Ken Roczen looks forward to getting back to racing with his new team RCH Suzuki. Photography By Andrea Wilson
ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 2 – Ken Roczen started last year’s AMA Supercross season with a bang, winning his first time out in the premier class. And although the rookie was unable to stop Ryan Villopoto from earning his fourth Supercross Championship, Roczen had an impressive year that was capped off with an AMA Pro Motocross title. So the kid comes into 2015 with the expectation of being a title contender.
But in spite of last season’s performance, there’s a big question mark hovering over Roczen until the gate drops tomorrow night at Angel Stadium as it will be Roczen’s first outing with his new team—RCH Suzuki Team. Sitting in the pre race press conference today at Angel Stadium, Roczen felt good about the change and was ready to go racing.
“I’ve been really happy with my team change,” Roczen said. “Everything has been awesome. I’m having a lot of confidence on the bike. I would say I’ve been feeling the best ever. So it’s time to go racing. Obviously it’s going to be a long season with 17 rounds… I’m just going to go to every race and ride as aggressive as I can, but smart.
I’ve been feeling really good. It’s really exciting to finally go racing again, especially going back to my roots on a Suzuki with my new team. I can’t wait.”
New team, same philosophy: have fun riding a motorcycle. Photography By Kit Palmer
Being the new kid had the advantage of lower expectations. Now that those expectations are higher it has bound to add more pressure, but Roczen’s philosophy when it comes to racing hasn’t changed.
“Being a rookie might alleviate some pressure, but honestly you know what you can do on a bike,” Roczen said. “We’ve done it for many years. I’m just going to go out there like every year: to have fun.
“I know there’s a lot of people that expect a lot of things, but I think the biggest thing is yourself. I always have high hopes and high expectations. I’m going to go out there and do my best just like anybody else out there. I know what I can do. In the end we’re riding dirt bikes and we’re having fun out there. I think everybody knows it’s going to be a long season. There’s always a lot of hype about Anaheim one, but I think it’s important to keep calm and do your thing.”
