race recap
KEN ROCZEN - GRIT 245 450SX
May 20, 2024 · Ken Roczen
GRIT-245 |450 SX
May 20, 2024 9:45 am
The ambition of Ken Roczen could be seen within the afternoon qualification rounds as the German rider remained polished under adverse conditions. Regardless of how much rain had fallen, or how deep a particular rut became, the natural talent of the number ninety-four was an array of attributes that could't be overstated as he then aligned on the grid for heat one. He immediately battled for the fourth-place position with Eli Tomac, before the Yamaha rider attempted to pass him on the inside before the step-on/step-off on lap two...and it caused Roczen to cross-rut in an act of defense, sending him swapping onto the plateau! Crashing to the ground, he returned to action in twentieth place, but seemed to have a bike issue of sorts as he never regained in his initial flow on the racetrack. Finalized in seventeenth, he then made his way to the LCQ. Once there, he thrived when stakes were highest and would take the win...which granted him a less than stellar gate choice. However, he was able to somehow navigate his way into the second-place position in the first lap of the main event; seemingly disregarding where his gate choice had him residing! He then defended the runner-up accolade for quite sometime, before being passed consecutively by both Cooper Webb and Jett Lawrence. He did everything possible to mimic the Australian rider, staying atop the foot-pegs in the sand section while seat-hopping his way through rhythm lanes when the time called for it. Nevertheless, the top-three would begin to break away as Aaron Plessinger moved ahead on the twelfth circuit. "AP" seemed to have the course figured out a bit better, and would slowly inch away from the German athlete. Though when the final quarter of the moto came to fruition, Roczen was still in the hunt for a podium residency...as mistakes could be made at any possible moment on this unbelievable circuit. The clock would count down, and the fight remained within the number ninety-four athlete; but as the checkered flag waved and Aaron Plessinger had now pulled away once and for all, it was Roczen who remained solidified in the fifth-place standing. Residing here as he exited the raceway, the rider from Germany once again proved that his speed remained despite the roster of elite opponents around him.