Supercross: Ken Roczen Says He’ll Be Okay For Daytona
Kit Palmer | March 2, 2014
Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen says he’ll be ready to compete in next week’s round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Daytona International Speedway. Roczen, who went into last night’s Indy Supercross nine points behind series leader Ryan Villopoto, crashed in the 450 main at Indianapolis while running midpack and was unable to finish the race.
The fall came after another hard get-off in the first turn when he tangled with Villopoto. Both riders got up in the back of the pack and were working their way forward when Roczen went down and was obviously shaken up, but he was able to walk off the track and ride back to the pits, complaining of back pain. But, as of now, it looks as though he’ll be okay to ride Daytona next week. At least that’s what he says.
“I hit the ground pretty hard after my crash off the start when I got caught up with Villopoto,” said Roczen after the race. “I pushed hard for the next few laps, but then I cased a triple in a rhythm section which sent me flying over the bars. I feel really beat up and am disappointed to not finish the race but am thankful I am okay and will be back to race Daytona.”
Roczen is now 26 points behind Villopoto in third, while Indy winner Ryan Dungey, Roczen’s teammate, moved up two notches to second and is now 23 points behind Villopoto, who finished fourth in the race.
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
