News 28 Aug 2016

Roczen and Forkner race to victory at Ironman National

Pro Motocross Championship concludes.

Image: Simon Cudby.

Image: Simon Cudby.

Ken Roczen (RCH Suzuki) and Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) have claimed victory at the final round of the 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Just one week after wrapping up the 450MX title, Roczen concluded the season finale with a perfect 1-1 performance in what were challenging conditions.

Moto one saw the Suzuki-mounted rider capture the holeshot ahead of Justin Barcia (JGR Yamaha), with the pair gapping the field in the opening laps of the race. Barcia maintained Roczen’s pace for a portion of the moto, however the newly crowned Champion would extend his lead in the closing stages.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) secured third position early on, although he was soon to be passed by Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki). A mistake from Tomac with just two laps remaining allowed Musquin to regain the position.

In the dying stages of the race Musquin would run into trouble while negotiating lapped traffic, with Tomac taking advantage to conclude the moto in third ahead of the KTM-mounted Frenchman.

Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) completed the top five in his return to racing after several rounds on the sidelines due to injury.

Race two saw a complete repeat of results amongst the top five with Roczen taking a convincing win over Barcia, Tomac, Musquin and Anderson.

Australian Hayden Mellross (Yamaha) recorded 33-17 results, crediting him 20th overall.

Austin Forkner (Pro Circuit/Monster Energy Kawasaki) claimed his maiden victory in the 250MX category at his final race as a rookie in the championship.

Forkner controlled the race for the entire duration of moto one, positioning himself in a favourable spot for the overall. His third behind Cooper Webb (Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha) and Aaron Plessinger (Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha) in race two awarded him his first professional victory.

Plessinger’s 8-3 scorecard was enough to edge out Webb’s 5-2 for second, while the top five was completed Alex Martin (Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha) and Adam Cianciarulo (Monster EnergY/Pro Circuit Kawasaki).

Former Australian MX2 Champion Luke Clout (Suzuki) concluded the weekend in 20th overall.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

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