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Earlier this week, HEP Motorsports Suzuki’s Ken Roczen announced he’s made a three-year commitment to race the FIM World Supercross Championship. Roczen, the defending champion, will return in 2023 and has signed through 2025.
The announcement was made via a virtual press conference on Monday. We have transcribed the entire press conference with Ken’s quotes below.
Ralph Sheheen:
We are thrilled to announce that Ken Roczen our reigning 450 World Supercross champion is returning to the FIM World Supercross Championship to defend his current world title in the WSX 450 category. Ken has also committed to racing WSX for the next three years and will now focus on being a Supercross specialist. Ken will be racing with the Pipes Motorsports Group team in the 2023 season and Ken will be riding the Suzuki RMZ 450. Ken, let’s begin with you. This is a very exciting announcement, thrilling for all of us involved with WSX. What about the World Supercross Championship is so attractive it made you want to commit for the next three years to racing with us?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah. So thanks everybody for being on here today. And yeah, I really ultimately followed my heart on this. There’s no secret that in the last couple of years in the outdoor championship I have struggled with my body and at this part of my career, I’ve really had to hone in and ask myself of how can I be around this sport for a longer period of time? Because it wasn’t that fun the last couple years and I really struggled and it didn’t look like I wanted to do this for much longer just because my body wasn’t really playing with what I wanted to do, right?
And now I have decided I’m following my heart that I want to really hone in on the Supercross and become a specialist in that. And I had so much fun last year with the World Supercross Championship and it kind of opened the doors and my eyes again and got the ball rolling on having fun with what I do. That really got the ball rolling and up to this point, it that was kind of like my main objective, bring the fun back and with this opportunity and racing Supercross all year round, I think I can prolong my career, be around it a lot more. And of course, ride the American Supercross Championship as well and be Supercross all year round and I’m excited about this decision that I’ve made and the team as well and yeah, I’m so excited for this new chapter.
Ralph Sheheen:
Well Ken, now that WSX has provided the platform for you to become a Supercross specialist, how do you see that helping your performance as a Supercross athlete in general?
Ken Roczen:
So yeah, obviously already in the past years for 60, 70% of the time we’re pretty much riding Supercross and with the struggles that I’ve had and in the spot that I’m in now, I’ve really gathered myself and in my eyes, rebuilt my career a little bit and being able to do that all year round, I just think I’m going to be able to reach that next level. I’m still going to be riding a lot of motocross because I actually feel like it complements riding and racing Supercross as the jumps come at you different speeds and that always helps you in Supercross racing. But yeah, the fact that we have more races in more and different countries this year got me super excited and especially also in my home country in Germany and that’s something that I haven’t done in so many years, and I think I was ready for that and that’s why I made this decision. And I just think more racing, especially in the same category is going to help me throughout my career for sure.
Ralph Sheheen:
Why do you think, Ken, that racing Supercross around the world is so important to the growth of the sport and how passionate about that are you when it comes to the thought of helping to grow the sport of Supercross?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, so first on selfishly, I like traveling to all different kinds of countries. That’s what I grew up doing and once I moved to the US I’ve pretty much just stayed in the US and I think I was craving going to see different cultures again. And of course, also you got to think about on the fan standpoint, not everybody can travel all around the world to come and see us race and for us to be able to take that experience to them into a lot of different countries that has never been done before. I’m really looking forward to that. I wish that would’ve been around back in the day when I was little and I can’t wait to make so many families smile all around the world.
Ralph Sheheen:
Ken, back to you. Our reigning 450 champion here with World Supercross, WSX has expanded to six races in 2023 Ken, and we’re hearing that we’re going to grow to eight in 2024 and 10 in 2025 and so on. What does that mean to you to finally be able to race globally as an athlete?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, it’s amazing. I mean, that’s why in the end I made this decision. That was a huge part of it. It brought me back to my childhood and growing up and those times were extremely fun to me. And from that age group of six to 15, 16, 17 until I came over to the US I was going to all different countries and I got a little taste of that again last year and it was, I don’t know, it just really made my heart smile again. That’s exactly what I needed when it came to my career and the fact that we’re growing this and we’re adding more and more races and more and more countries, I’m just excited what’s to come in the future.
Ralph Sheheen:
Ken, you’re already a global athlete, well-known all around the world. How do you think your fans back home in Germany and around the world are going to react to this announcement here today?
