Round 11 of the AMA Supercross series at Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium left something to be desired for Team Honda HRC, as Ken Roczen finished eighth for the second weekend in a row, while teammate Cole Seely was 12th. Throughout the day, Roczen struggled to find his momentum. In the main event, the German got off to an unexceptional start, taking the green flag in eighth. He attempted to make his way forward but was unable to do so and maintained that position throughout the entire 20-minute-plus-one-lap race. Seely started in 14thand worked his way into 11thmidway through the race, but was passed on the final lap.

NOTES

  • Less than 10 miles from Lucas Oil Stadium sits Dreyer Honda, the oldest Honda dealership in the United States, where Ken Roczen and Cole Seely made an appearance on Friday evening. The two were joined by GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton and Christian Craig, as well as BWR Honda riders Tyler Enticknap, Carlen Gardner and Cade Autenrieth as they signed autographs and posed for photos with a large turnout of excited fans.
  • Once again, teams fought cold temperatures in Indiana. With a high of under 50 degrees, Team Honda HRC only set up their technical truck, not the hospitality truck. “We have a minimal crew in Indiana, and not that many guests,” said team manager Erik Kehoe. “Plus with the weather, we decided to only set up the tech truck and set up a few tables under there for staff to eat.”
  • During the day’s timed qualifying practice, both Roczen and Seely struggled to find their pace on the Indianapolis track. Roczen landed 10th-fastest with a 49.311” time, while Seely was 11that 49.355”.
  • The Indianapolis track showcased a split-lane turn before a whoop section, but Seely felt it wasn’t effective. “I honestly think it was kind of pointless,” he said. “They try to do the split lanes, whether in a turn or rhythm section, but either way, there’s always going to be a faster line. Like here, everyone is going to the inside so it’s a little silly.”
  • Indy was another strong showing for GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton, who scored his first heat-race win of the season en route to another second-place 250SX East main-event finish. As the series now heads west, Sexton will have a few weeks off before contesting the Nashville Supercross on April 6. He advanced to second in the championship, with 125 points.
  • Team Honda HRC heads back to the West Coast for this coming Saturday’s event at Seattle’s CenturyLink Stadium for round 12 of the AMA Supercross Series, one night after making a dealer appearance at South Bound Motorsports in Lakewood, Washington.

Press contact:

Mandie Fonteyn // Jonnum Media // mandie@jonnummedia.com// +1 (951) 537-0454

Ken Roczen  94

“There isn’t much to say about Indianapolis. It just wasn’t a good weekend for us. I had some struggles during the week and over the past couple of weeks that have really held me back and have made it so I can’t ride and train to my full potential. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on and hopefully get some answers soon. I’ve just been getting tired and I’m not sure why. Right now I’m just trying to focus on getting my body and everything aligned so that I can fight back and ride like I was during the beginning of the season. I’m obviously not where I want to be at eighth, but if there’s a good thing to take away it’s that we’re physically healthy and heading to Seattle.”

Ken Roczen

Cole Seely  14

“This season has been a challenge and tonight was no difference. I’m really frustrated. I have the speed to do it but just need to put it all together. It’s definitely tough when you don’t put yourself in a good position off the start, which is what happened in the main. All I can do is keeping working and building forward.”

Cole Seely

Erik Kehoe

Team Manager

“Our goal is to get on the podium each week and we’ve been falling short of that, which is tough because we know both of our guys are capable of it. Ken’s been consistent throughout most of the season but the last few weeks have been tough. Since he had been fighting the flu, he’s had a hard time bouncing back. Cole has been struggling to find his confidence this year. He has the skill and talent but I think he really just needs to believe in himself.”

Erik Kehoe

Oscar Wirdeman

Mechanic (Ken Roczen)

“Tonight was kind of tough to watch. I’m not sure what happened, but there wasn’t a lot of progression throughout the race obviously, as Kenny started and finished in basically the same position. Bike-wise, he was pretty happy and we didn’t make many changes throughout the day, so that wasn’t the issue. He wasn’t happy so we just need to figure it out and go from there.”

