SX Lites Podium Second for Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen in Canada
OutdoorHub 03.25.12
Kenny Roczen overcame flu and a rough start to his day at the Toronto, Canada SX Lites East round on Saturday night to finish on the podium in second place while Red Bull KTM Factory teammate Marvin Musquin battled his way to sixth in the SX at the Rogers Stadium, home of the Blue Jays.
It was a great performance by the two KTM factory riders – Ken to rise to the occasion despite flu symptoms and Marvin to have yet another top ten finish in his final SX adventure for this season. The French rider now switches his KTM 350 SX-F for his KTM250 SX-F to prepare for the rest of the West Coast Lites competition. He has been KTM’s key rider during teammate Ryan Dungey’s injury absence with a broken collarbone.
In what was a tough week, Roczen took it easy in the practice sessions so he would conserve as much energy as possible throughout the night show. He had a good start in his heat and maintained a great pace out front to stay inside the top three for the six-lap race and easily transferred to the main event. Once again he got away well to be second at the first corner. He charged past leader Justin Barcia in the first rhythm section and crossed the first lap in the lead. He managed to stay in front for a few more laps until he bobbled coming out of a corner and lost the position back to Barcia. He settled into second place and brought that home to claim his podium position.
Ken Roczen: “I’m glad I was able to earn second place tonight. This is great for my confidence after coming off of a bad race last weekend. I am going to go home and get some rest and hopefully beat this cold so I can come back stronger next weekend.”
Musquin strong sixth in SX
The Red Bull KTM Factory Team led by the legend Roger DeCoster was pleased to celebrate another great finish by stand-in rider Marvin Musquin in the KTM 350 SX-F. After another top ten finish in front of the Canadian fans, he now heads back west to pick up his training for the balance of the West Coast Lites, swapping the bigger bike for his 250 SX-F
The double MX2 World Champion won sixth position in his heat to qualify to the main event. He was in the middle of the pack at the start of the main and quickly slipped past a few riders hit sixth at the conclusion of the opening lap. Some small mistakes saw him slip back to ninth at the half way mark but then he turned on the gas in the final part of the race and slipped past Kyle Chisholm for sixth place as they dashed for the flag.
Marvin Musquin: “I felt a lot stronger in the second half of the race and was able to move up in position. I am happy to finish inside the top ten and am excited to get back home and get back on the 250 to train for the west rounds.”
