Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen picked up his second Monster Energy Supercross win of the season Saturday night in front of 69,785 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.
After trailing Ryan Villopoto for much of the 20-lap feature, Roczen capitalized on Villopoto’s mistake with six laps to go to capture the lead and eventual race win.
“I don’t believe this,” said Roczen. “Getting on the podium is one thing but a win is another… such an awesome feeling. This proves that hard work pays off and helps build my confidence.”
Roczen’s teammate Ryan Dungey finished third ahead of GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn and JGRMX’s Justin Brayton.
Suzuki rider Mike Alessi opened the main event by winning the holeshot over James Stewart, Villopoto and Roczen. Stewart began reeling in Alessi for the lead, but a crash on the opening lap would drop him to last place.
On Lap 6, Villopoto and Roczen moved past Alessi for first and second respectively, setting up a duel between the two training partners. Villopoto set the pace for the next eight laps but would fail to triple on Lap 14, and as a result, Roczen moved into first place.
Villopoto now holds a nine-point advantage over Roczen in the season standings as the series heads to Indianapolis. Stewart rebounded to finish 11th and now trails Villopoto by 26 points.
