Page 16 - PULSE-4

OWN...
In the 450 class, Ken Roczen was the
big surprise of the first moto although Eli Tomac still managed to come away with the win. The Honda rider held off the #1 for more than twenty minutes in the first moto and impressed everyone watch-
ing at the track and around the world
-- he even impressed himself. The young German held on for a third place finish, marking his return to the Pro Motocross podium for the first time since 2016. He didn’t get the same advantageous start in the second moto and was forced to pull into the mechanics area on the first lap, rejoining the race in dead last. Roczen dug deep for the remainder of the thirty minute moto and fought all the way back into the top ten, finishing in eighth posi- tion at the checkered flag. Musquin and Anderson both had so-so days by their standards, filling out the podium with solid rides, but the main man was Eli Tomac yet again as he collected a maximum fifty points at the end of the day’s racing. It was the same story as the first round at Hangtown -- the Colorado native found an extra gear in the latter stages of both mo- tos, passing both Roczen and Anderson to take each respective win. At one point, Tomac was a full six seconds faster than anyone on track; even he doesn’t have an explanation for his late race pace.
The entire year so far has been riddled with injuries, especially in the 450 class, and none other than the current 450SX Champ himself joined the injured reserve list for the time being. Anderson was practicing during the week preceding the Thunder Valley National at Glen Helen Raceway and had an unfortunate collision with another rider, resulting in a com- pound fracture to his right foot.
16 THE PULSE • ISSUE FOUR
>>
D
S