Roczen Opens His Outdoor MX Season in California in Winning Style
OutdoorHub 05.20.13
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen opened his bid for the 2013 title in the opening round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series in the 250MX class taking double moto victories at the Hangtown Motocross Classic race.
Teammate Ryan Dungey was second in the 450MX and Marvin Musquin was fourth in the 250s for a great start to the season for the factory team.
Fresh from his success in the 250SX Supercross Championship, Roczen was bristling with confidence going into the opening moto. Seventh out of the gates, he worked his way into potential podium position in the opening laps and continued to knock off laps at speed to take the first race by four seconds.
Roczen went one better in the second moto and was second to Blake Baggett going into the first corner. He was already in the lead before the lap was over and never looked threatened. He went on to win second the race by an impressive 12 seconds to secure his first career overall 250 motocross class win.
“It feels great to get a win here,” remarked Roczen. “I felt confident coming into this race and just knew I needed to get a good start to make it happen. I was able to improve my start in the second moto and hopped into the lead early on. Baggett challenged me for a while but I am glad my conditioning paid off and I was able to get my first overall. I am so thankful to the entire Red Bull KTM team for building me a great bike.”
Roczen’s teammate, Marvin Musquin, also put together a solid ride at the Hangtown event. Musquin led in the opening stages of the first moto but relinquished it to his teammate and two other riders in lap three. He held that position right to the flag. Musquin was in fifth in the second moto when he crashed and dropped to ninth. The French rider then turned up the gas and charged back to fourth place for an overall fourth.
Dungey grabs second in 450s
Dungey, the reigning champion was also in good form at Hangtown. He rounded the first corner in fourth place in his opening motos and quickly moved into second place, where he hung on right to the flag. He got away even better in his second moto and rounded the first corner in second behind James Stewart. Dungey and Stewart traded the lead for the first half of the race but then he ran off the track while trying to make the pass, losing a position to Ryan Villopoto.
Dungey quickly recovered and found himself behind Stewart’s rear wheel of Stewart and one lap later moved back into second place, which he carried through to the finish line. His 2-2 results earned him second overall for the day.
KTM also congratulates KTM rider Joey Savatgy who finished ninth in the 250MX in his first professional race.
Next Race: Lakewood, CO – May 25, 2013
