Red Bull/KTM rider Andrew Short earned his fourth consecutive top ten finish with a 9th place result at round four of the AMA Supercross Series held in Oakland, CA.
The threat of rain lingered around all day and eventually made its way to the Oakland Coliseum as night began to fall. As Short lined up for his heat, the rain had seized for a moment giving the crowd a perfect view of Short as he pinned it down the start straight to come out 2nd off the gate in his heat race.
Short rode inside the top three for the first half of the race before dropping a few positions in the final laps. He eventually crossed the finish line in 6th position to put his KTM 350 SX-F in the main event.
The weather continued to get worse making the track tougher for the riders to tackle. The big whoop section got worse, the ruts got deeper and the top layer got slicker as the riders lined up for the start of the main.
Unfortunately, Short did not have the same start in the main as he had achieved in his heat. He came around the first corner in 18th. By the end of the first lap he had passed a couple riders and had moved into 16th. Short never got discouraged and continued to push throughout the entire main event. Around the halfway point, he turned on the gas while other riders were fading. He broke into the top fifteen and began to pick off riders. With only three laps to go he had moved into the top ten and was closing in on the 9th place ride of Ivan Tedesco. As the two riders crossed the finish line jump on lap eighteen, Short was able to sneak by Tedesco and steal the position. Short continued to pull ahead of Tedesco and went on to finish 9th overall.
“I’m definitely disappointed in my end result tonight. I had a terrible start and it took me a while to get going. Once I was moving, I felt good and my fitness helped me close in on some riders at the end of the race. I am glad I was able to gain some valuable positions at the end but there are definitely some areas I need to improve on and I will continue to work hard and progress as much as I can,” remarked Short.
Overall Results Supercross Class –
1. James Stewart
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Ryan Villopoto
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Trey Canard
7. Kevin Windham
8 . Davi Millsaps
9. Andrew Short – KTM
10. Ivan Tedesco
Overall Point Standings Supercross Class –
1. James Stewart – 92
2. Ryan Villopoto – 90
3. Ryan Dungey – 78
4. Trey Canard – 71
5. Chad Reed – 70
6. Brett Metcalfe – 55
7. Andrew Short – 49
8. Kevin Windham – 46
9. Justin Brayton – 39
10. Kyle Chisholm – 39
Roczen Earns Season Best Finish at Oakland Supercross
Red Bull/KTM rider Ken Roczen earned his best finish of the season at the fourth round of the AMA Supercross West Lites Series held at the Oakland Coliseum when he crossed the finish line in 4th overall.
Roczen had the speed to run up front all day. He qualified third fastest in practice to get a great gate pick for his heat. In the evening heat races he started 3rd around the first turn and maintained that position throughout the six lap race. He finished in the 3rd spot in his heat to earn another good gate pick – this time for the main event.
“I was happy with my start in the heat and wanted to make sure I put myself in the same position in the main event. The start is so important in Supercross racing and I have been improving upon my starts each race to help put myself in a better position to finish on the podium,” commented Roczen.
The track was tough on a lot of the riders this weekend and the rain that began to fall harder as the main event approached did not help the track conditions. Despite the slick track surface, Roczen was able to pull another great start. When the gate dropped for the main event he came out 2nd around the first corner.
As they completed the first lap Roczen found himself behind holeshot winner Eli Tomac and the 3rd place ride of Josh Hansen. All three riders remained close. As the three riders crossed the finish line jump of the third lap, Tomac hit a slick patch on the turn after the finish line jump and washed out handing Roczen the lead. Roczen held the lead for two laps before he made a mistake in the whoops and Hansen was able to move around him. As Roczen recovered from his swap in the whoops, Broc Tickle caught and passed Roczen. The KTM rider immediately charged back up to close the gap on the Kawasaki riders as they crossed the finish line jump once more.
On lap nine, as Roczen was defending his 3rd place position, he went down in the same turn Tomac had fallen in earlier in the race. “I knew that turn was slick because I had seen Tomac fall earlier. I was trying to take it easy but before I knew it I was already on the ground. It is so frustrating because I was in podium position. The positive thing is I have been improving each weekend. I was better at defending my lines today and I had much better starts,” stated Roczen.
After his crash Roczen quickly got back in action now in 4th position. “I had real bad arm pump during the race and I felt like I wasn’t riding like myself. I don’t know what’s causing it but I had arm pump in my heat and in the main and it was definitely a factor in my overall finish,” he remarked.
Roczen eventually finished the evening in 4th place. Although he was disappointed in not making the podium at this round, he was happy to have improved upon his top results this season. With four rounds in the books, Roczen sits 7th overall in the series point standings.
Next Round: Anaheim, CA – February 5, 2011
Overall Results Lites Supercross –
1. Broc Tickle
2. Josh Hansen
3. Eli Tomac
4. Ken Roczen – KTM
5. Tyla Rattray
6. Ryan Morais
7. Kyle Cunningham
8. James Decotis
9. Bruce Rutherford
10. Ryan Marmont – KTM
Overall Point Standings Lites Supercross –
1. Josh Hansen – 88
2. Broc Tickle – 87
3. Ryan Morais – 70
4. Eli Tomac – 69
5. Cole Seely – 60
6. Tyla Rattray – 58
7. Ken Roczen – 49
8. Martin Davalos – 45
9. Kyle Cunningham – 44
10. James Decotis – 40
Oakland was great! The rain was kind of a bummer though..