Ken Roczen’s Third Win Tightens Points Toward the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season delivered exciting action at the annual Love Moto Stop Cancer race in St. Louis, Missouri. Unique bike graphics and riding gear designs represented the continuing partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The dirt inside The Dome at America’s Center was softer and tackier than anticipated. The soil initially provided great traction, but track conditions deteriorated dramatically throughout the racing.
Race Highlights:
Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki
450 Class
Ken Roczen captured his third win of the season with a tour de force performance at the St. Louis Supercross.
Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
450 Class
Colt Nichols gained positions throughout the main as the track grew increasingly more treacherous.
Justin Bogle posted his best overall qualifying result before withdrawing due to a crash.
Ken Roczen (94) muscled into the lead on the second lap then rode uncontested to the St. Louis Supercross victory.
Ken Roczen (94) continued to display career-best speed with the fastest lap time in the second qualifying session; it was good for the top overall qualifying spot. In his heat race, Roczen launched to a third-place start. He blitzed into second then leapt into first place just two minutes into the race. Roczen set the fastest lap time as well as fastest times through track Sectors 1, 3 (whoop section), 4, and 8 en route to his sixth heat win of the season. In the main event, Roczen again found himself in third place at the holeshot stripe. Less than a minute into the main, Roczen used his Suzuki RM-Z450’s precise turning to cut under two other racers in two consecutive corners. Roczen then set the race’s fastest lap time and gapped the field by two seconds in a single lap. Roczen looked picture perfect even as the track deteriorated; he set the race’s fastest times through Sectors 2 and 3 and steadily stretched his lead to over twelve seconds. Roczen took the checkered flag with a 13.2 second margin over the next racer. This performance extended Roczen’s season-topping statistics as the 450SX Class rider with the most main event laps led and the highest-ranking average for fastest lap times. Roczen remains in third place in the standings, but the St. Louis win chopped the gap to the championship lead from 14 down to just five points.
“St. Louis, you were good to us,” said Roczen. “It was a brutal day. The track was unexpectedly soft compared to when we were here during [the] SMX [Playoff]. It made for some crazy racing because it was built really tall, we had some really tricky rhythm lanes, and I just knew that the track, in 20 minutes, was going to get really torn up. But man, we won qualifying, won our heat race, and then it was just such a dream ride in the main event to bring home first place again. [These are the first] back-to-back [Supercross wins] for me since 2021. I’m just really on a high right now with that. I’m really trying to take this in, enjoy this, because I haven’t been in this position, really ever, in Supercross. So, I’m enjoying every bit of it but at the same time I know I need to stay focused and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Colt Nichols (45) put on a hard charge in the St. Louis main event and gained points to move up in the championship standings.
Colt Nichols (45) started the night’s racing with a top-five start in his heat race. Nichols held onto the position for half of the race and crossed the checkered flag with a direct transfer into the main. At the start of the main, Nichols charged to a mid-pack start. After losing some positions on the chaotic opening laps, Nichols put his head down and steadily gained spots. Nichols set a top-three Sector 6 (short rhythm lane) time during the early laps of the 23-lap race.
“It was kind of an uneventful day,” reported Nichols. “It started off not good at all, to be honest. I felt really off all day. But we kept making changes to the bike and as the day went it got better and better and better. [I was] just a little too slow at the beginning of that main event; not the best start, but I rode up to 13th. So, I’ve been better, been worse. [We’ve] got a lot of work to do to get to where we need to be. We’ll try again next weekend.”
Justin Bogle (891) matched his season-best qualifying session result and topped his season-best overall qualifying position. Unfortunately, Bogle crashed in the second qualifying outing and it was determined that he should sit out the event.
“St. Louis started out good for me, with improvements from last week; P-15 overall [after] Q1 was a big step forward,” said Bogle. “In Q2 I had a big get off right away and am going to be heading home to get checked out and sorted on a timeline for me to return. The track was one of the sketchiest tracks I’ve ridden in a long time, and it caught me out. It’s unfortunate, as I’ve been loving being back on the gate. I’ll do my best to get healthy and get back.”
“It was a great night in St. Louis,” reported Dustin Pipes, Team Principal for the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team. “Ken Roczen executed well all day, through qualifying, his heat, and the main event en route to another main event win. I’m really amazed at how in-tune he is with his motorcycle and his team around him. Colt Nichols had a solid 13th in the main event. He belongs in the top 10, but it was a good bounce back after a not so good qualifying and heat. The only drawback would be Justin Bogle’s crash in qualifying. It was a scary crash that ended his night early and put him in concussion protocol. We’re really hoping the best for Justin, and we’ll update as more information becomes available. Now it’s on to Nashville!”
Plastics and graphics from Ken Roczen’s race-winning RM-Z450, along with other great donated items, will be available to fans through an Auction to raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on April 27th. Also, Roczen’s RM-Z450 race bike will be raffled off via the Kick Start for a Cause Sweepstakes; fans can purchase a chance to win by texting “SUZUKI” to 99126. The Supercross series now heads to Nissan Stadium in Nashville Tennessee; the event will run one hour ahead of the standard race day schedule. The Suzuki riders and team members are excited with the team’s late-season speed and momentum. Only five rounds remain and only five points separate the top three riders.
For the latest team updates, news, and race insights, visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross or pipesmotorsportsgroup.com.
