Roczen Sweeps Indianapolis Supercross Tripleheader

On Saturday, the AMA Supercross series completed its three-round residency at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen grabbed his third victory in just over a week, setting a new career milestone with three consecutive 450SX wins and extending his lead in the title chase to 16 points. The German was perfect all evening aboard his CRF450R, topping his heat race and then taking the main-event lead shortly after the first turn. Despite pressure from first Justin Barcia and later Cooper Webb, Roczen maintained his calm and focus, strategically navigating through lapped traffic while running up front for all 26 laps and taking the win with a margin of just under a second.

Roczen’s teammate Jett Lawrence finished fifth in the 250SX East class, four days after having to sit out the Indy 2 main event with a sore shoulder. After being held up at the start and completing lap one in 12th place, Lawrence mounted an early charge that put him battling for fifth with Colt Nichols by lap two. The Australian was impressive as he held off the points leader, but he went off the track near the end and settled for fifth.

NOTES

• Indianapolis experienced chilly weather conditions over the weekend, with temperatures around 19º F at the time the evening program began.
• Once again, there was a new track layout for Indy 3, with the first corner being a righthander, and this time there was no over-under feature.
• Though Jett Lawrence has been dealing with a sore shoulder injury following a crash at Indy 2, he was able to put in a positive effort in Saturday’s race and plans to continue rehabilitating ahead of the Orlando rounds.
• No virtual post-race press conference was held for round 6, due to the late end time on Saturday and travel schedules on Sunday.
• In timed qualifying, Roczen posted the eighth-fastest lap with a 47.572” in the final session. Muc-Off Honda rider Justin Brayton was 10th-best at 47.700”, and SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda riders Broc Tickle, Benny Bloss and Vince Friese were 14th-, 16th-, and 18th-best, respectively, with times of 48.353”, 48.645” and 49.627”.
• Prior to the evening program, Lawrence had a socially distanced meet-and-greet with Lucas Grounds, a young Indiana motocross and off-road racer who suffered a spinal cord injury in a December crash, and who has been undergoing treatment at Indianapolis’s Riley Hospital for Children. Lawrence presented Grounds with a signed jersey and several mementos from Team Honda HRC.
• In the 250SX East class, Lawrence was second-best with a 47.979” lap time. Muc-Off Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg was sixth with a 48.577” lap, while Phoenix Racing Honda rider Joshua Osby was 11th.
• Roczen rode to a solid win in 450SX heat 1, while Friese, Bloss, Tickle and Brayton were fifth, seventh, eighth and 11th, respectively.
• Lawrence carried his speed into the night program, finishing on top in the first 250SX heat race, with Oldenburg finishing second. In heat 2, Osby posted a seventh-place result.
• Roczen’s incredible Indianapolis sweep pushes his career win total to 18 and marks the first time he has won three consecutive races in the series. It is also the first time any rider has won three 450SX races in a row since Eli Tomac accomplished the feat in 2017.
• With the three Indy races in the books, Team Honda HRC will now head to Orlando, for rounds 7 and 8. Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton missed all three Indianapolis rounds to continue rehabilitating his right shoulder, but he is hoping to return for the next race.

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