Honda's Ken Roczen had a night to forget at Round 13 of the AMA Supercross Championship.
The title hopeful finished 10th after starting fifth and was lapped twice by Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac and KTM’s Cooper Webb.
Roczen, who announced with his wife Courtney on Thursday the pair are expecting their first child in September, suffered a flat tyre in his heat race but managed to finish second.
In the main event, his race started well but as the laps ticked over Roczen continued to lose positions until timing and scoring had him in 10th across the finish line, two laps down on Tomac and Webb.
“These past two races obviously haven’t been the results that we needed to be in the fight,” said Roczen.
“That doesn’t mean that we aren’t still trying. Sometimes you’re dealt a hand of cards that are completely out of your control, but we’re trying to make the smartest and quickest decisions to get through some of the health issues that keep coming up. My heat went well and I led a handful of laps until I got a flat.
“The boulders started popping up and I think I know right where the rock got me in the whoops. With the weather changing, we tried to make a tire decision that would give me the best chances of not having that same thing happen in the main, but that obviously didn’t work well. I’m not the type of guy that likes to roll around or is satisfied with a fifth- or 10th-place finish, but sometimes if that’s the best you can do for the night, you just have to except it for what it is. I can’t thank my team enough for being patient with me and for never wavering in their support.
“I know the sacrifices they’re making to be up here and all of the work they’re putting in to give me the best equipment and support, and I want to do better for them. I couldn’t be more grateful for them and I hope we can turn this around and be in a better position to put up a fight on Wednesday.”