Ken Roczen commits to WSX for the next three years..

WOW thats a huge commitment 

Will that keep him out of AMA SX for 24 and 25?

Bummer we may never see Kenny school everyone at Dilla ever again.

So he has a contract with a series not a team correct?

Or does he have a 3 year contract for HEP now?

That is wild. 

Roczen returns to defend WSX 450cc Class World Title in 2023 and beyond

Ken Roczen has today confirmed his commitment to the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), announcing via a virtual media conference he will race in the Championship until 2025.

Already a rider for the Dustin Pipes-led Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki team in the US, Roczen will compete under the Pipes Motorsports Group banner in 2023, where he’ll defend his current WSX (450cc) class World Title.

Roczen says returning to the World Supercross Championship for the next three years represents his commitment to becoming a supercross specialist and growing the discipline around the world. 

I had a great time in Cardiff and Melbourne last year, which made it easy to commit to the World Supercross Championship,” said Roczen. “I’m hungrier than ever for race wins and will be giving it my all with my team to be standing on the top step when the season ends in Melbourne this November.

Ken Roczen | Defending WSX 450cc

“For supercross to grow as a sport around the world, I think it’s really important that more riders focus solely on the discipline, which is why I’m concentrating on the World Supercross Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in the coming years. I feel like my riding this year has been as good as ever, and I’m excited to see what I can do when focusing on one speciality.

“I’m particularly proud of what we’ve achieved this year with the Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki Team. Dustin, Larry and the whole team have put in a huge effort to make me as comfortable as I have been to race at the front all season long. 

“For us to continue our supercross momentum together and take the sport we love to fans around the world is an amazing opportunity that I’m very grateful for. I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to compete for a World Title at home in Germany, which is something I could only dream about until now.”

SX Global CEO Adam Bailey said that today’s announcement was not only a huge win for the sport but for fans who might not have had an opportunity to see one of the biggest names in supercross race in their country before.

“Supercross has an incredible following across the globe, and we know Ken is one of the most popular riders in the world, so having him commit to WSX for the next three years is a fantastic step towards our mission to build a truly global World Supercross Championship that fans, athletes, teams, sponsors and media partners are passionate about.

“I can’t wait to see fans in new regions enjoy the best sport in the world firsthand. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the enjoyment they get witnessing these incredible athletes race in person,” said Bailey.

Pipes Motorsports Team Principal Dustin Pipes said Roczen’s professionalism and experience are qualities the team is already familiar with. Now, they can build on that foundation as they embark on a new season of WSX racing.

“Ken is a champion in supercross both on and off the track, and we’ve already seen what he can achieve with our team in the States. That relationship and consistency now transfer to our World Supercross Championship team, so we’re confident that Ken can deliver another World Title win, this time on a Suzuki, in 2023,” said Pipes.

Fans can witness Roczen defend his WSX World Title at six World Supercross Championship rounds in the United Kingdom, France, Southeast Asia, Germany, Canada and Australia. To buy tickets, visit WSXChampionship.com 

wsxchampionship.com/events

Sucks he's bowing out of outdoors just as it seems his health and happiness appear to be in a better place. I loved watching Kenny outdoors.

I'm sure this will ruffle more feathers with the series once again contracting a title favorite to race the series for the next 3 years instead of letting a team take care of the employment of riders.

Picture JS17 hearing that the series themselves is hiring someone to personally beat him. Not HEP Suzuki....the actual series is paying money for you to get beat. 

I don't feel this is a good approach and seems desperate to make this series work. 

Matthes also reported these other teams are absolutely lowballing rider contracts and trying to turn a profit right away. 

Maybe AMA SX and MX wasn't so broken after all.

I hear Fox wants him to race Fox raceway, for obvious reasons. We'll see...

So 1 week ago ML said Ken told Lewis Phillips he was 100% racing the nationals.  Why do riders lie to the media instead of just giving them a no comment or not going on the record? 

Great. Can't wait for the Vital disputes 10 yrs from now about how Kenny was better than Eli at SX because he ended up with 4 SX titles over Eli's 2 or 3. You know it's coming. 

I told you guys that’s he just driving up price when he said he‘s going to do the Nationals a couple of moths ago. 
Smart move by his team!

Ken and his wife have a baby on the way. I’m sure that played a part in this also. 

With HEP ?

So all the teams paid the same price for their license correct? All the teams get the same amount of money from the series as well? Other than the year end bonuses?

Imagine being a team that has paid all the dues it needs to be able to compete and the series itself is literally paying a rider on another team. How is that fair at all? It's setting the other 9 teams up for a huge disadvantage. 

I just saw that WSX has signed contract with both Eurosport Dazn and fox sports and will be boardcasted worldwide.. wtf aren’t they do the same with ama mx/sc

Kenye Star power raises the Series profile and adds value to the teams investment would be one rationale.

The model they have chosen to follow is like F1 or MotoGP. Do those series help a team like RedBull pay Verstappen's salary?

It's just insanely unfair to say we will help a team or two financially get the best riders of the series. I say two assuming Coop probably was going to get a good portion of his income paid for by the series as well. 

Im really happy for Kenny. Hopefully it’s a nice sum, he can build upon his legacy doing something different and then retire comfortably.

Can only help but think it will really aid his 2024 AMA  campaign aswell, being supercross 24/7.

So the series just hired a ringer to take money away from all the paid participants sounds legit to me!

Unless Chase Sexton or a rider of similar caliber lines up as a wildcard Ken should run the table .

Webb, possibly, hopefully.

Would you rule Anderson out?

"Maintain a good standing with smx too" buy not racing the full outdoor nationals?

Sounds to me like he wants his cake and eat it too....there should be some sort of stipulation where if you're healthy you also need to qualify through the nationals too. I don't like this move but that's just me.

I still don't see wsx lasting very long but I could be wrong....if they keep throwing money at riders to come race their series not based on winnings but basically paying start money, it's not gonna last. 

Has to take the whole summer or for two races. Strongly dislike WSX