Ken Roczen (94) had both a momentous and also a rough two weeks leading up to the Birmingham race. The high of gaining his US citizenship was tempered by the low of a practice crash that resulted in an AC shoulder injury just eight days before the event. In Birmingham, Roczen bowed out of the second qualifying session in an effort to preserve his sore shoulder; the Triple Crown format meant the 450 riders would compete in three 12-minute plus one lap races. Roczen’s steady rides aboard his RM-Z450 resulted in consistent (4-6-4) race results, good for a top-five overall. Roczen’s gritty ride kept him well in the championship hunt, keeping his Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki in third place in the standings. Words: Suzuki
Ken Roczen
“It was a tough weekend for us here in Birmingham,” said Roczen. “I had a practice crash a week ago and separated my AC joint a little bit. We rode press day to see how it felt, and it was pretty decent, but throughout the day on Saturday it definitely got worse. As we got deeper into the night it became a pain battle. But we made it through, ended up fifth on the night, and only lost one point in the championship. All things considered, we had a pretty good night and fought really hard. The Triple Crowns are now over and we’re back to regular races, and we still have a few rounds to go. I’m going to do my best to heal everything up during the week and try to just show up next weekend better than this weekend.”
Larry Brooks
“It was a tough weekend. The track was really good, one of the better tracks we’ve had this year, but Ken Roczen had an injury coming in and it was a bit of struggle,” said Larry Brooks, Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager. “We weren’t even sure that Ken was going to race at the beginning of the week. So for him to race, and finish fifth overall – these Triple Crowns are quite hectic – it’s like a win to us right now. So, he lost a couple points, one point on the rider in the lead right now, but he’s still in the title hunt, and that’s really good.
Image: Suzuki