Ken Roczen:
I sure hope very positively. I think I saw a little bit of that last year going to England and going to some races closer to home and I think the German, the Germans are craving me racing back in our country. That’s huge. And the funny part is actually just going back to that specific race, going to soccer stadiums and stuff like that. For as long as I was in Germany, I’ve never even been to a soccer stadium. It’s kind of crazy as that’s one of the biggest sports in the world and especially in Germany. So being able to see these tracks in different kinds of venues and stuff, it gets me excited even right now and I would love to fast forward time to all these different races and I enjoy that kind of stuff big time.
Ralph Sheheen:
Of course, we’re going to be racing in Dusseldorf, Germany later this year. That event is scheduled for October 14th. So mark your calendars for that. We expect to see everybody there tuned in either in person or watching on whatever channel you get around the globe to see the WSX championship. Adam, as we mentioned, looking already at six races this year and looking to expand again in 24 and 25. What can we expect growth-wise with WSX going into the future?
Ralph Sheheen:
Ken, one more question for you before we open it up to the media. You already raced with the Dustin Pipes led Progressive Insurance/Ecstar Suzuki team here in the US and this year, you’ll be racing under the Pipes Motor Sports Group banner in WSX in 2023. Did that have an impact on your decision to return to WSX knowing that you’d be racing with that group?
Ken Roczen:
I mean, I want to race, of course, with my group just because we’ve built this relationship over these last few months and we have learned so much from when we first started together up until now and we’re like a well-oiled machine and that’s very important, especially when you go to all different countries and continents to go racing, right? So I couldn’t be more excited to do it with the same team that I’ve been with for the last few months and we have something really, really good going and I’m proud of them for executing, for all of us really because it was a lot of work that all of us have put in and they’re not always the most fun times. It gets draining, but we all wanted to ultimately win and be on the podiums and be a big time challenger for wins throughout the season so far. And yeah, that was very important for me to do that with my group.
Michael Lindsay:
Ken, curious because so far this year from pretty much a one press conference on until a couple weeks ago, anytime you were hit with the question of what your plans were this summer, initially a response has always been AMA Pro Motocross. So with this decision in place, what are the main factors have changed in the last couple weeks and can you give us a timeline of what interests you in committing here for three years? What maybe made that biggest change as of recently?
Ken Roczen:
So yeah, my plan was to race pro motocross the whole time, but it was a rough outline that I had in place and that was early on in the season because I need to put my head towards something right? But it was also still so far away and we had so much work to do and focused on the task at hand, which is getting the motorcycle to the standard that we need to be able to compete for wins and podiums. And so that was my plan for the longest time. But as I came along I have realized that this whole Supercross thing is, it’s a lot of work, but I think for me to gather myself again and revamp my career a little bit, I thought over a period of time I kept break… I don’t make quick decisions because I want to be patient with stuff and really think things through.
So over the course of the last couple of months I really gave this a big thought, but at the same time when media ask me, you know how it is, I’m racing right now and I have to still answer with what my original belief was, even though mentally I’m trying to potentially go a different direction, right? It was really important for me that I wait this one out and make the decision when I think it is final and when it’s exactly what I wanted to do. And it just started appealing to me more and more as we got later into the Supercross season. I had so much fun with it, but I finally have a great base with my team where we are continuously and consistently on the podium every single weekend.
And now for motocross you would have to restart, and like I said, the ultimate thing was in the past couple years I’ve struggled with my body and the motocross season is its super hot, it’s long, you have a lot of motors and I’m not saying that I’m old by any means, I just turned 29, still a young grasshopper, but for whatever reason I didn’t really want to give this another shot at this point as I’m in a really good spot right now. My body is great and I just want to do this Supercross thing all year round. It was a big decision, but I think it’s the smartest one for me and be around the sport for longer than just right now or for this year.
And then I’m still going to be racing the American Supercross Championship and do it for the fans. They really opened my eyes this year, the support that we have gotten with the decisions that I’ve made. I look at the sport completely different and I feel like I’ve grown so much in these last few months that yeah, I’m very satisfied with my decision and so I guess to your point, it happened over a period of time and it just started looking better and better for me. And once I put my mind towards that, I felt super satisfied with my decision and I’m looking forward to it and yeah, so be around for another three years instead of just one.
