Ken Roczen on Press Day in San Francisco | Transcript

Those who sprayed champagne on Angel Stadium's floor hogged headlines in the week that followed the first round of 2024's Monster Energy Supercross season, but Ken Roczen deserved kudos for the way in which he sprinted from dead last to tenth in the 450SX main event. Not only that, but Roczen had already underlined his potential with a dominant win in his heat. Recency bias prevails in off-road sport and so it is unsurprising that such a ride was disregarded as soon as the main event fired into life. It's rather crucial to note just how good the Progress Insurance Ecstar Suzuki rider was, however, because he could be one of the main protagonists at round two on January 13.

Factors out of Roczen's control could dictate his final ranking once again, as poor weather could turn the San Francisco round of 2024 Monster Energy Supercross into a game of change. '94' is no stranger to adverse conditions though and so a sloppy battleground could provide a platform for him to succeed. In this interview that was conducted at today's press event, Roczen radiated confidence and confirmed that he was fairly pleased with the form in which he started the new season with. This was first published in video form on YouTube

Vital MX: You won't be stoked about last week's result, obviously, but consider how it went overall and the riding. Honestly, a great start to the season.

Ken Roczen: I think so too! I was always on the board in practice, which was good, and then my heat race went really good. I had a really good start in the heat, as well as the main, but Aaron [Plessinger] went in a little deep and did not turn, so everyone went around the inside. I ended up being midfield and going down. Honestly, my bike was so mangled. Had I not gone into the mechanic's area then I would not have been able to finish the race. Everything was so twisted up! I think that they said my brake line was stretched, so it was kind of hooking the brake sometimes. It felt super weird! I had to go into the mechanic's area real quick – we straightened up my wheel. My bar mounts were so twisted up, because as I crashed my front end got ripped away from me. I think that all of the weight and force went onto the handlebars. It was extremely twisted even after we straightened out the wheel. I did the best that I could. There were certain laps where I could have sworn my handlebars were twisting even more. I think that once the bar mounts were so mangled and kind of ripped out… It felt so loose and like it was moving.

It was not an ideal situation, but I was really far back and did the best that I could to come back. It was really soft, tore up and rutty in the latter stages of the race. It was just hard for me to keep my lap times down. I did the best that I could with what got dealt for me. It was not ideal, but these things happen and I came back to tenth. It could have been worse – I feel like I could have gotten hurt. The way that I fell, all of my force went down onto my right leg. It was not ideal but, luckily, I did not get hurt. I was a little sore a couple of days on – more my shoulder blades and back – but this is a new weekend. It looks like we are going to have a mudder now! I embrace that. A lot of things can go wrong in the mud, but a lot of things can go your way as well. Overall, I was glad to get the first one out of the way and get the season rolling. I had fun.

After you have a crash on the first lap like that, how hard is it to stay focused? I would think that if you let your mind run away then you could imagine your bars are more bent then they are. You would start to question, "Does that feel right? That feels a bit funny." I would imagine that it is quite hard to block out the fact that the bike is not ideal.

Absolutely and especially right after. It was a little bit of a surreal situation. I could not believe that I was down! I just saw the main event being washed away. After being in the mechanic's area, I just had one thing on my mind and that was to give every little bit that I had to get to the checkered flag. I just wanted to do the best that I can. I got right back into the racing mode. It is not ideal being that far back, of course, but it can also go the other way. I think that you can get flustered – some people pull off or whatever. There was not one point where that crossed my mind. It was more so just trying to survive the couple of turns before I got to the mechanic's area and figuring out what I needed. It was one of those things where everything happened so quick there. I had to stop real quick and after that then it was game on. I just had to go.

There is no doubt that you got the most out of that main event though, right? You are not stood here thinking that you could have had ninth. I feel that you really took the most that you possibly could.

Yeah, I mean… I think Eli [Tomac] was just a few seconds ahead of me in the end, but it was the last lap. I took it easy on the last lap. I knew that Jett [Lawrence] was right there and there was no one else behind me. I really had to make it through. I agree with you that to get to ninth I would have had to… Actually, no, it would have been possible. I totally forgot. I actually jumped off the track over the finish jump in the latter stages. I went too far left and kind of split the lane between where the dragon's back was on press day and the triple. I had to weasel my way back around. I definitely left some time on the track with that, which was not ideal. I feel like tenth was the best that I could do with those mistakes.

You are obviously in a good place. The way that you commanded that heat race oozed confidence. When was the last time that you felt this confident in your package and ability? Maybe I am wrong but, stood before me, I feel like you are feeling it.

I am just right in the middle, honestly. I am not too high or low. I did make some bike changes in the couple of weeks leading up to Anaheim 1 and, of course, you have to put them through race conditions. I never doubt my racing abilities or capabilities. That does not mean that it is always going to be a win, but I am in a mindset… Well, first of all, I feel really strong and fit physically. Wherever I end up at the end of the night, I am just in a mindset of giving everything that I have and leaving nothing on the table. If I do that and the racing is done then I cannot really be that mad, results aside. I could win or be fifth and still have a great ride. I am really in a good spot right now and trying not to get too confident. I believe in myself. It’s a long season – I want to take it race by race. It was kind of what I started doing in SMX [2023's SuperMotocross World Championship]. We will see where we finish at the end of the day. I still had a sh*t ton of fun, even with all of the things that happened last weekend, and I intend to do that at these next few rounds too.