Ken Roczen Wins Indiana Mudder

Larry Lawrence | August 16, 2014
  Ken Roczen got momentum back on his side and halted the late-season charge by his Red Bull KTM teammate Ryan Dungey by winning Saturdays inaugural Ironman Motocross National with a 1-2 result.  Larry Lawrence photo

Photography by Larry Lawrence

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Aug. 16, 2014) – Ken Roczen got momentum back on his side and halted the late-season charge by his Red Bull KTM teammate Ryan Dungey by winning Saturday’s inaugural Ironman Motocross National with a 1-2 result. The victory, combined with Dungey’s third overall, pushed Roczen’s lead in the 450 class to 20 points with just the Utah round remaining. Roczen had to overcome treacherous conditions on a muddy track, drenched by heavy morning rain.

“It’s a big monkey off my back,” said Roczen, who scored his fifth overall victory of the season. “Seeing my points lead go down and now getting this win is a great feeling. The conditions didn’t bother me. It seems we always race in sunny conditions so it’s a great challenge when we face conditions this tough.”

Roczen won the first moto going away over Dungey and Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard. In the second moto Roczen finished second to Canard. Rockstar/WMR KTM’s Ryan Sipes was third. Roczen took the runner up in moto two in spite of falling twice.

Dungey, who moved to within seven points of Roczen coming into the race, was disappointed by the way things turned out.

“This weather really threw us a curve ball,” Dungey said. “This track is so nice it’s too bad we didn’t get to race it in decent conditions. I just couldn’t find traction in that second moto. I really don’t understand why. It’s going to be tough to come back from this, but I’m never going to give up. I don’t wish bad luck on anyone, but in racing you never know what’s going to happen.”

Canard was pumped by scoring a moto win for the second consecutive event.

“I got out front and having a clean track made all the difference,” Canard said. “In these kind of conditions if you can get out and have good vision it helps you so much. It’s exciting to win a moto. The fans were great. They were cheering me on so much it felt like a Motocross des Nations atmosphere.”

The series concludes next Saturday (Aug. 23) in Tooele, Utah.

Results of the Ironman 450cc MX National in Crawfordsville, Indiana – Aug. 16, 2014
1 94 Ken Roczen Germany KTM 450 SX-F FE ½
2 41 Trey Canard Edmond, OK Honda CRF450R 3/1
3 5 Ryan Dungey Waconia, MN KTM 450 SX-F FE 2/9
4 39 Ryan Sipes Flaherty, KY KTM 450 SX-F 10/3
5 29 Andrew Short Colorado Springs, CO KTM 450 SX-F FE 8/4
6 22 Chad Reed Australia Kawasaki KX 450F 7/6
7 3 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO Honda CRF450R 4/10
8 33 Josh Grant Riverside, CA Yamaha YZ 450F 12/5
9 80 Fredrik Noren Sweden Honda CRF450R 9/8
10 44 Matthew Goerke Sun City, CA KTM 450 SX-F FE 6/11


Larry Lawrence | Archives Editor

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