Michael Lindsay:
And then secondly, speaking of the three year commitment, two things, is the three year commitment just with WSX or is the three year commitment also with PMG? And then on top of that, do you feel like this schedule for you will extend your career potentially? This pathway and being able to basically commit to one discipline all year, do you think we would potentially see race longer?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, I mean, potentially see me race longer for sure. And then there’s a lot of things I still have to figure out. There has been so much going on in these last few months, over the last few weeks it’s been a little bit overwhelming. But for right now, this commitment is definitely with World Supercross and like I said, there’s still a lot of things that has to be talked about and whatnot, but for now with the team that I’m in, I’m really, really happy and yeah. So, of course, there’s talks to continue this over these next few years.
Josh Mosiman:
All right, thank you guys. Josh Mosiman, Motocross Action here. Question for Ken. So you came from 20th to second in the main event last weekend, you also had the fastest lap time of the race. So is there any kind of maybe excitement and maybe bummer that the Supercross series has already coming to an end when you had just such a good race this last weekend? And then now you’re going to have a long time off before the World Supercross Series kicks off. So what’s that feeling like? The rest of the guys are gearing up for outdoors, but you’re going to gear up for a couple weeks off. What’s kind of going through your mind and are you going to fill that time with some fun videos? And I know you can’t be testing different bikes now in your off season, but what are you going to be doing to fill that time?
Ken Roczen:
I’m actually extremely mentally at ease as I’ve been enjoying riding my dirt bike so much lately that in these next few weeks I’m still going to be riding with Chase while he’s racing. So I want to do whatever my heart desires. If I feel like going on a long bike ride a couple times a week in these next couple weeks or whatever, then I’m going to do that. I’m not just going to take off and I feel like this is the first time I’ve ever done that. Normally I would come towards the end of the season and be so fried I had to take weeks and weeks and weeks off on it.
But I think having a bit of a mixture of that, you know? Like taking it easy for a week or so and if I want to go on a run or whatever, then I’m going to do that. And being able to keep myself fit or throughout the year, I just think I’ll be able to reach a whole nother level in these next few months to actually take some downtime and then give it another push and so on. Those are things that I’m playing with personally when it comes to racing and my training program and everything.
Yeah. So I know these guys are going to go race outdoors, but I’m still going to be riding that and that’ll help me Supercross as well. And I’m overall just, I’m excited to continue developing the bike, right? And like you said, this last weekend was really, really good. I know there’s a lot of people injured, but I still felt like I rode really well and I haven’t been clicking around or doing changes to my bike at all. And that helps a lot because you become one with it, you start learning it and all different kinds of track conditions and I think the fun factor though makes me want to try really, really hard. I think this was the first time in a long time I’ve actually come through the pack like that and it just shows that I think I’m in a really, really good spot and it came very naturally to me and it’s fun to have that little young grasshopper mentality and kind of work my way through the field. So I’m really having fun with the situation right now.
Josh Mosiman:
That’s cool. That’s cool and-
Ken Roczen:
And it’s also the first time… right, sorry to interrupt you. But it’s also the first time that towards the end of the season I’m actually getting better and better even though people are out right now, but over the last few weeks everybody was still, all the top guys were still racing and we were doing better and better every single weekend. So yeah, it’s a very nice time right now for me. Very nice change of pace.
Josh Mosiman:
That’s cool. Well I’m excited to see. I mean, you already do a great job of showing behind the scenes of you training with Chase and you working out and that sort of stuff. It’s fun to be able to follow you on social media for the fans. I think that’s a great tool that you have in your pocket. But what I mean is there anything exciting that you’re going to do to fill your time? Because now there’s going to be a lot more time in between races over the next few months for you.
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, obviously that’ll be something that I’m going to have to fill out as we go. It’ll be very different in these past few years. So there’s nothing planned too far ahead right now, but obviously having Chase around and us, we are mainly growing our friendship and me being around him being younger and he’s in his prime and that’s what I was and I was really starting to turn myself around and I think there will be some cool stuff coming. I have, I guess, a little bit of something in the works, but yeah, I’m going to have to wait for that. Just some fun stuff that I’m personally playing with. So I’m going to other than that, play it by ear and yeah.
Enjoying training right now and everything. That’s really the first time in a long time that I’ve really done that. So I’m very curious to see what I can do and what next level I can reach with myself. It’s just something that I guess hobbies that I made them my hobbies again like cycling and running and that’s a good foundation for our sport because we need to be fit. So when I can use that as my fun time and hobbies, that’s a good thing.
