Ken Roczen a Close Second at Orlando Supercross, Lawrence Tops 250SX East Class 15.02.2021: AMA Supercross 450SX 2021 Round 7 Orlando 1 SX The seventh round of the 2021 AMA Supercross series took place Saturday at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, where Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen put together another

AMA Supercross 450SX 2021   Round 7    
Orlando 1 SX



The seventh round of the 2021 AMA Supercross series took place Saturday at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, where Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen put together another solid ride aboard his CRF450R, finishing second and maintaining the lead in the 450SX title chase. Meanwhile, his 17-year-old teammate Jett Lawrence notched his second career win in the 250SX East class.


Roczen topped his heat race and started the main event in third, then made his way into second on lap two. At times the German seemed destined to score his fourth consecutive victory, as he gained ground on the leading Cooper Webb in the whoop section, but the margin stretched to nearly three seconds due to a couple of mistakes by Roczen. Still, a late-race charge brought him close again, and he finished less than a second back.



Lawrence dominated the evening in his class, topping his heat race before riding his CRF250R flawlessly in the main event. The young Australian will now have a couple months off from racing before the East Region finishes up in Salt Lake City.





NOTES



•    Round 7 was the first time since 2007 that AMA Supercross held a round in Orlando. Although Ken Roczen couldn’t quite manage the victory, Honda remains the most successful manufacturer at the venue, with five premier-class wins at the hands of Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Stanton and Ron Lechien.


•    After enduring freezing temperatures in Indy the weekend before, teams and riders experienced wet conditions for round 7. The track crew was prepared, covering the course with plastic during the precipitation earlier in the week.


•    Press day and free-practice sessions were canceled due to the weather, and the qualifying schedule was revised, beginning at 2:15 p.m. for the 250SX East riders.


•    In timed qualifying, Roczen posted the fifth-fastest lap with a 51.106” in the final session. SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda riders Benny Bloss, Broc Tickle and Vince Friese were 10th-, 15th-, and 19th-best, respectively, with times of 51.880”, 52.029” and 52.570”. Muc-Off Honda rider Justin Brayton was 20th-best at 53.043.


•    In the 250SX East class, Lawrence was the third-best qualifier, with a 52.743” lap time. Muc-Off Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg was fifth with a 53.871” lap, while Phoenix Racing Honda rider Joshua Osby was eighth.

•    Roczen rode to another solid win in 450SX heat 2, while Friese, Brayton, Bloss, and Tickle were sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th, respectively.


•    Red Riders swept the podium in the second 250SX East heat race, with Lawrence leading Oldenburg finishing and World of Wheels rider Jeremy Hand. In heat 1, Osby posted a sixth-place result.


•    Although Roczen conceded ground to Webb in the title chase, he still enjoys a healthy 13-point lead after round 7.


•    With round 8 scheduled to be held at the same venue, the riders and some Team Honda HRC staff members will stay in Florida prepping for Saturday’s race. Roczen will test at the Sandbox, Jett and Hunter Lawrence will ride at Chad Reed’s old facility and Chase Sexton will continue to prep at James Stewart’s compound for his return.


•    The second half of the Orlando double-header will take place this Saturday on a redesigned track, and the 250SX West Region Class series will commence, with Hunter Lawrence debuting on his 2021 CRF250R.
 


    
       
    
Ken Roczen  94


“Orlando was a different kind of race. The schedule was delayed due to the possibility of rain and lightning, so we only had two qualifying practices, with completely different types of dirt. The first practice was kind of sketchy because it was super hard-packed on the jumps and soft and wet at the bottoms, from the water sitting. Then it ended up being really slick and tricky.

By the night show, we felt pretty decent; got a holeshot and heat-race win, which set us up nicely for the night show, and grabbed another good start there; it wasn’t quite a holeshot, but I was in the top three, battling up there with Cooper [Webb], who ended up getting by me.



By then it was basically just him and me battling all the way to the end. It wasn't quite enough for the win, but with the track a little tricky, I was happy to keep the rubber side down and take second place for the night. Hopefully we can turn it around for Orlando 2 and see if we can get back on the top step.”         

