RCH Suzuki Factory Racing's Ken Roczen Clinches 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship

(Team Suzuki Press
Office - August 23.)
RCH Suzuki
Factory Racing's Ken Roczen clinched the 2016 one race early with
another dominant 1-1 effort in Saturday's Budds Creek National
aboard his RM-Z450 to
collect his 18th moto win and eighth overall victory of the
season.
The RCH Soaring Eagle/ Jimmy John's/ Suzuki Factory Racing rider
had the mettle to close the deal with a race to spare, giving team
owners Carey Hart and Ricky Carmichael their first championship
since forming RCH four years ago.
Roczen was the class of the field all weekend. The two-time Pro
Motocross Champion was fastest in both of Saturday morning's timed
qualifying sessions and when the gate dropped for the first moto,
he grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. Roczen stretched his
lead to just over 16 seconds, practically making it a foregone
conclusion that he'd be on top of the box after the first premier
class race of the day.
The second moto was much like the first for Roczen and although he
just missed grabbing his second holeshot of the day, the rider of
the #94 Suzuki RM-Z450 made quick work of the competition and
showed the way after just a few corners. For the remainder of the
day, he remained on task but his 20-plus second margin of victory
put an exclamation point on his second series title.
Said Roczen: "Our
weekend was amazing. I got the holeshot in the first moto and won
that one. In the second moto, I didn't get the greatest start but I
snuck around the inside and was able to get to the lead pretty
quickly. Clinching the championship with a 1-1 performance on the
day, you can't ask for anything better. It's truly amazing. I tried
not to talk a whole lot about it during the week. Obviously, there
was a lot going on leading into this race. I was thinking about
accomplishing this big awesome milestone and we finally made it
happen. I tried to put it out of my head and just race."
Despite much of the gossip in the paddock area questioning Roczen's
decision to leave a factory team following his 2014 Pro Motocross
championship, the 22-year-old German's decision was clearly
validated with a dominant 2016 campaign.
"I have the best
program out there," Roczen continued. "Any title is amazing but I
had a lot of 1-1 performances this year and that makes it a little
sweeter than the first one. We didn't have that great of a season
last year. We solved all the problems we had and that's what makes
this title so sweet. I didn't quit on them and they didn't quit on
me. I've got to give it up to everyone at RCH, because we are
having so much fun together. We have a saying in Germany that the
first one is easy and the second one is the hardest one. There's
nothing more I can ask for than what we've accomplished this year.
We communicated so well and it was so much fun. The way we work
together and what we've done to make sure we have the best bike has
made a huge difference. I have myself prepared and this year has
been amazing. We changed some things, definitely for the better and
wrapped-up a title. It's a dream come true."
Roczen came into Round 11 with a 63-point advantage over
second-place Eli Tomac, and while he didn't necessarily need a win
to lock up the championship, he dominated much as he has all year
by leading every lap. Ultimately, Roczen took control early in both
motos and never looked back.
At the same time, Carmichael becomes the first former professional
rider to earn championship honours as a team owner. This season
also marks the first time a privately-owned team has won a 450
Class outdoor championship.
"Several years ago when I asked Carey (Hart) if he'd be interested
in coming together in a race team, our goals from day one were
winning races and championships," commented Carmichael. "It's
definitely a very happy moment for us. I'm really happy for Ken
Roczen. He's been fabulous on the bike all season. All the team
members from RCH Soaring Eagle/ Jimmy John's/ Suzuki Factory Racing
have been fabulous. They've put in a lot of hard work at the track
and in the race shop. I'm also very thankful to the group at
Yoshimura for the
motors they build. They make great power and that's been a big part
of our success. I'm really happy for Carey. He's put his heart and
soul into this race team and to see it all come to fruition is
incredibly gratifying."
The curtain rings down on the 2016 outdoor season Saturday when the
teams and riders of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship return
to Crawfordsville for the 12th and final race of the year.
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