Page 22 - MPG19

KEN ROCZEN
IMAGE/JACKEDWARDS
The beginning of the 2015 Pro Motocross series was a bit of a struggle for Ken Roczen and the RCH team. He came into the first round at Hangtown as the defending champion, but a stress fracture in his
back would have a dramatic effect on his results. Roczen wasn’t riding with his normal intensity, he was laboring around the track and had to settle for 12th overall by way of 19 - 5 finishes. He was able to recover over the course of the next couple races
and he fought for the win in the second moto at Thunder Valley until a flat tire forced him out of contention. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Roczen was having issues with his bike setup and his Dad did an interview with a German motocross publication detailing the supposedly poor morale within the team. It was a season to forget on the track and off the track for Roczen; Ryan Dungey eventually won the number one plate over him by 100 points - a gap that was forged at the beginning of the season when the young German rider was struggling with a bad back. Contrarily, the 2016 season looks like it will be a season to be remember for Roczen and the entire RCH team. He caught
fire towards the end of the supercross season, crediting some minor bike changes that the team made that allow him to be one with the bike. He certainly looked that way at the Hangtown opener where he was undoubtedly the most comfortable rider right out of the gate. Roczen didn’t nail the holeshot in either of his motos, but he was so aggressive on the opening lap that it didn’t even matter. He sliced and diced his way through the field with a sense of urgency that couldn’t be matched by any of his competitors, using whatever clear lines he could find amidst the first lap traffic to push his way to the front. Dungey must have thought that it was going to be an ‘Eli Tomac’ episode all over again, but Roczen wasn’t able to be quite that dominant, although he did finish the day with a pair of first place trophies. The standards set by Tomac last year (winning the second moto by 1:30) are a bit outlandish, they shouldn’t detract anything from Roczen’s stellar performance. He took control of both motos from start to finish and he will be the man to beat coming into Glen Helen.
22 GRITMOTO • MAY.30.16
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