Gypsy Tales:
Hey Kenny, first of all mate, congratulations because we kind of threw this idea around in the press conference at Melbourne. I mentioned a big dollar figure for the World Supercross guys retaining your services in this similar sort of fashion, Steve, threw out like 5 million bucks. So hopefully this was a solid deal financially for you to make this commitment. We talked a bit in that same press conference about the legacy of you in the sport and being the first big time guy to jump over and commit to this series. And then we also talked about the potential of you having your kind of Conor McGregor moment or your moment of being the big star that brings the sport of Supercross back to your home country of Germany. So I guess commenting on those aspects of this.
Ken Roczen:
Luckily at that part of my career, financial wasn’t the biggest worry of myself at all, but I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a little bit afraid of retiring. At times, it sounds very appealing but at the same time just we see it with athletes over and over, it’s just we do this for 90%, 95% of our life, or at least I have, and then this comes to a complete halt. And with me not having fun over these last couple of years and just having my tough times and struggle, that looked a lot more real. The retirement looked a lot more real and it kind of scared me a little bit. It wasn’t really in my heart, it wasn’t the direction that I wanted to go and so my next thought was how can I get out of this pity of being at the bottom of the barrel and my health and I’m always tired and we’re racing so much, we know that this is the one of the most brutal sports when it comes to that.
We have to be strong, fit, alert and sharp and ready to go and also enthusiastic because if I’m not, I’m just not at my best and I need needed to get that spice back. And ultimately, those were the questions that I had to myself and what is the best way to move about that? And with of course the work over these last few months and really rebuilding it piece by piece and puzzle by puzzle was super tough. But I’m also at the same time, really happy of what we have accomplished and I kind of wanted to continue that momentum. And when all this came about I feel like it was a blessing in disguise and I jumped on that and like I said, once I put my mind towards that, that “Hey, we’re really doing this.” I was like, “I think this was all meant to happen at one point.” For how hard it was, I feel like this was all meant to happen and it was a nice change of pace for me, because it was super tough.
And it’s almost weird, I almost don’t like talking about it because I don’t want to jinx it, but it feels so good for me and my family. We have an almost three year old that’s been crazy and we actually have another one on the way, we’re over halfway. There are all these cool things that are happening in my life after some tough times and it just feels really nice to have a break when it comes to that, follow my heart, have fun with it and that’s when I can perform at my best. So that’s in the end, why we do competition is we’re eager and I want to be motivated and that’s exactly what I am right now and that’s why I’m able to pull in these results and I want to continue with that.
Gypsy Tales:
And to be bringing Supercross back to Germany, is there, I guess, a special feeling in that? Because to me as a media, a commentator within the sport, I think that’s quite a special storyline. I mean I don’t even race and the fact that we have a Supercross in Melbourne in Marvel Stadium, that feels good for me. So I can imagine that it must be quite special for you to be the headlining act at something like that in your home country.
Ken Roczen:
Absolutely. It’s been a very long time since I’ve raced in my home country and as bad as it sounds, when you are so busy here in the US, you tend to almost forget because you don’t get out. I almost don’t have time to really think about that. But then I went off, did these races last year and I was like, “Wait a minute, this feels new.” Old but new because it’s familiar from the GP days and everything. And I was like, “Man, I feel like there was something really missing in my life.”
Now going back to Germany, I’m curious to see the feedback that I will get and once we will actually go there, I want to actually really start thinking about some cool stuff ahead of time, giving the fans some time with me and I can’t wait to see, they haven’t seen me around, so I can’t wait to see the feedback and I hope that a lot of people will show up. And of course, also for surrounding countries, there’s so many people that I know over in Europe that have been old friends and that make it to big races like that. I’m just so excited to see some old friends and got a taste of that last year and just to continue that. So there’s some really fun times ahead I think and I’m thankful for that.
Johnathon McCready:
Hi Ken. Through your experience last year and then coming into this year just being Supercross only with the amount of races there now is in America, do you think you’ll be an example for American riders going forward if they want to maybe take a bit less races into their schedule than an experience global Supercross?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, I think you’re going to see this happening more often. I mean, I feel like this is maybe the first time when it comes to American Supercross that we have so many, let’s call ourselves old dudes, right? The times have changed a little bit over these last few years and we’re now 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, but we’re all up in the front and just kind of at the elite level. So I think people have started to realize that retiring early can be a big, big mistake and I think you’re going to see people thinking this through more and more. And I think you’re going to see rider jump ship to becoming a Supercross specialist all year round. I think you will see that happening hopefully, most likely over these next few years. I’m being honest. We have a lot of older dudes in the class right now that are killing it and I think we are all seem still hungry, so I’m excited to see what the future holds with that.
