The first East Coast race of the 2024 year fired off in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, for the 5th round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series. For most, it was the first chance to catch Supercross live in person, and the fans poured into Ford Field for an exciting day of racing.
Words & Featured Image: Pipes Motorsports Group Press Release
You could hear the roar from the crowd as Ken Roczen went bar to bar with Jason Anderson in his first heat race and again in the main event as Roczen climbed his way up from 12th place to a 3rd place podium finish. Pipes Motorsports Group teammate Shane McElrath had great starts in his heat race and main event. The #12 Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki jumped out front, putting himself in solid positions in both races. McElrath finished 14th overall and leaves Detroit with a lot of positive gains. Kyle Chisholm was right there with him with 16th place aboard his Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki.
In the final laps of Roczen‘s heat race, #94 & #21 went mono e mono. Aboard his Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki, Ken made the final pass coming out of the whoops, taking the inside of the last corner forcing Anderson outside as Roczen carried his momentum through the sand corner, crossing the finish line in second place. Roczen overcame a bad start in the main event, coming around the first corner outside the top ten. He quickly worked his way into the top ten on lap one, and by lap two, he was running in 5th place. On the 7th lap, the #94 Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki moved into 3rd place. For the next 13 laps, Ken did his best to chase down second, but time ran short. Roczen got his second podium this year with 3rd place.
Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki riders #11 Kyle Chisholm & #12 Shane McElrath had a solid day in Detroit. McElrath most notably got a great start in his heat and main event. Shane has made a lot of progress despite the results of the last two rounds and looks to be back on track with 14th place. Teammate Kyle Chisholm made positive steps after several crashes in previous rounds aboard his RM-Z 450 Suzuki, finishing in 16th place.
