“I’ve been pretty pissed off, like not in the greatest mood in general because during the week I feel like I’m not doing anything and then I show up on the weekend and I’m just bumming around,” explained Ken Roczen. “It’s frustrating because my year was going well until it wasn’t. Usually, you deal with an injury for a week or two if you’re racing and it usually ends up getting better. At the moment, it just seems like there’s something else coming to it and getting worse.”
Progressive/ECSTAR Suzuki’s Roczen is grinding out the second half of the 2025 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship. Roczen suffered a shoulder and ankle injury during the off- week preceding the Birmingham round of the series. He has been subpar during qualifying since the injuries, but when it comes time for the main event Roczen has been able to suffer through the pain and continues to put in good results. His ankle was so bad that he considered not even racing in the Foxborough mud, but gritted it out and nearly pulled off a podium. At Philadelphia, he was even better, leading much of the main and holding on for a podium finish with third.
Round thirteen inside of Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field got off to a chaotic start. Shane McElrath and Aaron Plessinger came together entering the first turn, which pushed a handful of riders wide, including title contenders Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb. Justin Barcia escaped with the holeshot on his Rockstar Gas Gas with Roczen in tow. Roczen inherited the lead from Barcia after he went over a berm on lap one. He led for over half the race as Webb and Sexton worked their way through the field. Kenny would get passed by the two title combatants but rode it in for a comfortable third place and his first podium since his win in Daytona.
Ken was able to pull a small lead while his two biggest challengers were coming through the pack. In healthy form this could have been an easy win for the German. At the post-race press conference Roczen spoke about his mindset after getting into the early lead saying, “While I was leading there, I didn’t care about anything, I was just riding. This track was a big problem for me because it had five right hand turns and two left hand turns, and it is my right ankle,” he admitted. “I think if the track was a little more in my favor, as in not so many right-hand turns, I could rely a little more on my left leg and push it more. Right now, I’m just waiting until I am straight and then I’m getting on the throttle because I just cannot afford that quick dab down with my foot. This sucks. I’m most miserable in practice because you feel like you have no adrenaline and nothing going on. When the races come, I’m usually always fine to go out and send it a little bit. But in practice I’m fricken miserable. I don’t even want to do it.”
It has been a frustrating string of races for Roczen. After his Daytona win, he seemed poised to make a deep title run. But the very next weekend in Indianapolis, Kenny found himself down in the first turn and lost a bunch of points. Now he’s dealing with two injuries and trying to survive just as much as he is trying to win.
Roczen has also been extremely limited during the week. He alluded to just how tough the weeks have been saying, “I haven’t ridden at all until this Thursday, I did a little twenty-minute, kind of like a fun session just to get a little time on the bike. I’m doing some therapy, and I am cycling a lot. I love running, but I’m not running just because of the ankle, I don’t want to aggravate it anymore. The most frustrating thing is that it feels fine when walking or cycling, you wouldn’t think it’s a big deal. On the gym side of things, I haven’t been able to do that much just because of the shoulder, I just have to lay off things. It is the way it is right now, so I’m playing with the kids and cycling and trying to keep my head high. It is tough because I feel useless during the week. We got four races to go so we have to just keep doing our thing.”
Despite Ken’s frustration, HEP team manager Larry Brooks has been happy with Roczen’s efforts on the weekend. Brooks spoke with Pulp MX’s Steve Matthes after the race. “I’m ecstatic.” he exclaimed. “He kind of just rides all day long just to get to the main event. Then he gives it 100 percent when he gets to the main. He doesn’t want to hurt all night long. He wants to hurt for twenty minutes and that’s it. He tries to be careful with it. It’s all taped up. It was a big wreck, and it beat him up pretty good. He’s having to deal with those problems and he’s doing it pretty good.”
Roczen sits comfortably third in points and will likely stay there unless something crazy happens. It would be nice to see where he would be had he not got injured, but his determination to finish the series and willingness to continue to put himself up front is admirable. Silly season talks have started over the past few weeks and despite months of Ducati/Roczen discussion, it sounds like Roczen and his people are still talking to HEP Suzuki about a multi-year extension, as well. Anyone who signs him will have no doubt of his determination.
