Roczen: “Eli is just a step better than me right now.”
Two-time and defending FIM WSX Champion Ken Roczen started the 2024 season with a runner-up finish to Eli Tomac. After the race, Roczen spoke to Steve Matthes admitting, “Eli is just a step better than me. But what an opportunity it is for me to build and get better. I know exactly what to work on. He's better than me right now and I totally respect that.”
Roczen won the first race of the night over Tomac, but fell victim to the brutal Vancouver soil in race two after coming through the field after a bad start, but then crashing out of second and finishing 11th. “On the take off I hit a pile of tiny little rocks and just lost the rear. My front end was so tweaked after that.”
Roczen won the Superpole time trial early in the night, then recorded 1-11-2-2 finishes in the four races (three SX1 races and a Superfinal against 250s). As the series counts each individual race for championship points, Roczen will enter Round two of the series 16 points behind Tomac when the series resumes in Perth, Australia in three weeks. -- Travis Delnicki
