KEN ROCZEN-224 450MX

KEN ROCZEN | GRIT-224 | 450MX

Returning to racing action for the High Point National, Suzuki's Ken Roczen would believe that he possessed the skillset to contend for victory in Pennsylvania. Though this was his first race on the current tour, the German rider's prowess was second-to-none, and enthusiasts of the industry would know that. Therefore as he captured the pole position in qualifying, the anticipation of the crowd in Pennsylvania would only rise prior to the falling of the gate(s) for the first moto of the afternoon. Once here, Ken began his quest to the top, around the sixth-place position; yet quickly worked his way into third, behind Jett Lawrence and Garrett Marchbanks. The ClubMX Yamaha rider was then set to be passed though, on the uphill step-up prior to the wooded area of racetrack; where Roczen would make a daring leap to the inside, with an abundance of speed! He would shoot into the largest inside groove, standing atop the outer peg while paddling his inside foot upon the ground with tremendous athleticism - proving that his talent was world renowned, on the motocross circuit! Now into the runner-up designation, Roczen would hold onto this position to the halfway point; where his gap behind the Australian rider (i.e. Lawrence) was still less than two-seconds! Which allowed him to take advantage of Jett's Crash, in the valley of the last step-up, before the shaded corners on the far side of the track! Jett would remount quickly though, and proceeded to amplify his speed to a great extent...which allowed him to return to the rear wheel of the Suzuki rider with just over four minutes remaining on the clock. The last sweeping left-handed corner (which was heavily off-cambered) before entering into the initial switchback of the finish-line section, would be a pivotal sector for passing. And Lawrence would make use of momentum on the outside with a valiant sense of speed, passing Roczen once and for all - though Ken would rebuttal in the laps thereafter, with multiple attempts of moving back by! He seemed to nearly have a pass made, when a crash near the largest flyaway jump (with two laps to go) would have him down and unable to start his bike quickly...descending multiple positions in the running order. He was only able to gather a seventh-place score as all was finalized - which was a bummer, but the determination of Roczen couldn't have been higher when heading into the second moto. Once there, Roczen's excellent reaction time when blasting from the gate would result in a spectacular hole-shot accolade! This allowed him to push forward and put a gap of multiple seconds on the rest of the pack, including Jett Lawrence who trailed. The margin would stretch to five, and six-seconds at times, prior to the number eighteen tracking him down at the twenty-five minute mark; where Jett raced to the outside of Ken and moved around once and for all when speeding to the initial left-hander of the finish-line switchback section! Now they were into the viewpoint of the majority of the fans, and it would be Roczen who was solidified in second; staying here until the checkered flag was thrown...all the while being granted the silver medal overall, as well!

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