Roczen dominates 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship

With yet another dominating 1-1 victory, Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen clinched the 2016 Lucas Oil AMA Pro 450 Motocross Championship Saturday at the Budds Creek National in Budds Creek, Maryland. Roczen has turned in one of the most dominant performances in recent history, piloting his Suzuki RM-Z450 to eight overall victories en route to scoring his second title in three seasons, and he accomplished it all one race before the season finale.

Highlights from Team Suzuki also included:

• Ken Roczen scored 1-1 on his Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450 at Budds Creek, earning his eighth victory of the season and clinching the AMA Pro 450 National Championship with one round still remaining.
• Matthew Bisceglia continued his strong comeback, scoring the holeshot on his Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450 in the second moto and finishing 11th overall.
• A total of 11 Suzuki riders made the national at Budds Creek – Seven on Suzuki RM-Z450s in the 450 class and four in the 250 class on Suzuki RM-Z250s.
• Maverick Viñales took another top-10 MotoGP finish with ninth at Brno in the Czech Republic. His Team Suzuki Ecstar teammate Aleix Espargaro qualified fourth for the Grand Prix.

Ken Roczen put an exclamation mark on his spectacular 2016 season by clinching the AMA Pro 450 Motocross Championship a week early, scoring a resounding 1-1 victory at the Budds Creek National in Maryland. This marks the 11th championship for Suzuki in the premier American motocross class dating back to 1975, and the fifth AMA Motocross National Championship for the Suzuki RM-Z450.

After collecting two more moto victories at Budds Creek, Roczen heads into the final round of racing with an astounding 18 out of 22 moto wins. Roczen and his RM-Z have dominated the 2016 AMA Pro 450 Motocross Series.

“The Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing machine has been working great all year. There are so many people I have to thank – my team, my family, my girlfriend and my trainer. We finally made it,” said Roczen, who more than doubled his career win total this season. “I don’t really know what more to say right now. We have such a solid program that I’m just really happy with.”

RM-Z450 powers Bisceglia to Moto 2 holeshot

AMA Pro 450 class rookie Matt Bisceglia turned heads after he qualified a career high sixth at Budds Creek. In moto 1, Bisceglia put on an inspired ride, climbing to 9th after a first lap crash put him at the back of the pack. He then used the power of his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to earn the holeshot in the second moto. Bisceglia finished the day 11th overall with 9-12 moto results.

“I qualified sixth, which is the best I’ve qualified so far this year,” Bisceglia said. “I got a good start in the first moto, but crashed in the first corner. I went from last to ninth. Then I got the holeshot in the second moto and was still riding good up until maybe the halfway point. Then I struggled with my hands, but there were positives from the day.”

Team Suzuki had a strong presence at Budds Creek. A total of 11 Suzuki riders made the national at Unadilla – Ken Roczen, Matthew Bisceglia, Daniel Lippman, Max Tannenbaum, Dustin Pipes, Ronnie Stewart, and Nicholas Schmidt riding the potent Suzuki RM-Z450, and in the 250 national, it was Kyle Cunningham, Jimmy Albertson, Luke Clout, and Josh Osby running the nimble-handling Suzuki RM-Z250.

Team Suzuki Ecstar Riders strong at Brno MotoGP

Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró each scored highlights in the MotoGP round in Brno, Czech Republic on their Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RRs. Espargaró headed up the second row in qualifying Saturday for the GP in fourth. It marked his best qualifying result of the season. On Sunday, the rain began to fall, and Viñales raced his Suzuki to ninth, his ninth top-10 finish of the season.

Team Suzuki and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship conclude Saturday Aug. 27 at the Ironman National, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Live coverage begins at 10:00 am Eastern on www.promotocross.com. The motos can also be viewed on MAVTV and NBCSN. MotoGP resumes in Great Britain on September 4 and MotoAmerica is back in action on September 11 in New Jersey.