Photography by Kit Palmer
If there was any question as to the leading contender to claim the Monster Energy Supercross title vacated by Ryan Villopoto, Anaheim II just might have settled that. Ken Roczen raced his RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns Suzuki RM-Z450 to a dominating 5.221-second victory over Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, becoming the first multi-race winner of the year. Eli Tomac rounded out the podium finishers on his GEICO Honda.
The win, Roczen’s second of the season, pushed his lead in the championship to 12 points (72-60) over Dungey. Jason Anderson, who finished seventh on the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, is third in the standings with 51 points.
It was nearly a flag to flag victory for Roczen, who took the lead from early front runners Andrew Short and Davi Millsaps and quickly gapped the field. While it was smooth sailing for the leader, Anaheim II proved to be the most chaotic race of the young season.
After a strong start Short suffered a hard crash on the first lap. Anderson got caught up in Short’s incident and went down as well. Cole Seely fell early too, but recovered quickly to finish an eventual sixth.
Another big accident happened on lap eight when Chad Reed and Trey Canard tangled and went down together while battling over fourth. Canard miscalculated a jump leading into a 180-degree left hander and landed on the back of Reed’s bike. As the two scrambled to get back in the race Reed, angry at being taken out, ran Canard off the track causing Canard to hit the ground flipping over his bike. Reed was black flagged and DQ’d for the aggressive retaliation.
Yet another front runner went down later in the race. Yoshimura Suzuki’s rookie Blake Baggett was challenging Broc Tickle just inside the top five when Baggett lost control and was launched chest first into the face of a jump. Baggett, after a lengthy period adjusting a bent clutch lever, got back underway and was able to finish 10th, his best result of the season.
Roczen was rock steady up front, easily managing his lead gap on Dungey.
“I think I’m getting good starts when I need to,” Roczen explained of his solid rides in the first three rounds of the season. “It’s part of the whole deal. It was a great main event. I felt awesome out there. I kept it steady. Ryan was right behind me, so it was a great race.”
Dungey finished with his best result of 2015 and when asked what it was going to take to close the gap on Roczen, Dungey replied, “I think we’re doing it. I think we’re getting better every weekend. You hate to kind of start out slow, but we keep building, one better every weekend.”
Tomac ran as far back as sixth in the early going, but finished strong to score third. He was OK with the result tonight. “Considering how my night started, going to the Semi and really not riding like myself – just a little tight and weird,” he said. “To get third here and not completely wreck myself in the points… for how the night was going I’m somewhat satisfied.”
Justin Barcia had an up and down night, fastest in timed qualifying, he then crashed in his Heat race, got rough start in the Main and fought back to score fourth, his best result of the season, moving him into a tie with Canard for fifth in the series standings.
Tickle ran a solid and largely mistake-free race to round out the top five. His hairiest moment might have been when Baggett crashed right beside him midway through the race. It was Tickle’s first top-five of the season.
The series moves to Oakland, California next Saturday, Jan. 24.
Anaheim II Supercross Results from Angel Stadium – Jan. 17, 2015.
1 94 Ken Roczen Clermont, FL Suzuki RM-Z450 20 Laps
2 5 Ryan Dungey Tallahassee, FL KTM 450 SX-F Factory +05.221
3 3 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO Honda CRF 450 +08.281
4 51 Justin Barcia Greenville, FL Yamaha YZ450F +20.599
5 20 Broc Tickle Holly, MI Suzuki RM-Z450 +26.998
6 14 Cole Seely Laguna Beach, CA Honda CRF 450 +31.486
7 21 Jason Anderson Edgewood, NM Husqvarna FC450 +43.552
8 15 Dean Wilson Wesley Chapel, FL KTM 450 SX-F Factory +45.480
9 18 David Millsaps Murrieta, CA Kawasaki KX 450F +49.007
10 4 Blake Baggett Grand Terrace, CA Suzuki RM-Z450 +51.316
11 41 Trey Canard Edmond, OK Honda CRF 450 +51.776
12 24 Brett Metcalfe Lake Elsinore, CA Suzuki RM-Z450 +1:02.967
13 11 Kyle Chisholm Valrico, FL KTM 450 SX-F 19 Laps
14 27 Nicholas Wey Dewitt, MI Kawasaki KX 450F +11.150
15 42 Ben Lamay Forney, TX Yamaha YZ450F +16.883
16 53 Jimmy Albertson Shawnee, OK Yamaha YZ450F +23.890
17 12 Jacob Weimer Wildomar, CA Kawasaki KX 450F +33.223
18 92 Cade Clason Arcadia, OH Honda CRF 450 18 Laps
19 800 Mike Alessi Hilliard, FL Suzuki RM-Z450 15 Laps
20 33 Joshua Grant Wildomar, CA Kawasaki KX 450F 10 Laps
21 29 Andrew Short Smithville, TX KTM 450 SX-F Factory DNF
22 22 Chad Reed Dade City, FL Kawasaki KX 450F 9 Laps DQ
Standings
1 Ken Roczen 72
2 Ryan Dungey 60
3 Jason Anderson 51
4 Eli Tomac 46
5 Trey Canard 43
