KTM PR – Photos: Courtesy of KTM – Hoppenworld
OAKLAND, California – Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen took his first win of the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross West 250 SX Series at the O. Co Coliseum in front of a packed Northern California crowd.
Following the pattern of the previous rounds, Ken Roczen turned the fastest lap time in the afternoon practices and went on to take his heat win. His victory in his heat marked his fourth straight heat win so far this season.
In the main event, Roczen rounded the first corner in third position. He quickly moved around fellow KTM rider Joey Savatgy to move into second on the first lap. Shortly into the race, Roczen began to close the gap on the lead ride of Cole Seely. As they approached the finish line jump, Roczen made a mistake that caused him to land on an inside tuff block which launched him straight into the face of the finish line jump. Roczen completely came off the bike as he rolled over the jump but managed to stay in control of his bike to hop back on and maintain second position.
“I almost lost the race when I made a mistake on that finish line jump,” stated Roczen. “Luckily, I was able to stay on the bike and I was able to quickly recover and get back in the race.”
From there out, Roczen made no mistakes and slowly closed the gap on Seely. With three laps to go, Roczen made a pass to take over the lead and went on to win his first race of the season. Roczen’s win in Oakland gives him enough points to take over the championship point’s lead. As the point’s leader, Roczen will run the red number plate backgrounds when the riders race the next event in Anaheim, CA on February 2, 2013.
Next Round: Anaheim, CA – February 2, 2013
Results 250 SX Class Oakland
1. Ken Roczen (D), KTM, 14:10.389 min (15 laps)
2. Cole Seely (USA), Honda, +5.596 sec
3. Jason Anderson (USA), Suzuki, +19.034
4. Martin Davalos (USA), Kawasaki, +22.545
5. Malcolm Stewart (USA), KTM, +29.461
Other KTM
6. Joey Savatgy (USA), KTM, +29.957
16. Josh Cachia (USA), KTM, 14 laps, +59.168
Standings 250 SX Class after 4 of 8 Rounds
1. Roczen, 91 points
2. Seely, 80
3. Eli Tomac (USA), Honda, 76
4. Zach Osborne (USA), Honda, 58
5. Anderson, 52
Other KTM
9. Stewart, 45
12. Savatgy, 38
19. Cachia, 12
