Ken Roczen Captures Red Plate with Two Rounds Remaining in Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship
Heavy rains turned Round 15 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season into a mud race inside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Showers throughout the racing prevented the mud from tacking up, but the soupy surface provided unique challenges for the riders. Main events were truncated by three minutes and the whoops section was modified prior to those points-paying races. Diehard Philly race fans braved the weather and held their seats to the end.
Race Highlights:
Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki
450 Class
Ken Roczen grabbed the win and took over the championship points lead.
Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
450 Class
Colt Nichols delivered two impressive charges on the slick, rutted track.
Ken Roczen (94) won his heat race, the main event, and took over the season points lead at the muddy Philadelphia Supercross.
Ken Roczen (94) qualified well on a dry track, but when the gate dropped for the racing, the dirt was saturated, slick and rapidly deteriorating. In his heat race, Roczen powered to second place at the holeshot stripe then leapt into the lead off of the first jump. Roczen used his Suzuki RM-Z’s precise throttle response to finesse the fastest lap time on his way to an uncontested win. It marked Roczen’s 58th heat race victory. Roczen entered the main event with the #1 gate pick and turned that into a third-place start. One minute into the 17-minute plus one lap race, Roczen made two consecutive passes to take over the lead. Roczen defended the spot against early pressure, including aggressive contact at a corner exit. Roczen maintained his composure, set the race’s fastest lap time by more than a full second, and stretched out an 8-second lead. More pressure came in the final minutes, and Roczen fended off the late attack to record his fifth win in 2026, more than any other rider. The victory moved Ken Roczen into a tie for eighth place on the Supercross premier class all-time win list alongside Rick Johnson. The performance also moved Ken Roczen up on the all-time podium list; he now shares fifth place with former Suzuki-rider Ricky Carmichael at 87 450SX Class podiums. As a personal-best, Roczen’s five wins match his season-best tally set 10 years ago, also aboard a Suzuki RM-Z450.
“We started off dry in the morning. I felt pretty good on the track and was able to put myself in fourth [overall] in qualifying, which I was totally happy with. We had a long break to the night show and that’s when the real rain started,” said Roczen. “It ended up being a hell of a night. It started off with the heat race; [the track] was still pretty ridable, the dirt was just a little bit more sloshy and not as deep and hammered. So, I really enjoyed the heat race, we ended up winning that one. Going into the main event, it was just a nightmare out there. Like, when you watched the 250 race [conditions], we knew it was going to be a long main event. We couldn’t be happier with how the night went. We threw up a good start, made a couple of passes, and I was just really focused on not making any mistakes. It was tough out there with the lappers, we only had a couple of lines going, but coming away after a really hard-fought battle with the win was just an unbelievable feeling. So, everything’s going well at the moment; we’re truly enjoying it.”
Colt Nichols (45) returned to racing after a lingering injury kept him off the starting gate at the previous round.
Colt Nichols (45) was back in action in Philadelphia and put in good qualifying times during the dry, daytime sessions. In his heat race, Nichols emerged from the first turn buried in 18th position. Nichols did a masterful job moving forward; on the final lap he made up five seconds on the rider ahead of him but came up one bike length short of a direct transfer position. Nichols fought forward from a tenth place start in the LCQ. He reached third place with one minute remaining on the race clock, but a brief tip-over in the sloppy whoops section cost Nichols two spots and a transfer into the main.
“It was a rough night in Philly,” stated Nichols. “Straight up, I didn’t execute. And anytime you’re on the ground in the mud it makes it really difficult. We’re putting that in the rearview and are focused forward to the last two rounds.”
“It was a great night in Philadelphia for the team,” said Dustin Pipes, Team Principal for Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance. “It was stressful with the weather, as anything can happen; we saw that with Colt Nichols falling while in a qualifying position. Even with the weather, Ken persevered in the main and came out with the win. On to Denver!”
Only two events remain in the Supercross season, and Ken Roczen and Suzuki lead the championship by four points. The Suzuki riders and team members are proud to run the red plate, designating the points leader, at Round 16 on Saturday, May 2nd at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.
For the latest team updates, news, and race insights, visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross or pipesmotorsportsgroup.com.
