Broc Tickle to compete in 2012 AMA Supercross season
The 2011 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross Lites West Champion Broc Tickle will be competing in the Premier Supercross Class this year.
The 22-year-old rider was promoted to the 450-class for the 2012 season of Supercross season because of clinching the 2011 AMA Lites West title last year.
According to a rule in the AMA guidebook, “A rider that wins a Supercross Lites Championship will be eligible to participate in the Supercross Lites class for a maximum of three years total regardless of what year he/she won the title.”
Neither Tickle nor his team manager Mitch Payton were aware of the motocross rider getting a ticket to race against other elite riders in the 2012 AMA Supercross series. The list of riders graduating to join the ranks of elite riders in the upcoming series was announced months after the previous season ended, taking both Tickle and Payton by surprise.
The Murrieta-based rider still had a year left in his contract with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. However, Payton made an exception for Tickle, allowing the ride a KX450F while making his debut in the upcoming supercross series.
In an exclusive interview to a leading sports network ESPN, Tickle conceded that he was pretty excited about getting promoted to the Premier Supercross Class.
“It's good. It's been a while since I've ridden and raced one but I'm excited to be a part of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki,” said Tickle. “I thought for a minute that I wasn't going to be able to have another year with them with my bump up to the 450 class. I'm looking forward to racing at Anaheim.”
The young rider is aware of the fact that he will racing against a line-up comprising of much more experienced riders than he was racing against in Pro Circuit. Instead of simply waiting for his competitors to make a mistake which he could capitalise on, Tickle plans on giving a healthy competition at all the races during the season.
All the hard work that Tickle has been putting in his professional career as a motocross rider has eventually carried him to one of the biggest stage of motocross racing. It will be interesting to see how he performs against riders who undeniably enjoy an advantage over him in terms of experience.
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