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In a dramatic and emotional final race of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, Cycle Gear-sponsored Ken Roczen stood up to the pressure of one of the closest title races in history, executed a brilliant start, defied critics who believed he would fade as the race wore on, and then showed calculated race strategy to cruise home and become, at age 32, the oldest Supercross champion ever.
For the Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki rider, it marked the final step in his long comeback from injuries that could have ended his career. He's now just the second rider to win an FIM Motocross World Championship, an AMA Pro Motocross Championship title, and a Supercross championship. All of those previous titles came before his 2017 Supercross crash that severely damaged his arm. His comeback is now complete.
“I was an emotional wreck today," Roczen admitted after the race. "It was not an easy task by any means. I’ve been exhausted, physically and mentally, over these past few weeks, but I’ve dreamed of this since I was a little kid. This is just a testament of you never give up."
Roczen came into the race just one point ahead of Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence, and both riders had five wins on the season, making it the third-closest title fight going into the final race in Supercross history. When the gate dropped, Lawrence technically got the holeshot, but as the field sorted out, Roczen moved past him into the lead and the two title contenders began pulling away. In the middle part of the race, Jorge Prado began gaining on Lawrence as Lawrence was riding hard to try to put some pressure on Roczen at the front. That led to a small mistake by Lawrence, who ran off track, and then, moments later, a bigger mistake when he overshot a jump and the front end washed out. By the time he remounted, he was in seventh place and his championship hopes were dashed.
Roczen led until the closing laps, when it was clear that the only way he could lose the championship was by mixing it up with the charging riders behind him, so he rode a conservative pace as Chase Sexton, Prado, Justin Cooper, and Cooper Webb passed by. Roczen cruised to a fifth-place finish and the championship.
It was an emotional win that left Roczen and his entire family in tears as he slowly pulled off the track after stopping for a few minutes to bathe in the endless cheers of a huge crowd that filled Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City to see the final SX race. It was also a reward for motocross veteran team manager Larry Brooks, who has had to scale back his involvement this season while battling cancer.
Racers and teams now have less than three weeks to rest, regroup, and prepare before the AMA Pro Motocross outdoor season begins at Fox Raceway in Pala, California.
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