Ken Roczen has attributed consistency as the key to finishing runner-up at Saturday night’s opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in what eventuated as a rain-soaked encounter.

The Honda HRC talent, who’s overcome significant arm injuries in the last two seasons of supercross, put on a stellar display in the deteriorating conditions, negotiating his way into second by the conclusion of the 20-lap affair.

It’s a strong start for the German ace as he endeavours to secure his first premier class title in the discipline, and with a heat race win also to his name, he’s departing round one with strengthened confidence.

“It’s good to get out of here healthy and with a solid podium,” Roczen explained. “The conditions were tough – they can obviously play in your favour but they can also bite you bad. For about half of the main, we were still jumping the big doubles in the middle but it was definitely sloppy and sketchy out there.

“It was really all about consistency. There were ruts everywhere so you had to try not to make any mistakes. Once we got into the lappers that’s when it got really bad. I got held up a couple times, which cost me time. I’m pumped though – I’m leaving with a heat race win and second in the main, so I couldn’t have asked for a better first race.”

Anaheim served up a number surprises in the 450SX category, with Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha) capturing his first main event victory since 2013. Round two of the series will visit Glendale in Arizona this weekend.

Chad Reed believes racing the last chance qualifier (LCQ) at the weekend’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship opener offered him insight on track conditions for the rain-soaked 20-lap main event in Anaheim.

The JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing pilot was forced to transfer to the main via the LCQ after finishing 10th in his heat race, although the additional track time as the rain started to increasingly fall provided somewhat of an advantage to the two-time premier class champion.

Despite a poor gate pick, the Australian charged his way through the field to ultimately wind up ninth in extremely difficult conditions, marking a respectable start to his campaign in the 17-round series.

“With the weather, it was an interesting weekend,” Reed admitted. “I had the feeling that no matter what I was going through, it was going to drastically change by the night program. I tried to get the most out of the daytime practices and qualifying to have good data for the next round in Glendale. Once the weather came I just dealt with it.

“I didn’t get the best of starts in my heat race. The conditions were tough and challenging, so I had to go to the LCQ. In some ways, it rained quite a lot in the LCQ, so I had a feel for what the track was going to be like in the main event. The downside was that I was on the far outside gate for the main. I was dead last on the start and came up to ninth, which is respectable.

“I feel like I have the pace. There are just a few things I need to work on to allow me to feel more comfortable when I’m out of my comfort zone. I have to adapt to the pace, but fortunately that’s one of my strengths. Sometimes that pace comes naturally, and other times it’s forced. I need to be more comfortable in that area – that’s something I will work on this week.”

The AMA Supercross series heads to Glendale in Arizona this weekend for round two of the championship.

The official calendar of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals has been confirmed, revealing the dates and locations that will make up the 10-round series this season.

The championship will remain at 10 rounds over eight weekends as a selection of new and familiar venues return, while two double headers will feature for the second consecutive year – this time at the middle and conclusion of the series.

Appin in New South Wales will host the season-opener on 17 March, followed by Victorian stops at Wonthaggi and Broadford on 31 March and 14 April respectively.

Murray Bridge in South Australia will be the first double-header on 4-5 May for rounds four and five, as Gympie in Queensland will host the returning round after lengthy break on 23 June.

Maitland, New South Wales, marks round seven on 14 July, while two weeks later on 28 July, the series will visit Moree, also situated in New South Wales. As usual, Coolum will put on a stellar finale hosting rounds 9-10 on 3-4 August.

The shake up of venues sees a number of 2018 locations dropped and replaced, including Newry, Ranch MX, Conondale and Gladstone.

2019 MX Nationals calendar:
Rd1 – 17 March – Appin, NSW
Rd2 – 31 March – Wonthaggi, VIC
Rd3 – 14 April – Broadford, VIC
Rd4 – 4 May – Murray Bridge, SA
Rd5 – 5 May – Murray Bridge, SA
Rd6 – 23 June – Gympie, QLD
Rd7 – 14 July – Maitland, NSW
Rd8 – 28 July – Moree, NSW
Rd9 – 3 August – Coolum, QLD
Rd10 – 4 August – Coolum, QLD