RCH Racing Suzuki's Broc Tickle scored his second top-10 position in the AMA/ FIM World Supercross season at Anaheim in California on Saturday night.
The RM-Z450 rider ran as high as sixth in the 20-lap Main Event, but lost-out to reigning champion Ryan Villopoto on the final lap.
Said Tickle: "I felt strong, the track was really tricky, the design was pretty basic, but it was hard to get a flow going. We'll take the ninth-place finish. I want more. We're gaining in rider points and we want to keep moving inside the top 10 and we're going to get better.
"You had to be patient and not push too hard because the track really got slick. Rolling the centre of the corners was key and you had to find a good rhythm while still finding speed on the bike to run fast tonight. It was all about cleaning your corners up and carrying all your momentum through the corners. That's what I struggled with a bit and that's what caused me to pump up a bit in the Main Event. Around Lap 14 I got a little arm pump and tried to make it go away and just got tight. I just didn't get loose late in the race. We'll keep plugging away. I want more - I don't want ninth or 10th - I want top-fives and podiums."
One of the areas Tickle and his team have targeted for improvement this season has been starts:
"It was better," said Tickle. "We've been working really hard at it and tonight we saw some results. My Heat Race start wasn't too good, but I broke great in the Main. On a track like we had tonight, breaking from the gate was really big. Everybody was fast tonight. We kept plugging away at it. We just need to keep working on the little things during the week and try to apply it on Saturday."
For Kyle Partridge - filling in for injured Josh Hill on the second Suzuki RM-Z450 from RCH Racing - the night was an exercise in frustration: He finished 18th in his Heat Race which demoted him into the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) for one of the final two transfer spots. But he was sidelined by an accident on the first lap of the six-lap LCQ dash while running third when a rider braked in front of him after the first whoop section.
He said: "I started all the way on the outside in the LCQ but came out of the gate with just a gnarly start. I got a great start considering where I started from and just got put down right after the whoop section. Two guys got together in front of me and just smashed right into my face and arm and hand, which took me off the bike and there wasn't really anything that I could do.
"But I feel like the stuff that we worked on this week really showed today. I was relaxed at the gate and made sure that when the board goes sideways at the gate that I give myself a few seconds to relax and just get my composure. I did that and I felt that my starts were better. We just didn't have that great a starting spot at the gate and got caught up into some guys trying to power through Turn 1."
Anaheim 3 450 Supercross Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 2. Davi Millsaps (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) 3. Justin Barcia (Honda) 4. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki) 5. Chad Reed (Honda) 6. Andrew Short (Honda) 7. Trey Canard (Honda) 8. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 9. Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki) 10. Justin Brayton (Honda)
