250 Words: Roczen's Rides
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 | 2:30 PM
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Any time a small-bore rider gets up into the mix against the big bikes at the Motocross of Nations, it trots out memories of Johnny O’Mara’s amazing performance in 1986 at Maggoria, Italy, where he finished second in both motos on a 125. Ken Roczen brought back those images at last year’s MXoN in Colorado. Despite facing horsepower-sapping altitude, the German jumped into the lead mix in both of his motos, taking sixth in moto one, and then running second for the majority of moto two before dropping back to third late in the race. It was a superb ride, but he did himself one spot better this year.
Roczen, now on a Red Bull Teka KTM, took second overall in the first moto of the day behind Chad Reed, and beating, incredibly, MX1 rider Ryan Dungey. He followed this up with fourth in moto two.
Roczen's performance the past two years at the MXoN has many comparing him to the great Johnny O’Mara in 1986.
Photo: Ray Archer
To really illustrate Roczen’s ride, you have to see how well the rest of the MX2 riders performed against the bigger bikes. Roczen finished a full six spots ahead of the next MX2 rider, Marvin Musquin, in moto one, and seven spots ahead of the second rider, Musquin, again, in moto two. How much of a disadvantage are all the MX2 riders dealing with? Consider that Blake Baggett went 17-17 overall in his motos for Team USA, which seems disappointing at first. But that was actually good enough for a solid fourth in the MX2 class!
Roczen does have an advantage in that his German team can often stick him with their best gate pick in hopes he’ll run very high up in the overall board, while not every other team follows that strategy. But good start or not, you had better be really fast to stay up there—and Roczen has proven to be nearly O’Mara fast for the last two years.
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Why do these articles never mention Villopoto when he beat EVERYONE a few years ago on a 250F in both of his motos? That was the most amazing thing I can remember happening at the des nations
He's just 151 AMA wins from breaking the GOAT's record.
Yup, that article has zero relevance without any mention of Villopoto's Budds Creek ride. Why do they let this guy announce?
Roczen hauls........but I think they're pumping up this one weekend performance a little much. He's going to be a podium threat in the AMA 250 class like a handful of other guys capable of getting podiums. The class is stacked. I just hope he can stay on the bike for the whole season so the results talk and we don't have to hear about how "he would have won" from the GP lovers.
Since others are bringing it up.......I agree Roczen's rides don't hold a candle to Villopoto's performance at Budds Creek MXdN. The Villopoto of 2007 would crush the Roczen of 2011. Of course, this is just speculation :)
That budds creek ride was amazing it gave us euros a beating all round! Rv's ride must go down as the best! But i think roczen is the real deal. Should be a good year in2012.
Last time I checked this was a team race. How did he do?
Great rides by Roczen, but it does get under my skin to read that he "beat ... incredibly, MX1 rider Ryan Dungey." A little context, please. Reed and Dungey had pulled away from the KTM rider by a good margin until an absolute downpour began, at which time Dungey rode conservatively in order not to throw his team's chances away. At the same time the 250 probably became the better bike for those conditions. K-Roc had nothing to lose and threw caution to the wind (which, if you follow the GPs, you know he does regularly, and winds up on the ground fairly often - too often to win championships over here).
Don't forget Roczen was only 16 years old last year
@sef154......agreed on everything you said. Also, I don't think this years MXdN showed us anything regarding the motocross "world". Too many injured top Euro riders, not the greatest weather, and an easy speedway of a track fit for 450's and my backyard. What were the lap times again? The only thing it showed is the USA is STILL dominant no matter where they go for MXdN. I love hearing the word "luck" associated with the USA winning the MXdN, it makes me laugh and never take that person seriously again.
Where were the other guys that race AMA in the race?He beat all of them.I know it's a team race but the article wasn't about the team.We've all heard from the Euro's how fast some of these GP riders are.Then they race the boys from the AMA and get smoked.He is the real deal.I hope he matures a lil bit and can keep it on 2 wheels.He must be for real just for his Nation rides to even be compared to Villopoto and the Hurricane.
