Solid Showing by Team Honda HRC at Monster Energy Cup

The 2016 Monster Energy Cup proved to be an exciting night of racing for Team Honda HRC, and although the overall results didn’t turn out as hoped, the squad was pleased with Ken Roczen’s and Cole Seely’s performances and is looking forward to the upcoming 2017 season.

Making his debut ride with the factory Honda squad, Roczen was a force to be reckoned with aboard the all-new 2017 CRF450R. When the gate dropped for the evening’s first of three races, the German scored the holeshot and led unchallenged to the checkered flag for a win. The second race looked as though it would be a repeat performance, but a mistake at the halfway point resulted in Roczen hitting the ground hard. Although unharmed in the crash, he was not able to remount and finish. In the final race of the night, Roczen returned to the line wanting redemption, which is exactly what he got. After taking over the lead, he never looked back and once again rode to a convincing win.

Seely also had a solid showing during his first race back from injury, finishing fourth overall with 6-5-6 results. While speeding down the elevated start straight in race one, Seely got tangled with another rider and was shuffled back to eighth. He worked his way into fifth but relinquished one spot when he took the Joker Lane on the final lap. Seely got a mid-pack start in the second race and ultimately took the checkered flag in fifth. During the last race, the No. 14 machine scored a fourth-place start and ran near the front before falling back to sixth, which is where he finished.

NOTES

• On Friday, Ken Roczen and Cole Seely took part in the pre-race press conference along with other riders. After taking questions from the media, both Red Riders had the opportunity to get some time riding the track before the race.
• During the daytime program, Roczen set the quickest time in qualifying practice with a 1:04.486 lap, while Seely was 10^th at 1:06.663. In the first main event, Roczen’s 1:05.077 was the fastest lap of the race. Although he was unable to finish the second race, he did set the fastest time at 1:03.523. He then had the third-quickest time of 1:03. 852 while riding to a comfortable win in the final race.
• With both riders debuting the all-new 2017 CRF450R, many Honda Racing Corporation staff were on hand, including Representative Director of Motocross Keisuke Inomoto, MXGP Director Junji Miyazaki and technical support staff Masa Hirashima, Naoki Serizawa and Akira Hosono.
• For this event, Team Honda HRC sponsor Throttle Jockey created special one-off Las Vegas-themed items including bike-stand graphics, pit boards and limited-edition rally towels that the riders signed and handed out during their autograph session.
• Andrew Short, who was recently named as an official Honda brand ambassador, was present at the race to provide feedback and support for Team Honda HRC’s effort. “Today was fun for me, and I definitely did a lot more walking than normal,” laughed Short. “I was really here to help the team with whatever they needed and provide support to Cole and Ken. From a rider perspective, I kind of know what they’re looking for in terms of strategy, line choice and how the race is going to develop, so just having an extra set of eyes and ears is always helpful. I also filmed practice, did some interviews down at the podium and attempted to help tear down the truck.”
• Young Honda Red Riders also had a strong showing at the Monster Energy Cup, with Amsoil Factory Connection Honda rider Carson Mumford finishing second overall in the Supermini class via 3-2 results, while Cameron Mcadoo took the victory in the Amateur All-Star class aboard his Smarttop Motoconcepts Honda CRF250R.
• Shortly after the final checkered flag fell for Team Honda HRC at the Monster Energy Cup, the green flag fell for fellow HRC squad Repsol Honda at the Motegi MotoGP round in Japan, where Marc Marquez scored the victory and earned his third premier-class World Championship, a feat that was greeted with enthusiasm by everyone on the MX team.
• While many Team HRC members returned home to Southern California the day after the Monster Energy Cup, Team Honda HRC driver Donnie Keys continued east in one of the squad’s transporters, with Montgomery, Alabama, as his destination. That’s where the media launch of the 2017 CRF450R is set to take place this week, and the truck will provide hospitality. Other team members who will join Keys at the Monster Mountain MX facility include Brandon Wilson, engine technician Lars Lindstrom and support mechanic Jason Thomas.

THE FOCUS: Working as a Team

Although the night was a positive one overall for Team Honda HRC, it wasn’t without challenges. When Roczen went down hard in a rhythm section during race two, his bike was bent up enough that a number of technicians needed to work together in order to complete the repairs before the third main. In such situations, it is imperative that everyone work methodically and in a coordinated way, which is exactly what the crew did to get the No. 94 machine back on the track.

“We’re all here for a common goal,” explained team manager Dan Betley. “We had a lot of people here tonight but everyone knows their role and what they should be doing, not only throughout the day but in stressful situations. There’s a lot of experience on this team and everyone works well together so when problems arise, they’re quickly handled. We had a few little problems tonight and everyone came together to get that bike going for Kenny and get him back on the line for the last race. It was good to work with the new bike at a race like this before the season starts, and I can’t say enough about my guys. I’m pumped with our team structure right now, so I can’t wait for 2017.”