Roczen, Desalle Hold On For Glen Helen Wins

Kit Palmer | May 15, 2011

Ken Roczen and Clement Desalle made an encore performance in the second round of motos at the Grand Prix of USA at Glen Helen. After winning their first motos, both Roczen, on the Red Bull Teka KTM, and Desalle, on the Rockstar Energy Suzuki, returned in the second motos and again came away with the wins and the overall victories, Roczen in the MX2 division and Desalle in the MX1 class.

In much drier conditions, Desalle shot to the front of the pack at the start of the second MX1 moto and stayed there for the duration. His job was made much easier when first-moto second-place finisher and defending World champ Antonio Cairoli crashed on the first lap when he and another rider tangled. Cairoli ended up 11th.

Red Bull Teka KTM’s Max Nagl held second for most of the race and even turned up the pressure on Desalle late in the moto but had to settle for second when all was said and done. His 3-2 was good enough for second overall.Third overall went to Russian Evgeny Bobryshev. Bobryshev was a rookie in the MX1 class last year riding for a satellite Honda team, but he landed a factory Honda ride for 2011 and proved today that he’s the real deal. In the first moto he finished sixth but came roaring back in the second moto to finish third, which was enough to give him third overall and his first career podium finish.Suzuki rider Kevin Stijbos landed fourth overall with a 4-5, and Cairoli managed to collect fifth overall with a 2-11.The top-finishing American in the MX1 class was Christian Craig on the Troy Lee Designs Honda. He went 8-13 for 10th overall.In the MX2 class, Roczen proved that his first-moto win was no fluke, as he again dominated the second moto for the overall win.And, once again, his Red Bull Teka KTM teammate Jeffery Herlings gave chase but just could not match Roczen’s pace on this day. His 2-2 netted him second overall.

Tommy Searle, on the CLS-Monster Energy Kawasaki, got on the podium in third with a 5-3. Both he and teammate Max Anstie traded moto finishes, with Anstie going 3-5 for fourth overall.Rounding out the top five overall was American Zach Osborne. He rebounded from his crash-induced first-moto ninth to finish fourth. His performance earned him the Marty Moates Cup for being the top-finishing American rider on the day. He also pocketed the $5000 money prize that comes with the award, which he also won last year.As far as points, Desalle leads the MX1 Championship by three points over Nagl, 128-122. Cairoli is third with 104.In the MX2 division, Roczen now has a 14-point lead over Herlings, 144-130. Searle is third with 120, and Osborne is fourth with 90.