Ken Roczen has some magic at Colorado’s Thunder Valley, as Saturday marked his fifth victory at the track, and second in a row. If you watched the race, you’ll know this win somewhat fell into his lap, because his Honda HRC teammate Chase Sexton crashed on the very last lap of the day, allowing Roczen to slip by and steal the overall win. It’s not like Kenny didn’t earn it, though. He survived a torrid fight with Eli Tomac in that moto to hold onto second place, and that’s what put him in position to take advantage once Sexton fell.
Kenny has been saying he will give it his all this year, and his battle with Tomac in moto two proved it. Here’s what else he had to say after the race.
Racer X: How did it go?
Ken Roczen: My whole day was actually pretty awesome. We made some changes to the bike this week and that seemed to help me out, especially with the tracks getting so rough and bumpy, and also with a little bit of hardpack. They laid some wood chips down, which I’m normally not a fan of because it doesn’t really have much hold up and it gets kind of sloppy. But we fought back hard this weekend. I might not be the fastest guy right now, but we’re making a lot of progress on the bike right now and it seems to be gelling with me. I realy just want to, no matter the situation, just put up a fight every weekend and that’s exactly what I did today. I think, did I get second in the first moto? Yeah I did. In the second moto I had a really amazing battle with Eli. Obviously we always ride fair, I’ve had a lot of battles with him. It was super fun, and it was late in the moto so I just wanted to hang in there and hang in there. Unfortunately for Chase, he went down, but I’ll take it. If I wouldn’t have put up the fight, I wouldn’t have won the overall. So I kind of got that one handed to me, but it was all about the effort that we were giving. Super happy with how today ended up, and we’re going to build every weekend and come into every weekend better than we were the weekend before. I’m totally over the moon getting an overall.
How do you feel the season has gone thus far?
Obviously, I'm really happy with how today ended up. I'm getting better. I'm not the fastest out there, but I'm applying myself. I try really hard and stay in it. It seems like halfway, or somewhere around there through the motos when I start hitting lappers, I'm searching a little bit and I'm losing a lot of time. Once I get passed, or I make a mistake and I get passed, I find myself and charge forward again. So, I'm going to have to work on that to not get out of the flow like that. We always have little improvements to do, but I'm super happy with what we've done this weekend. This win feels… Obviously, Chase went down so it was kind of given to me on that point, but I also had to battle really hard with Eli to stay in that second place which also wouldn't have happened. I got rewarded today and I'm taking it.
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Roczen Align Media ![Roczen and Eli Tomac]()
Roczen and Eli Tomac Align Media ![Tomac and Roczen]()
Tomac and Roczen Align Media ![Roczen and Tomac]()
Roczen and Tomac Align Media
You looked extremely fresh as you made your way to the podium. I know you had a lot of adrenaline flowing with the win and all that. Did you feel better than you thought you would? Did you feel the heat as much as you thought?
I actually thought we got pretty lucky today with the weather. But I feel physically pretty dang good, compared to what I've been in the past. I'm building every weekend, and try to be smart with everything, and get better. I'm just having fun with everything right now and trying to figure out these little pieces. It's probably the most fun I've had racing. Even when last weekend wasn't that great for me, I still enjoy trying to figure stuff out.
Well, it's obvious, because you always look like you're having fun on the bike. This weekend you just looked exceptionally smooth and very precise this weekend. Just wanted your thoughts.
My second moto especially I feel like I had some really good lines. I definitely need to work on getting everything a little bit smoother. Everything is always a work in progress. Nothing is ever perfect. I'm good with where we're at right now.
We’re in the first round where there was really some heat, elevation. We always question where you're at, and you really proved today that you’ve got it, man. How do you feel now? Do you still feel like you're still at 100 percent?
Don't doubt me!
Like I said, I felt really good physically. I'm doing everything I can during the week, off the bike, on the bike, to feel better and get better. I'm also mentally in a really good, content spot. That helps out a lot. For it being a hotter race today, plus that altitude, that means something as well. I'm taking this in the bank. I'm ready to get into the humidity.
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany  | 2 - 1 | Honda CRF450R |
| 2 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 1 - 3 | Yamaha YZ450F |
| 3 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 4 - 2 | Honda CRF450R |
| 4 |  Jason Anderson | Edgewood, NM | 3 - 6 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 5 |  Antonio Cairoli | Patti, Sicily  | 5 - 4 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 6 |  Ryan Dungey | Belle Plaine, MN | 7 - 7 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 7 |  Justin Barcia | Monroe, NY | 6 - 8 | GasGas MC 450F |
| 8 |  Shane McElrath | Canton, NC | 12 - 5 | Husqvarna FC 450 |
| 9 |  Joey Savatgy | Thomasville, GA | 8 - 9 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
| 10 |  Garrett Marchbanks | Coalville, UT | 9 - 11 | Yamaha YZ450F |
Speaking of that, there was a specific moment when you and Eli were battling. As you were going up the start stretch, Kenny, you almost seemed like you went wide on purpose to let him by because you had the line, and darted back on the inside. Was that intentional?
I try to let instincts take over, and I had to ride defensively, which gave us the gap to Chase as well. I honestly messed up. I was not comfortable after the finish line in that section. I was so damn slow and I always ended up on the inside. I knew he was on the outside sweeping it and carrying more momentum. I was just trying to play and see what my instincts were doing. My whole thing is not giving up. That's what I did.
About three laps in a row, you and Eli, up the first turn drag, up the start straight, you guys were just tire-to-tire a couple times. He would go inside, you would protect in the deep stuff. About three laps to go, you guys were almost side by side. You looked to the inside but he wasn't there. He had drifted to the outside. Did that catch you by surprise a little bit?
Yeah, I was ready for him to square up. That's why I looked over my shoulder real quick, because there are some riders that will square up and take your front wheel out. I know Eli is not like that, but we're racing hard. I didn’t know if he was left or right, so I had a quick peek over the shoulder. I was just trying to be ready for whatever he was going for.
