by Aaron Hansel
250 Words: Hangtown
Monday, May 21, 2012 | 9:35 AM
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PrintFirst experiences are supposed to be about testing the waters, but Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen nearly walked on water in the first Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship race of his life.
In the first moto, Roczen passed Justin Barcia for the lead, and would hold it for nearly thirteen of the moto’s seventeen laps. As the clock wore on, however, a charging Blake Baggett started reeling Barcia and Roczen in, and just seconds before the 30-minute mark was reached, the leaders crossed the finish line, which effectively gave Baggett the extra lap he needed to go for the kill. Several turns before the finish, Roczen made a fatal mistake by taking a rough, inside line he hadn’t taken all day, which allowed Baggett to squeak by and win the moto by half a second.
A small tip over early in the second moto relegated Roczen to third, although he nearly caught Barcia as the race drew to a close. The end result was third overall for the current MX2 World Champion, who says he is trying to adapt to the American way of motocross.
Roczen impressed in his American motocross debut.
Simon Cudby photo
“This was my first National. I’ve never ridden here, I don’t have a system, I don’t have training. I don’t have anything, but I think for me it worked out pretty good,” Roczen said in the post-race press conference. “I was running decent in the first moto, and I got passed on the last lap a couple corners before the finish, so I wasn’t too happy about that. I have to learn moto by moto.”
Roczen came within one lap of winning his first-ever moto in American Motocross. If he's able to do this well with zero experience, how good will he be with a few rounds under his belt?
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Answer: certified ripper, NFG. All day everyday.
That first moto has to go down in history! Too bad Wilson was hurt. Anyways, it was great to see Baggett go ONE-ONE! But it's a very long season and I'm sure we're going to see more surprises. Every track has its challenges and unfortunately, good starts are almost mandatory. I still expect to see Eli take a few of these.
Ahhh... The Great Outdoors is finally here and saturday it did not disappiont!!
The 250 class put on quite a show in their first moto at Hangtown! From the front runners all the way back thru the pack guys were battleing, close intense racing for every postition. Lap times of Baggett Roczen Barcia and Tomac were on par with the fastest 450's! Supercross has its moments that amaze and get you on your feet, but Saturday fans were treated to one of the most entertaining races in what seems along time. It had every thing, Euro vs American, the current Champion trying to defend his title knowing his shoulder was injured, a 30 yr old former 250 Champion returning to the class. A ametuer rider brought up early to battle with other highly anticipated Rookies in an already stacked class. Every lap had fans on their feet, watching to see what would happen next, that is what Moto Fans have been waiting for...The second moto didnt have the last second pass for the win, but again, the racing was tight and intense. If the racing in the 250 class is this good the rest of the year, we the fans will be the winners!!!
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If I were the guys racing Baggett I would be worried about finding that 1 second a lap speed needed to compete. That speed showed though out the day from practice into both motos.
What Baggett did was unreal. He was nowhere near the leaders at the half way point in that first moto. He droped the hammer just like last year and spanked some of the best riders in the world. The second moto he decided not to cut it so close and got up front early. He was so smooth out there!
Un-frickin-believable how you jerk offs always find a way to shift the attention to Roczen. When you're done giving him a full frontal massage maybe you can mention the fact that Baggett rode two amazing races, instead of talking about what Roczen did to lose.
This is supposed to be 250 words, not the Official KTM KR70 Press Release. Epic Fail.
he is a good rider i hope he stays up there...but he will fry like bacon in texas,like tomac did last year...hes already saying it was realy hot at hangtwn...you can see on his face in the interviews that he is woried about it..and he should b.
Baggett ripped it. k-roc, please keep the excuses in check this season.you are a world champ-
cflsurfer, there will be plenty of information here about Baggett throughout the week so stay tuned. Roczen taking a podium and threatening for a win in his first American race is pretty impressive, and is worth talking about, wouldn't you say?
