Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/917325
IN THE WIND P58 ROCZEN SAYS HE'S READY FOR SUPERCROSS F or the first time since suffering his arm injury nearly a year ago, Ken Roczen officially met with the press last week at the factory Honda HRC Team test track in Co- rona, California, where Honda held a meet- and-great event with the media and its 450 factory race team—Ken Roczen and Cole Seely. The Honda-supported Geico Honda 250 team was also on hand, with riders Jeremy Martin, Christian Craig, Cameron McAdoo, RJ Hampshire and Chase Sexton. But Roczen was the one in the spotlight and for good reason. It's been nearly a year since his devastating crash at Anaheim II that nearly cost him his left arm. Many people thought he'd never ride again, let alone race at championship level, but here he is! Roczen says he's looking forward to racing again at Anaheim I, and he did look good on the Honda test track today. He put in a number of laps at race speeds, and although it was difficult to gage his speed with only one other 450 on the track, there's no denying he looked comfortable on the bike. So, how is the arm? "The arm feels pretty good," Roczen said. "I go back and forth between sore- ness—like if I ride a lot. I've been doing a lot of push-ups on my arm and everything, and it will get sore every once in a while but other than that—I have a lot of restrictions [with] movement [of the arm], but I've gotten used to it by now to where I don't really think it bothers me too much riding. I should say, all in all, my arm will never be the same, but I've adjusted so well I can ride just like I rode before the crash, so I'm very fortunate to be in this position. "I feel like that I heal pretty quick, even [my] doc- tor said that he's never seen anybody heal from an injury like that." Roczen says he feels confident that he'll be able to win again. "The position we're in right now, we have a good shot winning races and hopefully a championship towards the end, so for me going into Anaheim, I'm just going to en- joy myself. I'm so glad to be back in the spotlight with people and get to race again, because that's what I miss the most." Considering how damaged the arm was, Roc- zen is super happy to be back on the bike again after a tough year of recuperating. "Being on the couch is the most miserable thing ever, espe- cially for that long," he said. "I'm getting paid but Honda HRC's Ken Roczen says he's ready to go racing again. Roczen looked fast on the Honda HRC test track in Corona, California. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER cont. on page 60