Ken Roczen Battles To A Top-Ten Result
Brea, CA – (February 26, 2024) – Fans packed into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for Round 7 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. The Texas track was extremely challenging, with sandy topsoil over a hard base. Short lap times increased the track’s deterioration in both main events.
Race Highlights:
- Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Ken Roczen podiumed in his heat race, and put in a great charge in the main.
- 450 Class
- Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
- 450 Class
- Shane McElrath transferred directly from his heat to earn more championship points in the main.
- Kyle Chisholm put in strong laps until a setback ended his night early.
- 450 Class
- Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Derek Drake toughed out another strong performance in his 450 rookie season.
- 250 Class
- Preston Boespflug thrilled the crowd with a fierce charge in the 250-class LCQ.
- 450 Class
Ken Roczen (94) excelled in tough track conditions and sliced through the pack after a small crash on lap three of the main.
Ken Roczen (94) used a podium finish in his heat race to earn a good gate pick for the main. In the main event, Roczen tangled with another rider on lap three and found himself well outside of the top ten. Roczen used his Suzuki RM-Z450’s power and nimble handling to finesse his way through traffic on the slick and rough track.
“It was a frustrating day in Arlington,” said Roczen. “A crash in the main event relegated us to a finish that we are much better than. The good news is we line back up and race again next weekend in Daytona.”
Shane McElrath (12) put in consistent laps as the track went away during the 27-lap main event.
Shane McElrath (12) also qualified straight out of his heat race. The Supercross schedule has been running the 450-class heat races first, so McElrath qualified on a smoother track but had hugely different conditions when he lined up his Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450 on the starting line for the main.
“This week I had a really strong week of training,” reported McElrath. “Race day in Arlington was my best day overall. In qualifying I rode well; In the heat race, I was ready to go when the gate dropped. The track was rough, and it broke down quite a bit as we did a lot of laps. I’m excited to rest up and get back to work. I will be ready to go next weekend in Daytona.”
Kyle Chisholm (11) put in a great ride, but a small mistake in the track’s sand section derailed the good race he was putting together.
Kyle Chisholm (11) was strong through timed qualifying where several riders had issues and struggled with the tricky sand corner. Unfortunately, the corner bit Chisholm as he was riding strong in his heat race.
“It was going well and then went bad very quickly,” is how Chisholm summed up the night’s racing. “In my heat race, I had a good start and rode well. I was fourth or fifth for a while. Then I just made a little mistake coming out of the sand and swapped a little bit. I dabbed my leg on the ground and hurt my knee, different from the knee I had issues with last year. I tried to race the LCQ, and raced a few laps, but my knee was hurting very much. I didn’t want to risk it and make another mistake.”
Derek Drake (52) has shown great speed in his rookie 450 season, but a crash at the start of the day in Texas made for a challenging event.
Derek Drake (52), like many other riders, was a victim of the Arlington track with a crash in practice. Drake continued through qualifying and the night racing but was unable to gain more title points.
“The track was tough for sure,” said Drake. “I crashed in free practice, and I’m pretty banged up from it. I tried to ride through it, but it wasn’t happening. I will take the time to recover and regroup for the next race.”
Preston Boespflug (128) showed great heat race speed in his second Supercross event as a professional..
Preston Boespflug (128) rode strong and was in a transfer position in his heat when a crash put him to the back of the field, leading to a poor gate pick in the LCQ. Boespflug and his BarX Suzuki RM-Z250 had all eyes on them as they stormed forward through the short LCQ and nearly made the main.
“It was a rough night for me in Arlington,” reported Boespflug. “I raced up to seventh in the heat race, then I was taken out while comfortably in a transfer spot. I had to race the LCQ, and I had a bad start and finished one spot outside of qualifying.”
“Ken Roczen finished eighth in the main event. He had a crash on the first few laps and had to pass his way back up toward the front, but Ken was able to finish eighth in the main event when the checkered flag dropped,” reported Larry Brooks, Team Manager for the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance team. “Shane McElrath rode well and consistently, and put his Suzuki in the top 15, so we’re proud of Shane. We did have an injured rider tonight, which was Kyle Chisholm. He’ll be getting an MRI on his knee. We’re hoping that’s not bad. The team has a Suzuki RM Army Boot Camp event in Florida this week, and then the team heads to the Daytona Supercross.”
“On a weekend when our bikes were really good, we learned how much small injuries can play a part in our racing,” said James Coy, Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki Team Manager. “Unfortunately, this was the case here in Dallas. The team’s best races are yet to come this year and we are going to keep working towards that.”
Round eight for the 450 class and round three for the 250 East class line up this Saturday at Daytona International Speedway’s infield for the Daytona Supercross. The Suzuki teams and riders look forward to the race that many consider the most challenging of the season.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross and HEPMotorsports.com for more team news.
Photos by BrownDogWilson Photography
.