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Salt Lake City 2 saw Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen lose ground in the Monster Energy Supercross title-chase after claiming fifth in the 450SX main event.

Roczen entered the final stretch in Utah only three points down on red plate-holder Eli Tomac, that margin now extending to 13 points following round 12.

After winning heat two over Tomac, Roczen wasn’t able to maintain that momentum in the final after ending the opening lap in P8. Despite a short-lived surge, he eventually crossed the finish a full 27 seconds behind winner, Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM).

“I’m feeling good on the bike and had a good heat race, but obviously I’m having issues that prevent me from keeping it going,” Roczen explained. “I’m trying to figure it out and do my best to come back stronger. This thing isn’t over yet, but obviously fifth place is not where we want to be.

“The main goal is to try to be better and especially get a better start. I took a chance going to the very inside on the start gate and that didn’t work out. I’m going to rest, recover and I look forward to trying our best in the next race.”

Team Honda HRC manager Eric Kehoe said Roczen has to rebound for the next round, which will take place following another short turnaround on Sunday. After charging early, it appeared he lost strength

“Today was about damage control,” Kehoe said. “Early in the day things were good, practice went well and Ken’s heat race went well. We know that starts are so important and in that main event, both Ken and Justin [Brayton] were too far to the inside, got shut off and were pretty far back.

“Ken had to put in a really hard effort to battle back up into position and he struggled to maintain that same effort throughout the race. We need to work on starts and come back strong for the next event.”

It was defending 450SX champion Webb who won his second race of the season on Wednesday, as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tomac rode to second and increased his points advantage in the process.

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High-profile rookie Adam Cianciarulo has been ruled out of tonight’s 12th round of Monster Energy Supercross as a result of pain and a lack of strength in his lower-back.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider crashed out of SLC1 on Sunday and was confident he would be fit for tonight, but opted out following qualifying one.

Cianciarulo was a lowly 19th position at the end of that session earlier this afternoon, visibly uncomfortable and not able to return for the second qualifier topped by Blake Baggett (Team Rocky Mountain KTM WPS).

“It’s just been crazy-sore since the crash on Sunday,” Cianciarulo explained. “It’s my lower-back and unfortunately it’s not just the pain, it’s weakness, so I can’t really squeeze the bike and the impacts out there are really giving me a hard time.

“I thought I was going to be able to do it today, but it’s just not on the cards, so I’ve gotta take the smart play here – I don’t want to be a danger to myself or anybody else out there. I’m gonna have to sit this one out and hope to be ready Sunday.”

There will be an extended turnaround for Cianciarulo to improve by Sunday’s 13th round of the 2020 season, eager to get back aboard the factory KX450 and continue to gain experience over the next couple of weeks in Utah.

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250SX East number one plate-holder Chase Sexton struck a working relationship with James Stewart during the mid-season pause in Monster Energy Supercross, declaring the multiple-time champion as an asset to his program in these early stages.

Details remain thin on the extent of Geico Honda rider Sexton and Stewart’s cooperation in Florida, although he did touch on the topic after finishing second at Salt Lake City 1 on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s kind of been under the radar a little bit,” Sexton said. “But it’s been really good and he’s helping me a lot. I think today I rode decent, but my race-craft wasn’t very good – I’ve got a few text messages already about it, so we’ll go back to work.

“He’s been a big help and mentor so far and it’s only the beginning, so looking forward to going back and doing some more work this week. Unfortunately, he’s not here, but yeah, we’ll go back to work.”

It was a frustrating main event of sorts for the 20-year-old, not able to mount a serious challenge on title rival Shane McElrath (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) and eventually crossing the finish-line 2.949s behind.

“I felt like I rode decent,” he recalled. “I think the lappers were gnarly for both Shane and I. Every time I felt like I’d gained some ground I’d just lose it the next corner. I just feel like that was on me – I had a win in my sights, but didn’t make it happen.”

Sexton saw his advantage in the championship standings reduced to seven over the weekend as McElrath took victory. He will step up to the 450 class with Team Honda HRC once Pro Motocross commences next month and into the entire 2021 season.

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JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki’s Broc Tickle was re-injured in the first practice session at Utah, ending his day prematurely with another broken hand.

The luckless Tickle broke his left hand in Arlington and was able to recover during the mid-season pause, but ended up breaking his right hand at Salt Lake.

“In first practice I had a little crash, the bike came down and I punched it,” Tickle explained. “I ended up breaking my other hand on the outside – hoping to be back next Sunday.”

It’s been a frustrating time for Tickle since making his comeback in Tampa, where he finished 12th aboard the factory RM-Z450, only to injure his hand a week later in Texas.

A recovery target of next Sunday means he will sit out Wednesday’s 12th round of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross season, with two rounds taking place per week at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the series-remainder.

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An early fall forced the returning Adam Cianciarulo out on lap two of the 450SX main event in Salt Lake City one, now being cleared of injuries since.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rookie was making his first appearance since breaking his collarbone in Arlington and picked up where he left off in terms of speed.

As Monster Energy Supercross held its first of seven rounds at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Cianciarulo qualified third and then finished second in his heat race, only to go down in the early stages while in podium contention during the final.

“Cooper ran into me pretty good there, he didn’t have anywhere to go – not his fault obviously – but got me in the back pretty substantially,” the 23-year-old said after Cooper Webb went over the top of him. “I wasn’t able to finish, just didn’t have it in me.

“It’s pretty painful at the moment, but I got checked out and all is well internally – no broken bones, so that’s good. I’m tired of hitting the ground, I guess I was a little too eager being in a good position so early and not having raced in a while.

“But yeah, it’s the same for everybody, I have to take accountability for that, I have to be better and that’s something I always kind of have to reign in a little bit. I get excited and I really want it, so we’ll fix that. First one out of the way and only up from here!”

Cianciarulo is expected to continue and line-up again when the 2020 season moves forward in Utah this Wednesday, which will mark round 12 of the championship.

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The final rounds of Monster Energy Supercross will have the feeling of a new season when the gates drop in Utah on Sunday, which could serve as a boost for Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen.

Roczen is currently second in the 450SX point-standings and only three points down on red plate-holder Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki).

All seven rounds remaining will take place within Rice–Eccles Stadium at Salt Lake City as Supercross becomes one of the first professional sports to recommence since the COVID-19 pandemic placed the world on pause.

Recognized as a rider who delivers strong results in the early stages of the season, Roczen is in a strong position to capitalize across the next three weeks featuring consecutive races.

“I think, obviously if you look at my past, I am known for kind of coming out swinging,” Roczen said in the pre-race virtual press conference. “After three months or however long we’ve had this time off, you can definitely look at it like it’s the start of a new season.

“This will suit us well and I’ve prepared myself really well as well. I feel like I’m more ready and better than when I was racing earlier this year. I’m excited to kick things off again and really just trying to enjoy this crazy time. I’m ready, for sure.

“In previous years I’ve always come out really good in the beginning. We’ve all had plenty of time to get ready, so it’s going to be somewhat of a new start, but mentally I’m going straight back to where we left off and being in race-mode. I want to get back that comfort from when I was racing.”

Since winning his first main event in three years at St. Louis, Roczen has won three rounds in total during the unprecedented 2020 season, only missing the podium twice during the first 10 rounds prior to the break.