Page 38 - Issue 79

KEN ROCZEN
450 MX / 2ND
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Ken Roczen has made signi cant strides in his speed, endurance and overall performance in just
four short motos here in the 2018 outdoor motocross series. At the season opener at Hangtown, Roczen fought up front early in both motos but struggled in the latter stages. He especially struggled at the end
of the second moto where he faded all the way back to sixteenth place. He, nor anyone who knows the grueling injuries he has had to ght back from, was worried about it at all. He felt amazing being able to even line it up to start the season with such little bike and body preparation. He bounced back extremely well at Glen Helen last weekend by leading twenty minutes of the opening moto over defending champ, Eli Tomac. He proved he still has that raw speed and that it is just a matter of time until he returns to full strength. He was looking for another big improvement in the comeback process this weekend in Colora- do. Roczen’s speed was on full display in the morning qualifying practice sessions. The German product logged the second fastest lap time of the class just behind Tomac, the fastest quali er. He looked forward to lining up and giving it his best shot high up in the altitude. Roczen kicked off the rst moto with a solid holeshot. He came out of the rst lap with fth place right behind fellow European rider Marvin Musquin. Musquin was attempting to pass Phil Nicoletti for third on lap two when he let his guard down allowing Roczen to sweep around him to assume the position. Roczen then set his sights on Nicoletti but could not really get close enough to strike after a handful of laps. Then about ten minutes into the race, it would get red agged and they would have to undergo a full restart. The restart would bene t Roczen immense- ly as he rocketed out to a second place holeshot and then into the lead after motoring by Blake Baggett early on lap one. He then attempted to distance himself from the rest of the eld but unfortunately for him, Tomac was lurking right behind. Roczen did all he could to hold him off but with about ten minutes left, Tomac made the pass. Roczen settled into second and appeared to have it in the bag but Baggett started making things interesting. He put pressure on Roczen during the nal three laps and showed him a wheel in nearly every corner but Roczen played excellent defense to hold on and nish second place. It was his best moto score since 2016 but he was still hungry for more when they lined it up for moto two. Roczen got another nice start to get things going in the second moto. He started in second and was in a Barcia- Tomac sandwich the rst three laps. All three riders jostled for position and Roczen would get passed by Tomac on lap three but immediately pass him back after Tomac and Barcia got hung up on each other in the ruts. This granted Roczen the lead and once again he tried to run away with it. But, just like the rst moto, Tomac was right behind him to prevent him from doing so. Roczen pushed the pace but so did Tomac and the two riders began distancing themselves from the pack. Roczen did his best to thwart the pass attempts from Tomac but like in the rst moto, with about ten minutes left, Tomac would nd a way by. Roczen rode the rest of the race unchallenged and would bring home second overall with 2-2 moto scores. Not many, probably including Roczen himself, thought he would be second overall and this close to winning races this early in the year. Look for this week off to signi cantly bene t Roczen as he gears up for the remaining nine rounds.
38 GRITMOTO • JUNE 3, 2018