    
       


    
Jett Lawrence  18


“Today was a smooth day; I felt like I rode very smart and made smart decisions in qualifying and was P3 in both sessions. I felt like I was smarter with my thinking process. Going into the heat race, I didn't get a very good start; I popped the clutch a little, which made me wheelie out, but I was able to manage the first turn and get further up in the pack. With [Christian] Craig going down, I ended up winning that, so got pretty lucky.



In the main event, I executed my start very well and was able to manage the race to the checkered flag. Colt [Nichols] was on me, which was good to have the pressure there, keeping me on it. I’d like to thank the team, my mechanic Christian [Ducharme], and my trainer Johnny [O’Mara] for all the support. We’ve been working really hard and it's good to leave on a good note. I can't wait for Salt Lake."         


    
       
    
Erik Kehoe
Team Manager


“It was a really good night for the team! Jett rode well all day and focused hard to get a great start in the main event and take the win. This was an important win for Jett to build some confidence going into the East Region series break. Ken is riding really smart right now.

He has worked hard to be more consistent on the starts, and it shows! After managing another good start in the main event, Ken handled the pressure well up front and finished a solid second place. He’s focused on podium finishes to continue to gain valuable points every week.”         

    
       
    
    450SX Results


1    WEBB Cooper     2    USA    26    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
2    ROCZEN Ken     94    GER    23    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
3    OSBORNE Zach     16    USA    21    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
4    BARCIA Justin     51    USA    19    TLD/Red Bull GasGas    GasGas   
5    TOMAC Eli     3    USA    18    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
6    PLESSINGER Aaron     7    USA    17    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
7    MUSQUIN Marvin     25    FRA    16    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
8    ANDERSON Jason     21    USA    15    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
9    STEWART Malcolm     27    USA    14    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
10    CIANCIARULO Adam     9    USA    13    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
11    BRAYTON Justin     10    USA    12    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
12    WILSON Dean     15    GBR    11    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
13    SAVATGY Joey     17    USA    10    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
14    BLOSS Benny     37    USA    9    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
15    FRIESE Vince     40    USA    8    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
16    DAVALOS Martin     36    USA    7    Team Tedder/Monster Energy/Lucas Oil/KTM Racing    KTM   
17    MCELRATH Shane     12    USA    6    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
18    BOGLE Justin     19    USA    5    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
19    CHISHOLM Kyle     11    USA    4    Chisholm Racing    KTM   
20    STARLING Justin     68    USA    3    AJE Motorsports    Husqvarna   
21    NOREN Fredrik     43    SWE    2    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
22    FERRANDIS  Dylan     14    USA    1    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   

       
    
    250SX East Region Results


1    LAWRENCE Jett     18    AUS    26    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
2    NICHOLS Colt     64    USA    23    Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
3    CRAIG Christian     29    USA    21    Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
4    SHIMODA Jo     30    JPN    19    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
5    OLDENBURG Mitchell     49    USA    18    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
6    VARIZE Joshua     241    USA    17    KTM Orange Brigade/Factory Connection    KTM   
7    MORANZ Kevin     85    USA    16    TPJ/Fly Racing    KTM   
8    OSBY Josh     95    USA    15    Phoenix Racing Honda    Honda   
9    SCHLOSSER Hunter     193    USA    14    None    Yamaha   
10    KARNOW Logan     88    USA    13    Madd Parts/Double Eagle MX/Namura Technologies Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
11    SIMONSON Devin     170    USA    12    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
12    NEESE Luke     125    USA    11    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
13    SHAW Lane     124    USA    10    TPJ/Fly Racing    KTM   
14    DO Thomas     773    USA    9    Tech32/KTM Marseille    KTM   
15    NAGY Alexander     509    USA    8    None    KTM   
16    HARLAN Grant     76    USA    7    Tilube Storm Lake Honda    Honda   
17    MESHEY Scott     441    USA    6    None    Husqvarna   
18    FLEMING Wilson     185    USA    5    Team BWR    Honda   
19    SANFORD Maxwell     162    USA    4    Tilube Storm Lake Honda    Honda   
20    CAMPORESE Lorenzo     384    USA    3    Gaerne, Shoei, LC384, NLAB    Kawasaki   
21    SAYLES Hunter     99    USA    2    Race Driven KTM/Hoosier/EVS/Ryno    KTM   
22    HAND Jeremy     122    USA    1    World of Wheels/AM Motocross/Wiseco    Honda   
    
    
       

    
 Team Honda HRC - AMA SX/MX, also photos