Image: Spencer Owens / Pro Motocross.

Double 450MX champion Ken Roczen says he has been experiencing ‘a little bit of a disconnect with motocross’ in preparing for his return to Lucas Oil Pro Motocross this Saturday at Fox Raceway, planning on building into the form that took him to the 2014 and 2016 titles.

Roczen, 27, challenged for the Monster Energy Supercross crown on his way to finishing runner-up in the 2021 standings and has committed to the outdoors with Team Honda HRC, but admits that he’s not yet back to his best in the grueling outdoor environment.

“It’s been a minute since I’ve ridden outdoors, and, honestly, I’ve done this pretty much my whole life and it’s what I grew up on, but I kind of felt a little bit of a disconnect, to be honest,” he admitted. “During the time last year when everybody was racing, I was forced to take it easy – it’s not like I was going out and pounding motos. I might as well would have raced, so I didn’t do that and then we went straight back into Supercross.

“I just haven’t really ridden motocross for quite some time and just been feeling a little bit of a disconnect with it, trying to adjust to the speed and whatnot, trying to keep my momentum up. As far as expectation for this upcoming weekend, I don’t really have any right now, to be honest. I kind of want to see where I’m at and then build each and every weekend from there on out… that’s really all I can say so far.”

Roczen further elaborated on his intriguing situation after focusing on his title challenge in the 450SX series, which will ultimately see him enter Pala as somewhat of an unknown quantity this Saturday. His health could also be a question mark outdoors after sitting out the entire 2020 campaign, especially as the heat and humidity rises back east.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m 100 percent, just as in how good I have been in the past and how ready I have been,” he added. “Obviously, I’ve mentioned that I feel like I have a little bit of a disconnect with motocross – it’s really just the speed that it takes in motocross. It used to come super-quick to me, just because I used to race every outdoor season, then I would ride it actually quite a bit in between some of the rounds.

“Being in the championship hunt in Supercross, I was just focusing on that pretty much the whole time. Back in the day I would definitely sneak in a lot more outdoor riding towards the end of the season, which I probably should have done this year too, but it was the first time I’ve been in this situation.

“Also, we have a new bike, so trying to get some base settings figured out. We were pretty far off as soon as we jumped on the bike, so I also had to put in quite a bit of work there. I definitely tried to juggle with testing and also doing motos just because you can do as much training outside of riding as you want – there’s nothing like being on the bike and putting in your motos, so I’ve done as much as I can in the last couple of weeks.

“Like I said, I just want to build every single weekend. It’s really difficult to say for me where I’m going to be at and how good I will feel throughout the motos, but I’m willing to put my head down and focus and learn every weekend. I know it’s not the ideal situation to be in, but at the same time I’ve got to take it the way it is right now. I’ve been in California pretty much the whole time since supercross, so it hasn’t really been too hot here.

“I’m sure that it will take some adjustment time going to some of the hot races, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get better and be on the podium and get some wins, hopefully. As far as right now, I cannot tell you where I’m going to be, where I’m going to line-up. I have done few starts on dirt as well, since the last year and a half it’s pretty much just been on the grates in Supercross.

“Everything will take some adjustment time, which it’s not an excuse by any means. I’m actually excited to be in this position and kind of see where everybody is at and be open-minded and learn from the riders that are maybe better at the moment than I am and, hopefully, apply that to myself and come back next weekend and be better. I just want to get better every single weekend.”