Team Suzuki Press Office – January 20. Broc Tickle claimed his best finish in the 2013 AMA Monster Energy Supercross season on Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California with 11th place in the 450 Main Event aboard his Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ RCH Racing/ Bel-Ray Suzuki RM-Z450.
Tickle started 11th in the 20-lap Main, crowded off the track on the first lap and fell back to 16th. But he rebounded and found himself in contention for a top-10 finish at the end of the race and moved into 13th place in the series after three rounds.
Said Tickle: “Looking back now, I think that I should have lined-up to the outside and ripped the corner a little bit better. I got all bunched up with everyone trying to get through Turn 1 and it just cost me too many positions. We tried to attack the first turn and just ran out of room. But we finished 11th, which is another week of improvement for us.
“I thought that I came out of the gate really good. We just didn’t have a good angle getting into Turn 1 and maybe should have lined up outside more. The Suzuki launched well and I felt great. Just a lot of guys trying to fight for the same real estate and got pinched a bit.
“On the first lap, I was making some good passes and a guy ran me off the track and I dropped all the way down to 16th,” he added. “From there, I just started to put my laps down and wanted to be smooth. The track was pretty slippery and technical and I tried to carry as much speed as I could.
“I feel like the puzzle isn’t put together yet. We’re gaining on it; we just don’t have all the pieces together yet. We’re getting closer, but I still think that I should be running up in the top five.”
The Holly, Michigan native started fifth in the second 450 SX Heat Race and posted a sixth-placed finish in the eight-lap dash. He comfortably transferred into the Main Event – the top nine finishers from each heat automatically qualify – earning his third Main Event start this season.
“I actually thought that I should have come out of the first corner in second,” said Tickle. “I just ran a little bit wide and into the tuff block. I was running fourth and then Chad Reed caught me. I struggled a bit connecting with the track. I had a great start when the gate dropped and that was a real positive for us. We’re just going to keep working at it and get this team running up front.
“I feel like the stuff that we worked on this week really showed today. I was relaxed at the gate and made sure that when the board goes sideways at the gate that I give myself a few seconds to relax and just get my composure. I did that and I felt that my starts were better. We just didn’t have that great of a starting spot at the gate and got caught up into some guys trying to power through Turn 1.”
The next event for the Monster Energy Supercross Series is Saturday January 26th at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in California.
450 Main Event Results: 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 2. Trey Canard (Honda), 3. Chad Reed (Honda), 4. David Millsaps (Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 5. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki), 6. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 7. Andrew Short (Honda), 8. Justin Brayton (Yamaha), 9. Matt Goerke (KTM), 10. Josh Grant (Yamaha), 11. Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki), 12. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki).
