- Racing - Motocross
SUZUKI’S KEN ROCZEN CHARGES TO SECOND PLACE AT BIRMINGHAM SUPERCROSS
Brea, CA – (March 23, 2026) – The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Season heads into the final stretch with the completion of the Birmingham Supercross. The event inside Protective Stadium paid points toward the 17-round Supercross season as well as toward the SMX World Championship. The Alabama track’s dirt was inconsistent and choked with large rocks. The unpredictable soil conditions put a premium on line selection and quick reaction times of the racers.
Race Highlights:
- Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Ken Roczen delivered his sixth podium of the season and advanced into the top-three in the championship standings.
- Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
- 450 Class
- Colt Nichols earned a top-ten result with his season-best performance.
- Justin Bogle returned to AMA Supercross racing and has joined the Suzuki team for the Birmingham Supercross.
Ken Roczen (94) had all eyes on him in Birmingham as he posted the fastest lap time and gained 14 positions in a thrilling charge to the front.
Ken Roczen (94) displayed incredible speed from the start of the day in Birmingham. Roczen earned top-three spots in both qualifying sessions and in the overall qualifying results. In his heat race, Roczen rounded the first corner just outside of the top five. Roczen drove forward past his competitors and put his Suzuki RM-Z450 into the lead at the heat race midpoint. Roczen held on for his fifth heat race win of the season (in addition to two Triple Crown Race wins). In the main event, Roczen crossed the holeshot stripe in a disappointing 16th place, then launched a charge to the front that will likely be re-watched for years. With less than four minutes off the race clock Roczen reached fifth place and had no intention of anything less than a victory. Six minutes into the 20-minute plus one lap main event, Roczen put his Suzuki into second place. The race announcer and former Suzuki racer James Stewart commentated that Roczen has been riding really good all season and hasn’t adjusted his bike settings in nearly a year. Roczen went to work and posted the race’s fastest lap time, more than half a second quicker than the nearest competitor. As the ruts deepened and heavy rocks surfaced, Roczen steadily eroded the gap to the lead. He cut the gap to less than three seconds before a few minor mistakes late in the race halted Roczen’s progress. Roczen kept the pressure on and took the checkered flag in second place. The Birmingham points moved Roczen up one position in the championship standings and the pace demonstrated that Ken Roczen will be a title threat through the final stretch of the season.
“Alright Birmingham is done and dusted. We had a really good day overall,” said Roczen. “In [qualifying] I was always up on the board in the top three or so. The track ended up being trickier than I originally thought; the rhythms were pretty basic, but we had a lot of different dirt. It was new dirt, it was pretty rocky; and not just little rocks, but big boulders. [Also], part of the track was really rutty and deep, and other parts were extremely dry and pebbly with no traction. So, it ended up making it quite difficult… My starts just weren't there tonight, and it was a really big bummer starting at around 15th or so. It's hard to win when you're that far back. Luckily, I was really on one tonight… I was pretty fast all [through the] main event and was able to click guys off. I ended up coming in at second. I was catching [the rider ahead] quite good but the track, with how rocky it was; you didn't even have to make a mistake, but it ended up being [similar to the result of a] mistake just by landing on a rock a little bit and shooting sideways. So, I missed a couple of rhythms a couple of times, and the gap went back out to 5 seconds or so. I was able to get a little closer towards the end. Ultimately, I was really happy with the second place after that start. We rode amazingly tonight, and my bike worked well, too, so we’re on a good path.”
Colt Nichols (45) found fresh speed just past the season’s midpoint to earn his best heat race and main event results of the year.“It was a much better night for me for sure,” stated Nichols. “I actually got out of the gate decently and felt like I rode really well. I was pretty sick this week so I was struggling a little bit about halfway [through the main], but I dug in as hard as I could. I feel like I rode really well, and I ended up getting P-8 tonight. I wanted to get into the single digits, so I’m pumped we were able to do that. The bike [set-up] is in a much better spot after the break; we made a bunch of changes, so shout out to Mark at REP Suspension and everyone on the team. It's been kind of a struggle year, to be honest, so to get an eighth is awesome and something to build on.”
Justin Bogle (891) leapt from the coach’s chair to the saddle of a Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450 race bike and impressed beyond expectations.
“Tonight was interesting. It was fun,” said Bogle. “[It was] rough qualifying; it's been a long time since I've raced. The heat race was awesome, P-6, straight to the main. I’m really pumped on that. In the main event I got out there, I think P-18, so not great but we'll work into it. I’m really, really happy and loving to be at the races. Man, it's really cool.”
“It was a really good night for the team. We had three guys in the main event [from direct transfers] through the heat. Ken won the heat, Colt got fourth and Bogle sixth, which was awesome to see. Obviously, Bogle is a new addition to the team, stepping in as our third rider right now, and to see him make it in with a sixth in the heat was awesome,” reported Dustin Pipes, Principal of the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance team. “The main event went really well, too. Ken was 16th in the first corner; he had the fastest lap of the race and came back to second. It was really close. We felt like we were the best guy this weekend but [the lead rider] rode a complete race and we couldn't get him in in the end. So, P-2 for Ken. Colt had his best finish of the year in P-8, and it was great to see him round that first corner in the top ten; and he stayed up there. That's just where he belongs. We feel like he's a top-ten guy and he's starting to show it, so that was great to see. Bogle had a P-18 in the main; coming out of retirement, that’s kind of as much as we could ask for. We expect for him to build throughout the weeks and hopefully by the end of the season we’ve got something. But it was a really, really great night for the team.”
The Supercross season heads to Ford Field in Detroit Michigan for round 11 of the 17-round series. The Suzuki riders and team members are getting stronger as the season progresses and are eager to put their RM-Z450 race bikes higher in the season standings with a firm focus on the championship title.
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Suzuki Motor USA, LLC (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
