Two-time Pro Motocross champion Ken Roczen made a last-minute decision to line-up behind the gates at the fourth round of the 2023 season at High Point. The number 94 showed the speed to win races, qualifying fastest heading into the motos, and to the delight of fans around the world, put up a fight to Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) by giving the teenager his first real challenge in the premier class. Eventually, Roczen ended the round with a 7-2 scorecard, which was enough to secure second overall for the round. The Progressive Ecstar Suzuki rider features in this week’s Fast Thoughts interview.

Image: Octopi Media.

Kenny, 7-2 for second overall on the day…

I went down there, we had a good battle, the track was a brutal one to come back to for the first one. We got into a bunch of lappers, and I tried to pop out of the rut and kind of tucked the front end and went down. Then I was stuck in a rut and couldn’t find neutral, and when I did find neutral, every time I would kick it, it would pop back out. So definitely on the struggle bus there, but I really just came here to kind of give the fans what they wanted to see. I’m happy that I did that today. Obviously, Jett’s been on one lately and he was able to get the job done again today. But I was able to lead some laps and put up a little bit of a fight. The track was something else. There’s so much to talk about, I only did two days of motocross this week, I did some motos on Monday and we tested half a day on Wednesday and that was it, so for that, showing up, and then this track was a muddy mess out there, I think we had an amazing day with Progressive Ectsar Suzuki. Yeah, we were E-Z Upping it right next to them. It was an awesome day, especially ripping the holeshot in the second one. I had some good laps in the beginning, but then I think I had some shitty lines. Once Jett passed me I kind of copied his lines a little bit and that helped me.

Image: Octopi Media.

Running the hybrid rear tire…

I personally have never really liked the scoop tire. I like to rail ruts and lean the bike over, I don’t like the scoop, it feels too tall in the rear and the carcass feels stiff. I don’t feel the bike turns as well. So, I tend to lean toward the cut tire, and we made some changes for the second one. But obviously, the scoop tire for the start, when it’s deep and muddy if you don’t have it, it can really get you. I really don’t understand today, when it was such a muddy mess, the past rounds, the last three rounds they groomed the whole start straight, then the one time they really needed it today, they didn’t. I don’t understand what the reasoning was behind that because I think it would have been a lot safer if they took the dozer, pushed some of the mud off and tilled it a bit. Because of the ruts, they were gnarly coming out of there, and a lot of sawdust, just a big deep muddy mess, it was interesting.

You’re approach to this weekend seeing as you’re not in the championship…

Um, not really. When I decide to do something, when the gate drops, I want to do good. I don’t want to look like an idiot out there. And like Adam [Cianciarulo] said, on a track like this, if you lose focus even a little bit, I mean, I felt like I made a lot of mistakes that I usually don’t, but this track was very difficult to ride mistake-free. There was no cruising around or just having fun, you know? I wanna do good when I’m out there. Like I said, this was a short-notice situation, but the good thing is I can pick and choose, and I wanted to do this, first and foremost as a fun thing, I had a few weeks off and I had the itch. But when the gate drops, I want to do good and I want to have fun. That’s kind of been my mindset all season, as well. I wanted to go out there, have fun, and be into what I’m doing. I’ve kept that coming into this one as well.

Plans for the weekend off and future outdoor races…

For the upcoming weekend off, I just bought a beach house, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m probably going to go surfing and put my toes in the sand, but I’m looking forward to finding my next level with working out. That’s kind of become a little bit of my hobby, I’m loving that part of my life, working out and riding. I’m excited about what’s to come here in the future, I’d like to do some more outdoor races as well. Do some supercross, do some motocross, kind of play it by ear.