Ken Roczen Battles Through Injury for Gritty Top-Five Finish at Birmingham Supercross
Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama hosted Round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the third and final Triple Crown event of the season. The weather was perfect at the open-air stadium, but the Triple Crown format puts the top racers on the track for more laps and, as expected, the red clay track broke down considerably through the night’s racing.
Race Highlights:
Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
450 Class
Ken Roczen earned his eighth top-five result in the first 10 rounds of the 2025 Supercross season.
Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance
450 Class
Colt Nichols matched his season-best Triple Crown Race result in Race 1.
Kyle Chisholm used two season-best race results to card his best Triple Crown overall result of the year.
Ken Roczen (94) retains his 3rd-place position in the championship standings with a 5th-place overall finish.
Ken Roczen (94) had both a momentous and also a rough two weeks leading up to the Birmingham race. The high of gaining his US citizenship was tempered by the low of a practice crash that resulted in an AC shoulder injury just eight days before the event. In Birmingham, Roczen bowed out of the second qualifying session in an effort to preserve his sore shoulder; the Triple Crown format meant the 450 riders would compete in three 12-minute plus one lap races. Roczen’s steady rides aboard his RM-Z450 resulted in consistent (4-6-4) race results, good for a top-five overall. Roczen’s gritty ride kept him well in the championship hunt, keeping his Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki in third place in the standings.
“It was a tough weekend for us here in Birmingham,” said Roczen. “I had a practice crash a week ago and separated my AC joint a little bit. We rode press day to see how it felt, and it was pretty decent, but throughout the day on Saturday if definitely got worse. As we got deeper into the night it became a pain battle. But we made it through, ended up fifth on the night, and only lost one point in the championship. All things considered, we had a pretty good night and fought really hard. The Triple Crowns are now over and we’re back to regular races, and we still have a few rounds to go. I’m going to do my best to heal everything up during the week and try to just show up next weekend better than this weekend.”
Colt Nichols (45) matched his season-best Triple Crown Race result in the first 450 race.
Colt Nichols (45) delivered a strong ride in Race 1 but had early troubles in the remaining two races. Although he was pushed wide in the first turn of Race 3, Nichols used his Suzuki RM-Z450’s sharp handling to slice forward through the pack. He gained six positions in the short race as the track broke down to its roughest condition.
“The birthday weekend wasn’t really the one I wanted, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” Nichols commented. “In the first race I just started way back. In the second race I started way back again and then crashed. It was just a tough night. I tried some settings to get a little more comfortable all day and I went the wrong direction on some; that was my bad. I just need to put myself in a better position; if I do that, I’ll be okay, I just haven’t done that this year and it’s been frustrating. But we’ll try again next weekend in Seattle.”
Kyle Chisholm (11) and his Twisted Tea Suzuki delivered strong performances, marking his two best Triple Crown Race results of 2025.
Kyle Chisholm (11) put in strong qualifying times and excellent race results in the first two races of the night, including a top-10 start in Race 1. Chisholm capped the event with a late-race pass in the final laps of Race 3.
“I’m pretty happy with my riding. I always want to do better, but I went 14-14 in the first two races, and I was right there. I could see the 10th, 11th, and 12th just up in front of me, so we were kind of in the battle more,” reported Chisholm. “My bike was really good; I made just a few little clicker and sag changes throughout the day, so it’s been nice to just keep the bike mostly the same and just be able to keep riding and focus on myself. The team did a great job, and it was nice having the week off leading up to this; I worked on some stuff, and I think it paid off a little bit, but I still want more so we’ll give it a go in Seattle.”
“It was a tough weekend. The track was really good, one of the better tracks we’ve had this year, but Ken Roczen had an injury coming in and it was a bit of struggle,” said Larry Brooks, Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager. “We weren’t even sure that Ken was going to race at the beginning of the week. So for him to race, and finish fifth overall – these Triple Crowns are quite hectic – it’s like a win to us right now. So, he lost a couple points, one point on the rider in the lead right now, but he’s still in the title hunt, and that’s really good. Kyle Chisholm finished 16th overall and Colt Nichols finished 18th overall, so we had three Suzukis in the top 20. It’s not a win, we didn’t win any of the races, but for us, as a team, it was a victory. It was something special just because Ken was able to race, and he dug deep, and was tough. So, for us, this weekend, we’re really happy.”
The Supercross season continues an 8-week final push without any weekends off. Next up is Round 11 inside Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. The weather shows rain, and the open-air stadium could deliver the first true mud race of the 2025 season.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross and HEPMotorsports.com for more team news.
