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KEN ROCZEN
450 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> It was a year ago at this Anaheim Two round where Roczen had his career threatening injury. It has taken nearly a year and eleven surgeries before we seen the #94 line up behind the gate but he is back and what he did in the first main event tonight was a true statement on the kind of guy Ken Roczen really is. Ken came out wearing replica gear to what he was racing in a year ago when he had his horrific crash. What makes it that much more remarkable is that his riding gear sponsor then was Shift and it is now Fox. Fox Racing does own Shift though so
it’s not completely crazy that the brand let him wear it, but it goes to show you that Roczen can and will dance with the devil. Ken has already reached his goal of ever racing again but other achievements are now scheduled in to his agenda. In the first 450 main event Roczen came out in 9th and quickly was up to 8th. Ken looked extremely tight out on the track and dropped back to 11th by the time the check- ered flew. After the first main event Ken stated “I was horrible in that first main” he followed that up by saying “I did think about A2 (last years race where he crashed). I thought about what happened last year. I was riding on eggshells. I’ve got it out
of the way, lets get the rest of the night going”. Race two started off worse for the #94 as he was near last off the start and found it difficult to find his speed, he would finish 12th. In the final race Kenny Roczen jumped out to an 8th place start and was 4th after the opening lap. Ken did get pushed back to 5th for a while but he continued to press on and get 4th back from Peick in the later stages of the race. Ken also had an amazing custom painted helmet for this weekend that said “One Team One Dream”. It also listed eight names on it that represented who stuck by his side the past year throughout his injury. Kens story is remarkable and it will be told for years.
50 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 21, 2018