Oscar Wirdeman

Jordan Troxell

Mechanic (Cole Seely)

“I think everyone is a little frustrated because we’re not sure what’s missing. I know Cole wants it, I know he can run up front, and he’s happy with the bike, but we can’t seem to get past whatever is holding him back. He’s been struggling with starts, which puts him in a bad situation from the beginning. That’s hard but he’s also still building himself up mentally.”

Jordan Troxell

450SX Main Event Results

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 MUSQUIN Marvin 25 FRA 26 Red Bull KTM
2 BAGGETT Blake 4 USA 23 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS
3 WEBB Cooper 2 USA 21 Red Bull KTM
4 TOMAC Eli 3 USA 19 Monster Energy Kawasaki
5 BARCIA Justin 51 USA 18 Monster Energy/ Knick/ Factory Yamaha Team
6 SAVATGY Joey 17 USA 17 Monster Energy Kawasaki
7 OSBORNE Zach USA 16 Rockstar Husqvarna
8 ROCZEN Ken 94 GER 15 Team Honda HRC
9 WILSON Dean 15 GBR 14 Rockstar Husqvarna
10 BRAYTON Justin 10 USA 13 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
11 REED Chad 22 AUS 12 Autotrader/ JGR/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing
12 SEELY Cole 14 USA 11 Team Honda HRC
13 BOWERS Tyler 69 USA 10 Bowers Racing
14 HILL Justin 46 USA 9 Autotrader/ JGR/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing
15 BOGLE Justin 19 USA 8 RCH Racing
16 CHISHOLM Kyle 11 USA 7 Chisholm Racing
17 ALESSI Mike 800 USA 6 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
18 BLOSE Chris 111 USA 5 RJC Racing/AEO Powersports
19 SOUBEYRAS Cedric 201 FRA 4 None
20 ENTICKNAP Adam 722 USA 3 The Privateer Journey
21 LAMAY Ben 907 USA 2 TPJ.com/Fly Racing
22 BREECE Ryan 86 USA 1 None

Rider Standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 WEBB Cooper 2 USA 243 Red Bull KTM
2 MUSQUIN Marvin 25 FRA 229 Red Bull KTM
3 TOMAC Eli 3 USA 222 Monster Energy Kawasaki
4 ROCZEN Ken 94 GER 216 Team Honda HRC
5 BAGGETT Blake 4 USA 184 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS
6 WILSON Dean 15 GBR 163 Rockstar Husqvarna
7 REED Chad 22 AUS 149 Autotrader/ JGR/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing
8 SAVATGY Joey 17 USA 141 Monster Energy Kawasaki
9 BRAYTON Justin 10 USA 140 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
10 BARCIA Justin 51 USA 138 Monster Energy/ Knick/ Factory Yamaha Team
11 SEELY Cole 14 USA 128 Team Honda HRC
12 PLESSINGER Aaron 7 USA 123 Monster Energy/ Knick/ Factory Yamaha Team
13 HILL Justin 46 USA 96 Autotrader/ JGR/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing
14 BOGLE Justin 19 USA 96 RCH Racing
15 BOWERS Tyler 69 USA 79 Bowers Racing
16 FRIESE Vince 45 USA 65 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
17 CHISHOLM Kyle 11 USA 64 Chisholm Racing
18 LAMAY Ben 907 USA 54 TPJ.com/Fly Racing
19 OSBORNE Zach USA 48 Rockstar Husqvarna
20 ANDERSON Jason 21 USA 46 Rockstar Husqvarna
21 RAY Alex USA 33 Cycle Trader Rock River Yamaha
22 MARTINEZ Cole 68 USA 29 Cycle Trader Rock River Yamaha
23 GARDNER Carlen 805 USA 26 None
24 BLOSE Chris 111 USA 19 RJC Racing/AEO Powersports
25 STEWART Malcolm 27 USA 17 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
26 ALESSI Mike 800 USA 16 Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
27 BREECE Ryan 86 USA 13 None
28 SOUBEYRAS Cedric 201 FRA 12 None
29 MCELRATH Shane 40 USA 11 Troy Lee Designs
30 STEWART Ronnie 606 USA 9 DirtCandy Graphics
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.