Broc Tickle makes his return to the seat of a 450 bike this week at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. for Round 7 of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross season (Saturday February 15, on NBCSN at 7 p.m.), riding for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Suzuki the team announced Wednesday.
Tickle will fill in for JGR’s injured riders Fredrik Noren and Joey Savatgy.
Noren is out with a leg injury from St. Louis. Savatgy is sidelined with a foot injury sustained in a crash in Australia during the offseason.
Tickle’s return comes the weekend that a two-year suspension from FIM expires. The suspension was due to a negative finding in an anti-doping test after the 2018 San Diego race.
“I’m ready to go racing and looking forward to just getting back in the mix,” Tickle said in a press release. “The overall goal is to go out, enjoy it, have fun, and do the best I can do. Two years of not racing is a big deal but I’m up for the challenge and eager to be back on the gate as well as being back to training, riding, and doing this at the highest level.”
Tickle has eight podiums, 21 top-five and 93 top-10 finishes during his 450 career.
Tickle will finish out the season on JGR’s Suzuki.
“I’m excited to see Broc back on a Suzuki this weekend in Tampa,” said Jeremy Albrecht, Team Manager. “He has been testing and riding in North Carolina with our team for a couple weeks and will finish out the Supercross season on our team. His speed and fitness are good so we will see this weekend where he ends up.”