Page 92 - ISSUE 40

BROC TICKLE
450 SX / 14TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> RCH Suzuki’s Broc Tickle may have started the season slowly but with 3 top ten finishes in the last four rounds, his recent results have shown that the speed is definitely there. In fact, Tickle’s best performance so far was last weekend in Toronto and the 3rd place finish was exactly what Tickle and the team had been working for. Looking to carry the momentum into Daytona, the night started strong for Tickle, as the #20 moved into 4th across the second turn after shuf- fling with Davi Millsaps. Tickle quickly fell out of transfer position, though, losing the spot back to Millsaps as the race settled in on lap one. Struggling across the Daytona soil, Tickle moved from 4th to 8th in less than a lap and saw his transfer position fading away in the distance. By the end of lap two, Tickle had moved around Alessi for 7th but his push would stop there. Tickle did battle for the 7th position, trading spots with Alessi one more time but by the end of the heat, the #20 machine was forced to line up for a semi. Rocking a strong jump out of the gate, Broc used the inside line to grab 5th for the first few turns before overtaking AJ Catanzaro for 4th. Now following Malcolm Stewart, a mistake by Justin Bogle ahead of them moved both riders forward and Tickle found himself in 3rd by lap three. Holding down the fort for the remainder of the race, Tickle took the 3rd into the main where he was pushed out wide in the first turn. Riding in 13th as the race got underway, Tickle fell off the pace early, dropping back a couple of posi- tions. Getting around some rider’s early mistakes, Broc found 15th on lap four but hit a rough patch as he faded back to 17th a few laps later. Battling with Marvin Musquin and Dean Wilson, the three pack held together like glue as the race entered the second half and it wasn’t until lap sixteen that Tickle moved back into 15th, where he was earlier in the race. The movement forward halted for the next couple laps before Broc made his final move into 14th around Malcolm Stewart, who made a late race mistake. The grim finish for Tickle would appear to be a step backward after reaching the podium in Toronto, but the result was good enough for Broc to hold onto 10th in the point standings with seven rounds left. The RCH tent has more to show before the season hits the Sin City in May.
92 GRITMOTO • MARCH 12, 2017