Stellar Ride Moves Ken Roczen Up in Championship Hunt
Brea, CA – (March 18, 2024) – The Indianapolis Supercross presented another rough, rutted, and challenging track for Round Ten of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana hosted the second Triple Crown format of the year, which pits the top 22 riders from each class against one another in three races throughout the night; the overall winners are determined by the combined finishes of all three races.
Race Highlights:
- Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Ken Roczen earned another podium result and moved up into fourth place in the championship point standings.
- 450 Class
- Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
- 450 Class
- Shane McElrath put in three strong rides on the rapidly deteriorating track.
- Kyle Chisholm grabbed an impressive wire-to-wire win in the LCQ.
- 450 Class
- Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Derek Drake moved his RM-Z up two positions in the championship point standings. .
- 250 Class
- Preston Boespflug qualified in dramatic fashion and moved up one position in the championship point standings.
- 450 Class
Ken Roczen (94) led laps in every Triple Crown race and backed up last week’s performance with another podium result.
Ken Roczen (94) earned his fifth podium of the 2024 season. In Indy, Roczen laid his RM-Z450’s power into the soft soil and earned three great starts. Roczen led laps in each race of the three-race Triple Crown format, and used three podium results to earn a second place overall on the night.
“We had an incredible night at Indy,” said Roczen. “We were on the board all day. The track was absolutely tricky; it was extremely rutty and technical. I had three awesome starts, and got either the holeshot or second [at the stripe]. I led a bunch of laps and fought for the win in every single main event. It was great to go 2-2-3 for second overall. It's nice to have back-to-back weekends with good rides; we really needed it. We've been working really hard on starts to get those dialed, and it was just a really good weekend overall.”
Shane McElrath (12) ran up front in Race 1 and earned his season-best Triple Crown race result in Race 3.
Shane McElrath (12) used speed and consistency, even as the track broke down over the night’s racing, to deliver a strong finish and earn good points in Indianapolis.
“It was a pretty crazy race,” reported McElrath. “The track was really just about 'survival' to try to sprint – it was definitely a tough track to do that on. It was a decent day for me. I ended up 12th overall with 13-12-11 scores. I made good passes, had good speed, and we’re making steady progress every week. This week was not as big of a step as I have been taking, but it was still a good step forward. I'm excited to continue working because we're learning every weekend, we're getting faster, and we're getting closer to the group ahead of me.”
Kyle Chisholm (11) earned his first win of the season with an LCQ victory, then delivered his season-best Triple Crown race result.
Kyle Chisholm (11) took over the lead in the LCQ on the opening lap and took off with the win. It was Chisholm’s fourth LCQ of his career at a Triple Crown and he continued his record of qualifying into the main event from every Triple Crown LCQ. Chisholm’s performances in the races earned him enough points to advance in the point standings.
“I felt really good with my Suzuki and on the track, the team did great, and everything felt good,” said Chisholm. “I just missed out on qualifying straight to the main races; with the Triple Crown format they just take the top eighteen in lap times. I missed it by a few hundredths of a second, so I had to race the LCQ. I went out and ripped the holeshot and won that, so that was good.”
Derek Drake (52) was back in action and used Indy points to move his BarX Suzuki up two spots in the Championship standings.
Derek Drake (52) returned from injury. Drake was strong and fast from the first time the riders took to the Indianapolis track. After qualifying directly into the main, Drake put himself in position to maximize his points on the night.
“Indianapolis was tough!” exclaimed Drake. “I’m glad to put it in the main event through qualifying. I’m still struggling with a lingering issue, so it’s frustrating to not ride to my full potential. Hopefully, this gets better, and I can be back to 100%.”
Preston Boespflug (128) competed in his career-first Triple Crown event.
Preston Boespflug (128), in his rookie pro season, took on Round Five of the 250 East series and that championship’s first Triple Crown of 2024. Boespflug delivered one of the most exciting rides of the night when he charged from tenth place on the opening lap into a qualifying position in the seven-lap LCQ.
“We’re collecting all the pieces,” said Boespflug. “We just need to start putting them together and execute a night.”
“Ken Roczen’s starts were on point all weekend,” stated Larry Brooks, Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager. “Starting up front allowed Ken to run up front much easier. He challenged for the lead the whole night. It was awesome racing. I appreciate the effort he gave; it was a stellar event. Shane McElrath rode well, too; his starts were much better this weekend. I think he's going to give this last bit of the series a run. Kyle had to come out of the last chance qualifier and that kind of started his day off rough; but you put Kyle under pressure and he's going to succeed, he's that type of guy. The whole team did really well. The track was demanding; it was super rutty and difficult, so to get out of here with maximum points and be healthy, that is a win within itself.”
“Our results do not represent how good we really were,” said James Coy, Team Manager of Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki. “The track was extremely rutted, and our Suzukis were working great. Derek did a great job trying to race tonight with an injury sustained earlier in the year, and Preston was having his best race this year until a crash ended his night. There were a lot of positives tonight.”
The series travels across the country to Seattle, Washington, for Round 11 of the 17-round Supercross season. The Suzuki racers are riding strong and looking forward to pushing their RM-Z race bikes higher up in the championship standings.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross and HEPMotorsports.com for more team news.
Photos by BrownDogWilson Photography
