Roczen, Desalle Take First-Moto Wins
Kit Palmer | May 15, 2011
After a wet and muddy start to the Monster Energy Grand Prix of USA at Glen Helen Raceway, Ken Roczen, on the Red Bull Teka KTM, and Clement Desalle, on the Rockstar Energy Suzuki, took victories in the opening round of motos.In rather wet and muddy conditions, Roczen led teammate Jeffrey Herlings around the sloppy track pretty much the whole way en route to a seemingly easy win in the MX2 first moto.
Great Britain’s Max Anstie, riding a CLS Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, finished third. Lone American GP title contender Zach Osborne finished 9th.Osborne got off to a 17th-place start after crashing in the second turn.
The top-finishing American was Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Travis Baker in ninth.In the MX1 class, Desalle, got out in front early, while Cairoli did the same in second. Only a few seconds separated the two riders all race long. Cairoli made a run on the leader late in the race only to make a small bobble that let the Belgian get away.
Third place went to German Max Nagl on the Red Bull Teka KTM, followed by Kevin Strijbos and David Philippaerts.The top finishing American was another Troy Lee Designs rider Christian Craig who placed eighth.The sun broke through the clouds late in the first MX2 moto giving way to a mix of sun and clouds, leaving the track in good shape, though still a little wet and rutted.
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