He didnt hit the deck that much this year. He stood on the box most races. You yanks need to get your head out your ass and give credit where credits due. You got the fastest two 450 riders.You could say bagget should of won outdoors cos he had the speed but he didnt hold it together for the year. I dont know how you can dis any of the riders at that level.
UK201,, I agree, but KR did crash alot while he was here in the States.. Extremely glad he's coming back though..
mxmofo1. Your right.Its a steep learning curve. He will prob get injured in sx and have to sit out outdoors. But lets hope not! He picked it up quick tho. I was talking about the gps anyway! Its good to have a bit of international flavour to the sx!
I cant speak as to why the the writer jw dosnt mention rv's ride at budds creek...poor jurnalism i guess...either that or he just wants to stur the pot. Ive seen most of the greats since the 70s and rv's ride was the best 2 moto performance that I have ever witnessed.....as the pot sturs I would like to suggest that we take a collection for Euromike so that he can come to the states and demonstate his SX skills....we know his keyboard skills. Then we could once and for all not have to put up with noncredability forever. email your donations to my acc thru paypal..thank you!
Being a Yank I like it when our guys do good.A good rider is a good rider don't matter were he's from.K-Roc stay healthy I hate would ofs and could ofs!
I still question what happened that first moto in france.....Reed and Dungey had a pretty good lead over Roczen, about 10 seconds is a guess....then when the cameras were on Pourcel for like 10 -15 seconds, they then came back to Roczen who already passed Dungey and was right behind Reed.....unless I missed something or the video was cut....I dont see how Roczen caught up so fast.....
Roczen is fast and will do well if he stays healthy....SX last year he was on the ground alot....so like JS7, he will either be right up front, winning...or crash....he took a few good tumbles during the GP circuit this year as well...
Cant wait to watch this guy go at it outdoors with everyone else- but he needs to keep his head in SX and not get hurt so he can make it to the nationals.
Hey, my comment didn't post >:(
Good thing I always copy my comments before I post them in case this happens.
And yes, SX is totally different. Come on, guys. Roczen was flying at Vegas (even after a crash) and he's done a lot of winning since then, so I'm sure he'll be great in 2012.
I wonder how many EuroMike will rub out reading this?
Yes, he did crash quite a bit in SX,, but lets not forget that it was his first year.... Also, what is he, 17 now ??
But NOT RV fast in 2007, That was an ass kicking never to be seen again!!
He rode better when he calmed down. He was good in Vegas.
It won't let me post my comment for some reason. I didn't swear or nothin :(
You can post URLs, right? Whatever. I give up.
I think He can win both the SX and outdoor titles next year if he can stay healthy whitch few do there first year here.
Yeh we get the picture about RV. But were not on about that. I could mention Everts riding round the outside of js7 but its going away from the point. js7 face after was funny tho!
Everts got smoked when he raced over here though
i'm old now, but I raced MX for nearly 30 years of my life. I'm german but have been to the states a lot. what always amazed me in the US were the incredible numbers of people riding dirtbikes or racing Motocross. Some years ago a friend of Mine working for Honda told me some numbers about motocrossbikes and dirtbikes being sold in the US and Europe. It was a shocker for me hear that alone in California they sell four times more dirtbikes/mxbikes than in all of europe......
I guess
sry... I guess those numbers are true somehow since they reflect my impressions. If you know consider the fact, that competition makes for better racers, than this is at least one reason why the US is so dominant right now. The sheer amount people racing makes for masses of brilliant riders. So this make the idea of the Motocross of nations somewhat obsolet in my opinion. How many really good worldclass riders does germany have ....ONE! Roczen. How many does Holland have ....ONE! Herlings. and so on. The only nations in europe that seem to have some more riders are the french , the belgians and (outside of europe) the australiens.
So a world against the US - Shootout would be fair.
So the next time a eurokid shows speed and enthusiasm give him some credit and do not complain, that the Villopotos and Dungeys are better anyway cos they should be better!! In fact, if they loose they loose way bigger than the couple of riders from europe.
Trust me, I'm not complaining.. I love to see riders from across the pond come over here and do well.. That's why its great to be a spectator here.
