix of USA and the sixth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
The lively German was held up by a second corner melee in the first race but still managed to push himself through to third. He was again unlucky to be baulked by a fallen rider in the opening stages of the second sprint and climbed to fifth before the moto was stopped in bizarre circumstances.
The first visit to America for the world championship this century meant negotiation of the historic Glen Helen circuit. The severe hills and long and fast course had some daunting jumps and involved combination of loose dirt and rippled hard-pack.
Like the MX1 field, the MX2 riders had to learn the track and set-up their machines in swift fashion on Saturday as bright sunshine was tempered by some strong winds; causing the first half of practice to be cancelled. Sunday provided a dry heat that drove temperatures up into the thirties and some hefty gusts remained.
While Roczen was being hindered in his launch for the first race team-mate Arnaud Tonus was also left ruining a less than ideal getaway from the gate. The RM-Z250s of both riders worked admirably as the two teenagers cut a path through the pack to reach 3rd and 7th respectively.
In the second moto Roczen was delayed by a fallen Max Anstie and then embarked on a chase from 13th to fifth until the race was halted with ten minutes to go after the wind collapsed a bridge onto the track. Tonus had slipped off his bike on the third lap and had been recovering to 11th to gain 8th by the end of the day.
In the world championship Roczen stares at a 40 point gap to leader Marvin Musquin. Tonus is 8th and 16 points from the top five.
Round seven of fifteen will take place next weekend at St Jean D’Angely for the Grand Prix of France. The old hillside circuit has undergone a revamp under the guidance of former Suzuki World Champion Mickael Pichon.
Ken Roczen says: "I don’t know why I am having this bad luck and it has to stop! In the first race I got a really good start but then had that mistake with Jeffrey and just tried my best the rest of the moto. The second moto was the same. Anstie crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go. I will try to keep my head up. The track was something different and it was fun to race here. The team worked really well and now we will go to France."
Arnaud Tonus says: "In the first moto I had a really bad start and I’m not sure what happened there because the second was not great either; so that is something we definitely need to work on and improve. I pushed hard on the first lap of the first race and was around thirteenth. I kept going and arrived to seventh. It was a pretty good race and my rhythm was OK; I was consistent."
"I crashed on the third lap of the second moto and had to push hard to reach the top eleven when the red flag came out. I am disappointed about the crash and also my starts and I know I can do much better. I enjoyed the track. We fly home tomorrow now and we have a house near Bordeaux so we will go there to rest a little bit before thinking about St Jean."
MX2 Moto1: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 40:13.981; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.707; 3. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +0:09.005; 4. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:39.125; 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:40.533; 6. Travis Baker (USA, Yamaha), +0:44.942; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +0:50.547; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:55.858; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:04.309; 10. Jake NNNNicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:20.608;
MX2 Moto2: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 23:53.935; 2. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:12.420; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:16.677; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:18.739; 5. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), +0:34.302; 6. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, KTM), +0:35.856; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:36.968; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:38.909; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:46.465; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +0:53.474; 11. Arnaud Tonus (SWI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2).
MX2 Overall Result: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 4. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 36 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 29 p.; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 24 p.; 9. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 22 p.;
MX2 World Championship standings (after 6 of 15 rounds): 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 268 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 228 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 205 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 197 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 170 p.; 6. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 163 p.; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 157 p.; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2), 154 p.; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 134 p.; 10. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 129 p.
