Team Honda HRC's Ken Roczen Sweeps Indianapolis Supercross Tripleheader 09.02.2021: Indianapolis 3 SX AMA Supercross 450SX 2021 Round 6 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

Indianapolis 3 SX
AMA Supercross 450SX 2021   Round 6



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.
 

    
       
    
Ken Roczen  94


“Indianapolis 3 was a fantastic night. We started off in practice with a little bit of a struggle--just not really getting along with the track very well. I felt fine out there, but I simply wasn't fast enough. We went into the night show though, and I knew that I was a better racer and that we were going to get a good result.


After that we took the heat-race win and were able to get a good gate pick for the main event; sure enough, I got a really good start. Along the way, I came in contact with Justin Barcia, who hit me pretty hard and bent my shifter a bit; I wasn’t able to shift until like half a lap later.


I held my lines and focused as much as I could and we did the three-peat, taking home another win on a track that wasn’t really my favorite. Those kinds of nights are when you get another step closer to a championship run, and it was really important for us to get more points and be gaining instead of losing.



I’m so happy to finish all three Indianapolis main events in first, as I've never gone three in a row. This is huge for me and the team, and I'm looking to continue this streak when we come back next weekend in Orlando.”         

    

       
    
Jett Lawrence  18


“I was managing my injury all day, but I’m glad that my shoulder was good enough that I was able to ride. It wasn’t what I was hoping for in terms of results in the main event, but it felt good to be racing and to get a heat-race win, even if I wasn’t 100 percent.


Now we get a full week before Orlando, and I’m looking forward to coming back and getting back on top.”         

    
       
    
Erik Kehoe
Team Manager


“The team did a great job finishing off the Indy trip. Ken was very impressive, meeting his goals to get good starts, ride consistently and be on the podium. He wasn’t feeling his groove earlier in the day, but his confidence and consistent good starts put him in a good position to dig deep and pull through for an amazing win!



Jett pushed through the soreness of a banged-up shoulder from the last event to gain valuable points. He showed impressive speed, qualifying second and winning his heat, but a poor start and mistakes in the main event hindered his chances to finish on the podium.”         

    
       
    
    450SX Results



1    ROCZEN Ken     94    GER    26    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
2    WEBB Cooper     2    USA    23    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
3    MUSQUIN Marvin     25    FRA    21    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
4    STEWART Malcolm     27    USA    19    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
5    CIANCIARULO Adam     9    USA    18    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
6    ANDERSON Jason     21    USA    17    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
7    TOMAC Eli     3    USA    16    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
8    FERRANDIS  Dylan     14    USA    15    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
9    SAVATGY Joey     17    USA    14    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
10    OSBORNE Zach     16    USA    13    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
11    PLESSINGER Aaron     7    USA    12    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
12    BRAYTON Justin     10    USA    11    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
13    TICKLE Broc     20    USA    10    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
14    FRIESE Vince     40    USA    9    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
15    DAVALOS Martin     36    USA    8    Team Tedder/Monster Energy/Lucas Oil/KTM Racing    KTM   
16    BOGLE Justin     19    USA    7    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
17    CHISHOLM Kyle     11    USA    6    Chisholm Racing    KTM   
18    GARDNER Carlen     805    USA    5    None    Honda   
19    BARCIA Justin     51    USA    4    TLD/Red Bull GasGas    GasGas   
20    ENTICKNAP Adam     722    USA    3    Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki    Suzuki   
21    CLASON Cade     280    USA    2    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
22    BLOSS Benny     37    USA    1    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
    
    
       
    
    250SX East Region Results


1    CRAIG Christian     29    USA    26    Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
2    SHIMODA Jo     30    JPN    23    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
3    NICHOLS Colt     64    USA    21    Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
4    OLDENBURG Mitchell     49    USA    19    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
5    LAWRENCE Jett     18    AUS    18    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
6    OSBY Josh     95    USA    17    Phoenix Racing Honda    Honda   
7    SAYLES Hunter     99    USA    16    Race Driven KTM/Hoosier/EVS/Ryno    KTM   
8    SIMONSON Devon     170    USA    15    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
9    DO Thomas     773    USA    14    Tech32/KTM Marseille    KTM   
10    NEESE Luke     125    USA    13    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
11    HARLAN Grant     76    USA    12    Tilube Storm Lake Honda    Honda   
12    KARNOW Logan     88    USA    11    Madd Parts/Double Eagle MX/Namura Technologies Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
13    HAND Jeremy     332    USA    10    Hand Racing    Honda   
14    MORANZ Kevin     85    USA    9    TPJ/Fly Racing    KTM   
15    LUHOVEY Vincent     437    USA    8    None    KTM   
16    VARIZE Joshua     241    USA    7    KTM Orange Brigade/Factory Connection    KTM   
17    PIAZZA Bobby     637    USA    6    None    Yamaha   
18    MESHEY Scott     441    USA    5    None    Husqvarna   
19    FLEMING Wilson     185    USA    4    Team BWR    Honda   
20    SANFORD Maxwell     162    USA    3    Tilube Storm Lake Honda    Honda   
21    SCHLOSSER Hunter     193    USA    2    None    Yamaha   
22    CAMPORESE Lorenzo     384    USA    1    Gaerne, Shoei, LC384, NLAB    Kawasaki   
    
    

    
Team Honda HRC - AMA SX/MX, also photos