When the gate fell for moto one, Roczen got off to a seventh-place start, quickly moving into sixth on the first lap. He advanced one more spot and was right on the rear wheel of third when he fell back after removing his goggles; a few laps later, the German made a quick pit stop in the mechanics‰Ûª area for a replacement set. With clear vision and 14 minutes remaining, Roczen mounted a charge for fourth, making the pass on lap seven. He continued his push, moving into the final podium position before the checkered flag.
In the final moto of the year, Roczen rocketed his CRF450R down the sludge-covered start straight, coming around the first turn in third, then moved into second a few turns later. For the entire 30-minute-plus-two-lap race, he played cat-and-mouse with the leader but was never able to close in enough to make a pass, ultimately crossing the finish line in second.
‰ÛÏThis season was tough, but great. Nobody really sees the struggle during the week," Roczen said. "To throw myself into this season with very little track time or testing and not even be sure I could really race, to how things progressed, especially the second half of the season, was great. I finished on the podium a bunch and got third overall in the championship, which was the goal coming into this weekend. It‰Ûªs really good to finish this season healthy and strong, which is what the plan was for this year, and to get some racing under my belt.‰Û