Hansel- I'm actually a fan of KR70, think he has huge potential and a great attitude. But come on, he has competed plenty against a stacked international field before in both SX and MX through the MXDN. This column is usually a good reflection on the racing that went down over the weekend and those that shined. Barely a mention of Baggett which is a shame. After the struggles BB went thru in SX not to mention the struggles of PC Kawi lately I think his resurgence and speed is the bigger story.
So stoked for Tedesco! The guy did awesome in his first race back outdoors and on a 250F! Showed a lot of potential... and just overall fun to root for! After several mediocre seasons... it would be great to see hot sauce back in the leader pack where he belongs!
Great ride for Bagget! I was laughing on the last lap as he passed both those riders just out of sheer amazement! I couldn't believe it. Roczen also rode great and I love his attitude about racing and winning/losing. Keep it up guys... this is going to be a great season!!
Great 250 class racing... and it's gonna get even better!
I am impressed with KR as a rider, I am not a fan and AM tired of the hype and press. What makes me tired is I have yet to hear KR speak after a race without some direct or indirect excuse or reason why he didn't do better. The guy has trained ALL HIS LIFE for last sat, won the series in europe, Has as much prep or more than any rider out there. He raced against the same guys here in sx last year and all this year and is a EXTREMLY tallanted rider. " I don't have a system, training, I don't have anything"= three stupid LIES, geez how about I got beat today and will work harder next week, and thanks to all by team, sponsers and coaches, I did very well !! I was sick, i didn't know, the new master of excuses all year.
This guy is so good, why does he always try to make himself look better ??
BB ruled barcia got 2nd KR got third and Tomac got taken out.
Great racing lets go to Frestone !!! I was suprised at IT
I do feel that BB did much better and
I'd bet Roczen makes excuses all the time because he and everyone else puts high expectations on him so when he doesn't meet them he feels like he needs an excuse. But I wish he would just say he got beat and give respect where it's due. He's going to win the races this year, but it's how riders act when they lose that earns fans IMO.
I agree with david l 100%. Although his excuses were less than normal. For Roczen to say on TV that he has no training and he has nothing is a joke. If anything he has a huge advantage racing on team KTM and having Roger as his mentor. It seems like all the media guys want to see him win more than our US guys. It is a bummer that Muskin is injured, he is without a doubt one of the nicest guys to ever race a dirtbike. Barcia did a lot better than I expected, his starts are unbelievable. The racing in the 250 class was great, hopefully these guys can stay healthy.
Guys, in the post-race press conference, Roczen was in a good mood and seemed to be very happy about being able to get on the podium. I didn't interpret his comments as excuses. If anything, he was saying that he was stoked that he managed to get third despite a lack of experience with the race pace of American MX, our way of qualifying, the track, etc. Perhaps the fault is mine for not conveying this in the story, but hey, now you know!
PS Aaron, I really like all the articles you guys put out and love it that you actually comment back. Racerx is THE best site for our sport and you do an awesome job. you did nothing wrong in this article I was simply replying to let the world know I can't spell and MY opionions, Thanks, see you at freestone !!
It will be the longest, hotest season he has ever raced. He said he was having problems with the travel schedule in supercross. It will be interesting to see how he holds up. He seems like a great kid.
This is going to be an awesome outdoor year just like in SX!!! I don't see traveling to different States as big a problem as traveling to different countries like in the GP series. The Roc should be OK!!! Long season for the riders but it is a great show for us!!! Can't wait to attend Elsinore. Hope they shape up the track there. It did not look too technical on the Pro Ride Day. They did a great job at Pala so I don't see a problem with Elsinore.
Blake is one sick dude.
Well done BB, his 1st moto race was downright shocking.
As for not talking about PC, I am fine with that. They have been the favorite for so long, many other teams & racers haven't gotten the exposure they maybe could have. Heaven forbid PC loses a day's press......as if they won't make that up.
There is little doubt Roczen is newsworthy and certainly buzzworthy. He opens the AMA series up to a broader audience and in a down economy, he's putting asses in seats and raising awareness of the sport in general. These are qualities that can be appreciated by all whether you like him or not.