Mitch Kendra:
Hey guys. Mitch Kendra from Racer X. We’re going to stick with Kenny with this one. Obviously you and the team during Supercross, I think the Florida rounds you guys were testing a lot, testing from sunup till sundown. How much should those testing days help benefit you? Now you said you can take a little bit of a breather before this championship, kind of get your mind right and just kind of relax a little bit. How big were those days back then? Obviously you’re thinking of long-term picture, big picture and stuff, but how did those days help you now going into world of Supercross?
Ken Roczen:
Those were some tough times. Let me tell you, now that I think back the amount of work that we have all put in and at that point we’re kind of scrambling a little bit like, “Hey, I’m learning the bike, what does this thing like.” Right? Not every time you make a change that’s good, right? So we went through so many different things of testing, but you have to go through that to… the only reason we are where we are at right now and as comfortable and doing as good is because we had these long days, but at that very moment nothing is confirmed. We have to go race, we have to go do good. All this stuff has to be established and then proven as well. So that’s where the real beauty is at when it comes to the testing side of things. And then now that those days are behind us, we have such a rock solid base, I feel like now we can hone in on, “Hey, what can we do to take this thing to the next level?”
Me and the team, we already have a bunch of ideas that I’m really excited for. So having talked about having a little bit more time between all these races, our developing will continue to make it better and to make life easier on us and I’m really looking forward to that. Like I said, I’ve had so much fun with this whole situation and I’ve learned so much over this year and I’ve grown so much, learned stuff that I didn’t know before. So that just shows you that there’s always a next level to be reached. Yeah, so I’m very happy and excited to continue to develop the bike as well.
Michael Antonovich:
Cool, thanks Ralph. First off, congrats to Adam, Dustin, Larry and Ken for pulling this off. We’ve thought this was going to happen for a while. This is a big hit for all of you guys, so congrats. Ken, for you, as we talked about, you’re getting to this point, you’re late in your career, but this is a nice little program that you can pull together. You’re really close friends with Justin Brayton and this’ll mimic everything that JB’s done the last five years because he’s had the dream set up, fly around, make some good money, be competitive, really keep his profile going and race later on into his career. How important has he been for you in this and when you look at his career at where he is, is that the pathway you want to follow?
Ken Roczen:
Yeah, I have a very special relationship with Justin Brayton. He is probably, I mean in a joking way, I’ve always called him my dad just because he’s like 10 years older than me, but yet still crushing it in life. Not just with his career but also family life and blending those two together. So I look up to him so much and he has been a huge influence of in making this whole deal of becoming a Supercross only guy really appealing. I have had countless conversations with him over the last few years actually about that because I was really in a bind, just in a bind with myself and the sport and I leaned on him a lot for advice and just because of our age difference and he’s been in the same shoes where he struggled really, really hard and pulled it out and then went on to have the best time of his life and having the most fun ever with the sport and I really admired that.
So the first person that I call out when I have problems is JB. So huge influence with the decision and I kept him in the loop with everything that I thought about, even about stuff that I didn’t talk about with anybody else. And to be able to race with him again as well. And after being teammates a few years ago and continuing to grow our relationship, but most importantly friendship. And me also my family with the entire family, I think that our best days are still ahead of us.
Dan Beaver:
Yeah. Looks like there are no conflicts with the World Supercross Series, the SMX Series at the end. You said a couple of times you’re thinking of being a Supercross specialist, does that still play in with the 227 lead over 21st? It’s likely that you could still qualify for it.
Ken Roczen:
Yes, that is the plan and that was part of the deal for me. So yes.
Dan Beaver:
And then if so, sorry, would you race a couple of motocross races if you needed to that weren’t in conflict with the WSX? If you need to elevate yourself in the points.
Ken Roczen:
That’s very possible. If I feel like it, I’ve actually been riding motocross a lot these last few weeks. I mean by a lot, I mean once a week and that has really, it’s helped me riding Supercross as well. And as of right now I have obviously set my sight on World Supercross, but there is a possibility that at some point I want to keep the whole points in my eyes and in my sight. So there’s a possibility I’ll jump in for a couple, never know.
