German Rider Ken Roczen Wins The Thunder Valley National In Lakewood
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Ken Roczen won the Thunder Valley National for his second victory in the first three Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship events, sweeping both 450 Class motos.
The RCH Suzuki rider from Germany has won five of the first six motos to start the season, and likely would have won all six had he not had bike issues last week at Glen Helen in California. He has eight career 450 victories, two at Thunder Valley.
"My day was great," said Roczen, also the Hangtown winner in the opener. "I grabbed an awesome start in the first moto and never looked back. I just rode a smooth race with minimal mistakes. We went into the second moto with a strong mentality. I didn't get a good start and actually almost crashed. I tried to make some quick moves (to move up to the front) but didn't want to rush it. Going 1-1 is a great thing headed into the off-weekend. I'm really excited for the rest of the season."
Ryan Dungey was second overall, finishing second in the first moto and fourth in the second. The Red Bull KTM factory rider from Minnesota won last week at Glen Helen.
"Overall it was a good day," Dungey said. We got good starts in both motos. In the first moto we got into second and just tried to maintain that. I felt good going into the second moto. I was up front and trying to go for the lead and my front popped out of the rut and once it hit the soft dirt it just tucked the front end. We got up and just tried to pass as many guys as we could."
Eli Tomac was third on a Kawasaki. He was fifth in the first moto and second in the second.
Roczen has a 12-point lead over Dungey.
Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy topped the 250 Class for the second time in three events after also opening with a victory at Hangtown. He was second in the first moto and won the second.
"It was almost a picture-perfect weekend," Savatgy said.
Yamaha's Jeremy Martin, was second overall. He won the first moto and was third in the second. Brother Alex Martin, the Glen Helen winner was third. He was eighth in the first moto and second in the second.
Savatgy leads the standings, three points ahead of Jeremy Martin.
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