Roczen Seventh at Inaugural Denver Supercross

The first AMA Supercross in Denver on Saturday night was a challenging one for Team Honda HRC, as Ken Roczen fought the elevation at Mile High Stadium on his way to a seventh-place result, while teammate Cole Seely finished 19^thafter a crash and another mishap that forced him into the mechanics area for repairs.

When the gate dropped on the night’s main event, both riders got off to less-than-desirable starts, with Roczen in ninth and Seely outside the top 10. The German quickly made passes, working his way into sixth by lap seven. He closed the gap on the group of riders in front of him, but exhaustion set in and he was never able to make further progress. Roczen relinquished one position during the closing laps, taking the checkered flag in seventh. Meanwhile, Seely had been running 11^thwhen a crash on lap five sent him back to 20^th. He remounted, only to have a run-in with another rider, resulting in broken spokes in his front wheel and prompting a visit to the mechanics area for a wheel change. The Californian returned to the race a few laps down but still rode to the finish, recording 19^thplace.

NOTES

• Peak Honda World in Littleton, Colorado, hosted Friday night’s pre-race supercross party, with a strong turnout of fans waiting in line to meet their favorite racers. Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen and Cole Seely, GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire and Cameron McAdoo, and BWR Honda’s Carlen Gardner and Robbie Wageman were on hand to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans.
• To accommodate NBCSN’s coverage of the NHL hockey playoffs, the Denver Supercross ran one hour earlier than initially planned, with the night program starting at 5 p.m. “I actually liked today’s schedule,” Seely said. “It wasn’t super early like when we do day races, but being done by 8:30 was really nice. I wouldn’t mind all the races starting an hour early.”
• Severe weather has been a common theme of the 2019 season, and this weekend in Denver was no different. Snow fell in the days leading up to the event, and race day was marked by frigid temperatures and even a snowstorm, creating a challenge for the racers. “During track walk I had those hand and feet warmers in, and that worked really good,” Seely said. “While riding it didn’t actually feel that bad because you’re working so hard, but I did have a compression shirt underneath to try and keep me a little warmer. I brought a few different options in case I needed more layers. The only thing that really got cold were my fingers but Trey [Canard, the team test rider] told me about a trick, so for the later qualifying sessions I actually put on latex gloves—with the palms cut out—under my gloves. It did help.”
• Cycra hand guards were once again mounted on Roczen’s CRF450R, but this time it was with the purpose of deflecting some of the cold air, rather than rocks.
• During timed qualifying practice, both riders struggled to find their rhythm on the fast Denver track, with Seely scoring the seventh-fastest time via a 43.835” lap, while Roczen was eighth at 43.837”.
• Slotted in 450SX heat 1, Roczen got a mediocre start, completing the first lap in seventh. He continued to work his way forward throughout the 10-lap race, taking the checkers in fourth after a last-lap pass. In the second 450SX heat race, Seely took the holeshot and early lead aboard his CRF450R. He rode smooth and controlled up front, scoring his third heat-race win of the season.
• In the 250SX West region competition, GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire struggled off the main-event start, coming around in eighth after the completion of the first lap. He put on a late-race charge to finish a solid fourth aboard his CRF250R. Teammate Cameron McAdoo also had a solid night to secure sixth.
• Having raced for 15 weeks straight, Team Honda HRC will take a much-needed break before returning to action on April 27 at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On Friday evening before the race, Roczen and Seely will sign autographs at Belleville’s Motorcycle Mall starting at 6 p.m.