Dominant Win for Roczen at Indianapolis 2 Supercross

On Tuesday evening in Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium, Ken Roczen became the first rider in the 2021 AMA Supercross series to score wins in two 450SX main events, winning in the Circle City for the second time in just over three days. Whereas last Saturday’s win was a close one, this time the Team Honda HRC rider was untouchable aboard his CRF450R, setting the fastest lap in qualifying, topping his heat race and then leading all 26 laps in the main. Along the way, he was the only rider to dip into the 46-second lap zone, growing his advantage to well over 11 seconds before eventually reaching the checkered flag with a winning margin of nearly eight seconds. The performance grew the 26-year-old German’s lead in the title chase to 13 points.

Despite showing his usual impressive speed in the 250SX East class, Jett Lawrence had an unfortunate evening, suffering a number of crashes, including a big one in his heat race. The Australian bravely lined up for the Last Chance Qualifier and won, but subsequently opted to sit out the main event with a painful right shoulder. The top-finishing Red Rider was TiLube/Storm Lake Honda’s Grant Harlan, in fifth.

NOTES

• With just two off-days between the Indy 1 and Indy 2 rounds, Team Honda HRC spent the time at the stadium doing prep work on the bikes.
• Ken Roczen was invited to join the PulpMX Show podcast on Monday evening, when he discussed his Indy 1 win and the series as a whole four rounds in.
• Team Honda HRC test rider Trey Canard joined the team after Indianapolis 1, for the last two rounds of the triple-header. As a board member of the United States Motorcycle Coaching Association (USMCA), Canard participated in the Race Day Live stream on Tuesday afternoon.
• Roczen posted the fastest 450SX qualifying time, with a best of 46.186” in the final session. Muc-Off Honda’s Justin Brayton was sixth-best at 46.835”, and SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda riders Broc Tickle, Benny Bloss and Vince Friese were 13th-, 15th-, and 18th-best, respectively. In the 250SX East class, Lawrence posted the second-fastest time, with a 46.857” in the final qualifier. Muc-Off Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg was sixth, while Phoenix Racing Honda’s Joshua Osby was eighth.
• In the second 450SX heat race, Roczen started third and quickly advanced to second, then got to the front when Cooper Webb made a mistake in a corner. From there, Roczen cruised to the win.
• Lawrence was held up in turn one of his 250SX East heat and quickly set to work slicing through the pack, but he landed on a Tuff Block when he drifted wide on a jump, going down hard. Lawrence was unable to finish the race but lined up for the LCQ and nailed the holeshot from the far outside gate, then rode to the win.
• With Tuesday’s race ending late, the post-race press conference was rescheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
• Roczen’s Indianapolis 2 450SX victory was the 17th of his career, and it marked the first time since 2017 that he has scored back-to-back wins in the series.
• With five AMA Supercross rounds already in the books, the riders and teams will remain in Indianapolis a few more days, as round 6 takes place Saturday at the same venue. Chase Sexton, recuperating from an injured shoulder, is planning to join his Team Honda HRC crew to compete at the final Indy round.

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Kayla Mead // Jonnum Media // kayla@jonnummedia.com // +1 (760) 822-4786