The 2019 AMA Pro Motocross season came to an exciting close at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, as Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen battled hard throughout both of the day’s 30-minute-plus-two-lap motos to finish second overall with 2-3 scores, securing second in the championship points standings.
Roczen kicked off the day with a fifth-place start in moto one, then swiftly made passes and took over the lead before the green flag. He continued to push once in front, opening a small gap early in the race. At the halfway point, Roczen was unable to maintain his early pace, allowing Eli Tomac to close and begin applying pressure. It turned into a three-way battle for the lead, as Marvin Musquin moved in and ultimately made the pass into second behind the German. Roczen didn’t give up easily, fighting hard to maintain the front spot, but he ultimately relinquished the lead on lap 15. In moto two, Roczen got off the line to an eighth-place start but moved into second on the opening lap, then made an impressive pass into the lead over the large uphill jump. Once again, Roczen laid down strong laps out front and fought hard to fend off advances but eventually gave up two positions, taking the checkered flag in third.
Ken Roczen
“This season has been tough. We had a lot of ups and downs but I’ve also checked off and accomplished some goals, including finishing the whole year, battling for wins and getting back to 1-1 at Unadilla. I tried to ride my heart out this year, gave it my all each weekend and never backed down, which is important to me. Overall today was good though, finishing second on the day. The first moto was crazy; we were going 100% the whole race. I had Eli [Tomac] and Marvin [Musquin] on me almost the whole time, so it made for a three-way battle, which hasn’t happened too much this year; it was cool to race it but also exciting for the fans. It was a bummer to give up the win in the final laps but the track was really gnarly and I just made some mistakes. I just wanted to go out in the second moto again and just fight hard. I think this year will set us up good for 2020 but in the meantime, I’m looking forward to a much-needed break.”
450MX Results
1) Eli Tomac (3-1)
2) Ken Roczen (2-3)
3) Zach Osborne (5-2)
4) Joey Savatgy (4-6)
5) Justin Barcia (7-4)
6) Jason Anderson (6-5)
7) Dean Wilson (9-7)
8) Benny Bloss (8-8)
9) Marvin Musquin (1-40)
10) Fredrik Noren (10-10)
450MX Championship Points (after 12 of 12 rounds)
1) Eli Tomac 521
2) Ken Roczen 463
3) Marvin Musquin 451
4) Jason Anderson 407
5) Zach Osborne 403
6) Cooper Webb 324
7) Justin Barcia 315
8) Fredrik Noren 240
9) Justin Bogle 222
10) Blake Baggett 175
Home Automotive Auto Moto News Second-Place Result at AMA Pro Motocross Finale Earns Roczen Second in Series