hasn't been able to put the issues
behind him, and rather than risk
a downward spiral in health and
morale, he and his team have
made the difficult decision for
him to withdraw. During his hia-
tus, Roczen will seek professional
treatment from specialists he has
worked with in the past, includ-
ing some in Europe. His exact
return date will depend on how
that process goes.
"The continued support of
Honda is just second to none,"
Roczen said. "I couldn't be more
appreciative of how we work
together as partners and make
these decisions together, even
when they're really difficult. I
owe them a championship, and
that's my focus going forward."
"I'm sorry to see Ken in this
situation," said Brandon Wilson,
Manager of Sports & Experi-
ential at American Honda. "He
proved at Anaheim 1 that he
still has the speed to run with
anyone, but the strains of this
sport are such that expecting to
compete at a disadvantage isn't
realistic. Ken has so much heart
and wants to be out there, but
that's not in the best interests of
anyone involved with things as
they are. Health comes first, and
we know that time off has helped
him in the past. Ken is a part of
the Honda family, and I'm happy
he is taking steps to improve
his situation. Everyone here is
behind him as he works to return
to the level where we all know he
deserves to be."
Honda did not reveal if some-
one else will fill in while Roczen
works back into health. As of
now, this is no indication that
anyone will take his place tempo-
rarily.
Since the release there has
been question if he'll even return
for motocross, but his tuner
Jordan Troxell said the plan is
for him to line up for the opening
round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro
Motocross Championship at Fox
Raceway in Pala, California, May
28.
Roczen also said on social
media, "This year has been
super tough on me in a lot of
different ways, and I need some
time to fix it."
CN
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 11 MARCH 15, 2022 P29
Roczen's Supercross
season started off on
a winning note, but
things started going
wrong soon afterward,
which included "a
bout with Covid-19"
after the San Diego
Supercross.
