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KEN ROCZEN
250 SX / A2
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Ken Roczen rolled into the third round of the series looking to win for a second time this year in Angel Stadium. The HRC Honda rider had gathered a momentous amount of energy across the first two rounds as he’s dismantled the competition in dismissive fashion. The young German native looked as comfortable as ever in qualifying practice as he clocked the fourth fastest time, just behind the premier class rookie of Cooper Webb. Roczen came out guns blazing in the very first heat race as he shot out to a second place start behind Vince Friese. He initiated a little Honda on Honda combat in the left-hander before the finish line and took the lead, never looking back for the remainder of the race. Roczen earned a prime gate pick for the main event as well as tons of downtime to spend back at the motorhome with his dog Rio. He was as fiery as ever on the starting line, lost in the midst of his routine ‘get pumped up’ antics. His starts have been one of his strongest assets so far this year, but he wasn’t able to make it happen in this instance. The Florida resident had worked his way up to seventh place by the time he crossed the stripe for the first time, lay- ing down a hot pace as he carved his way through the pack. Roczen worked his way around Weston Peick in the matter of one lap, and then Marvin Musquin in the span of another. He was showing a matter of urgency as if to not let Dungey escape at the front, forcing his way up the inside of Cooper Webb after the over-under bridge only a couple corners after overtaking Musquin. At this point, Roczen’s progression had stagnated at the sight of his teammate, Cole Seely. He matched the pace of Seely for multiple laps on end, looking to scrub his speed at practically every opportunity. As he inched closer to the Californian, it all went wrong as he got mildly out of shape in the transition of a rhythm sec- tion; consequently, he was forced to dismount his machine mid-air and threw his body into the oncoming face of the next jump, absorbing the impact mainly with his arm and side. Roczen was down on the edge of the track for many laps in succession and supposedly suffered a compound fracture to his left forearm, therefore eliminating him from championship contention in the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season.
122 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 22, 2017