Team Suzuki Press Office – February 25. RCH Racing Suzuki’s Broc Tickle just missed a top-10 position in Saturday’s Atlanta Supercross after qualifying for his eighth-consecutive Main Event.
The Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ RCH Racing/ Bel-Ray/ Suzuki Z450 rider dropped to 15th early in the 20-lap Main Event and used the next five laps to move up to 12th. He currently holds 11th in the 450 SX Class point standings, two points off 10th.
Said Tickle: “I got a pretty good jump. Davi Millsaps, James Stewart and I were all side-by-side in the first corner. I tried to hug around the inside and Millsaps came right in front of me. I was trying to follow him and got a little bit close to him, so I slowed down. I almost hit him. That’s when all those guys kind of funnelled by me and I went back to 15th.”
Team mate Josh Hill used the afternoon practice sessions to hone in on the Georgia Dome track configuration that included a variety of obstacles including the very challenging whoop-sand combination.
The Oregon native made it a hat trick, earning his third consecutive Main Event with a solid performance in Heat 1. Breaking eighth when the gate dropped, Hill battled Weston Peick for the final five laps of the eight-lap qualifier that included an elbow-to-elbow exchange through the gnarly whoop section to finish ninth.
In the Main Event, Hill broke from the far outside gate and was pushed wide as the 20-rider field fought for early position. Unable to recover from the poor start, Hill gained two positions during the race to finish 16th.
Said Hill: “I’m happy I made the Main. I made improvements. We did have three more guys here this weekend that are fast. My speed was there. It was better in practice. Once the night show came on, I just never got comfortable. I was just riding the people’s pace in front of me and that was just the story of my whole night.”
Atlanta 450 Supercross Results (after 8 of 17 rounds): 1. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki), 2. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 3. Davi Millsaps (Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 4. Justin Barcia (Honda), 5. Trey Canard (Honda), 6. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 7. Eli Tomac (Honda), 8. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki), 9. Chad Reed (Honda), 10. Mike Alessi (Suzuki). 12. Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki). 16 Josh Hill (RCH Suzuki).
