ANAHEIM, Calif. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Simon Cudby/Racer X photo —
The 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season started exactly as it did a year ago: with German flags flying and young Ken Roczen smiling widely atop the podium in victory lane at Angel Stadium.
Only this time, Roczen accomplished the feat with a brand-new team.
In his first ride aboard an RCH Racing Suzuki, the 20-year-old Mattstedt, Germany native powered to the inside of Andrew Short in the rhythm section on the opening lap of Saturday night’s 20-lap main event and dashed away from the field, leading wire to wire to grab his third career Supercross victory and second straight Anaheim 1 checkered flag.
The victory was also the first-ever win for the team co-owned by Supercross legend Ricky Carmichael and partner Carey Hart.
“Huge thanks to the Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s team and everyone that’s behind me, they’ve been doing a great job and I adapted pretty quick,” Roczen said on the podium. “(It) felt awesome, really good out there. You know it’s good to get the first one out of the way and everything went as planned. Just a solid ride out there tonight.”
Last year’s 250SX West division champion Jason Anderson finished second in his first 450 class ride for Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna, attempting to make a charge over the final third of the event but having nothing for Roczen down the stretch and coming up 4.2 seconds in arrears.
“I put in my work and I felt solid out there tonight,” Anderson said following the event. “I’m pretty stoked about how everything went tonight and just looking forward to more of this as the season goes on. Just going to try and be solid all season long and hopefully come up with some good results.”
Supercross veteran Mike Alessi came up with the holeshot on the gate drop, but quickly ceded the point to Short and Roczen through the first corner as the power players quickly rose to the top.
Roczen made his move and opened the margin in a hurry while Short and Anderson waged an early battle for he runner-up spot. Anderson claimed the spot on lap two and never relinquished it, but behind them, preseason title favorie Eli Tomac took a spill over the bars of his Honda after losing his balance while running sixth. Tomac was relegated backwards and could never recover, finishing 20th of the 22 riders that made the feature showdown.
Another championship favorite that encountered trouble early was the Monster Energy Kawasaki of defending Monster Energy Cup winner Davi Millsaps. Millsaps went off into the blocks on lap five while running fourth and had a second off-course ride on lap seven that doomed his night. The Murrietta, California rider and two-time Supercross championship runner-up finished his maiden points ride in green in 19th.
Trey Canard rounded out the podium on his Muscle Milk Honda behind Roczen and Anderson, notching his first podium finish since Houston in 2013. 2010 champion Ryan Dungey made it to fourth with three laps to go, but could not get to Canard to make the challenge and finished off the podium at Anaheim 1 for the first time in his 450 class career.
Andrew Short rounded out the top five, just missing his first podium result in three years. Justin Barcia, Weston Peick, Broc Tickle, Alessi and Chad Reed made up the rest of the top ten at the finish.
