Image: Octopi Media.

Third in Atlanta’s 450SX main event is evidence that the late season form of Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki’s Ken Roczen is there with the German rider fighting fit and healthy entering the final rounds of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship.

Roczen has a proven race-winning pedigree but has battled illness and fatigue throughout recent years that have either ruled him out of an AMA championship prematurely or impacted his form as a championship unfolds.

On Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Roczen qualified sixth fastest and was second in his heat behind Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Later in the main event he launched to the early lead and then maintained second until the halfway point, ultimately taking the checkered flag in third position.

The result marks his third podium finish of the season following P3 at Anaheim 2 and his victory at Indianapolis, and by all accounts the general feeling in the Roczen camp is positive entering the final races of the series.

“It’s been super solid, like I said at the beginning of the season, I feel like I’m in a better place,” Roczen explained. “We are still making little changes on the bike as well that helps out as well.

“We just never stop, I never want to stop, I have a good base and we kind of just make little changes here and there that help me out, but overall, I have just had a lot more of a consistent year, putting in training throughout the week, doing nothing crazy.

“I think I am just in a good spot, and it has been showing. I want to keep it up. It makes this a lot of fun for me and the past few years, once it got to the later stages it was just not fun that way. I’m having a lot more fun this year than I have had in the past.”

Entering the final four rounds of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, Roczen is fifth in the 450SX standings and only a single point behind Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) ahead of East Rutherford this Saturday.