I will tell you one thing though, it really disappointed me when the US riders would not ride the GP over here this year. I think that was awful..
i remember years ago when stanton,emig,bradshaw and co would do the us gp. It was cool. Would love that to happen now with the current riders. Its only dungey and rv that are better than us euros,the rest are no better.
@ uk201
if we. yes america sent all of our riders to europe for a season there would be very few spots for your riders im sure a few would qualify but not many.go a head and root for your rider team and country. in gps and des nations..but your riders are big fish in very small ponds. send them to us and we will let them ride big fast gnarly tracks.ohhh wait you already do.hahaha so when u lose a rider to us it makes him a ama racer no longer a gp rider. kinda sucks but its the truth..
The Rok can haul no doubt and will be in the hunt in SX and MX this year. Nice article. Mostly to keep us occupied while were waiting for RD and Havoc7 to tell us what we probably already know.
hey jason, looks like you already forgotten like many say VILLOPOTO on 2007, he beat everybody in both motos inluding none other than THE GOAT, so this article has NOTHING of relevance, we know the kid is fast but what villopoto did is considered the best ride i can remember, he destroyed them, he was seconds faster that even ricky, c´mon you with emig are my favorite tv hosts but dont do that again, wait for your coment on twitter, see ya
I was at Budds and RV1 Had the sickest ride I've ever seen!
Does anyone that writes on here think before hand? He obviously refers to omara from 86 because omara didnt win both motos like RV1 did. So both rides would have to fall in the same box and the reason he didnt mention RV's 2007 nations ride is because there is no comparison to what RV did that day. Roczens also gota be a title contender in supercross he's already had a rookie year in SX with some podiums and a win
MustardDog:
"Everts got smoked when he raced over here though"
First of all, i like to watch both the gp and ama.....so dont get any stupid ideas...
MMM, Dont remember he actully raced in the US, or am i wrong??? If that,s the case so when and were???
What i do know is that RC raced and smoked him 2005 in France And Everts Smoked JS7 in England 2006.. Thats is real fact... And one more thing, RV raced 2006 in england and i think he won the mx2 class but didn,t keep it up with the 450 riders, Carioli did won the second heat that year on a 250.. Why they keep pushing about Roczen is one: his age, 17..impressiv Two: He has raced with the 450 and been on the top both times he have raced the mxon on a 250, i belive thats why...
@mx_fan... Everts tried to race some SX races when he was at suzuki begin 90's... Maybe 92'... Someone will surely correct me...
Everts is what I call a typical euro guy who just did not have the balls to ride in the USA. And he had plenty of opportunities.. (even though his podcast with Matthes states otherwise?? yeah right...)
Do not get me wrong... Everts is a very approachable guy in the GP... Nice fellow.. Typical flemish (do not approach him in french)... Likes being praised about his achievements... And yes... He's the winnigiest rider in the GP series... Someone has to have that record.. More power to him!
If memory serves me correct, which I doubt more and more all the time, didnt the man (roger decoster) have a hand in on snagging him up ?(Roczen).....I remember him in his 1st sx race last yr, he crashed and missed badly at 1st 2-3 heats or so, if you've ever riddin on a sx track for the 1st time, this is very understandable. Never forget my 1st lap around pontiac when this sx thing was brand new. Talk about rtard Anyways when he got it figured out most riki tic, and I'm not see'n anyone beating him in the lights. I think he's that good, and from a former Marine I think us humans should be able to use all the world ALL of us were givin, men put the borders up. The world is for all of us I think. but most wont see but a tiny piece. in their lifetime. Shame.
I hope Hodaka signs Roczen. :O Maybe that'll slow his wagon a bit.
Listen up!
RV was 18 at the time! Racing on home soil. And maybe at his favourite track at the ama circuit!
I bet Roczen will kill it in the des nations in germany in 2013!
And he almost beat RV (The 2011 sx and mx champion) in the mx2-open heat this year! With out rolloffs on his goggles. Since it blew of by a rock on the second lap. And it did start raining that moto (in the middle). So one spot behind rv is really good. And he was just 0.3 sek behind on the best lap! Did i also mention that it was some steep uphills there that the 450's love!
He sure did a good job
I am European and I joined this site because English well or poorly they understand and believe it's the best news site in the world.
But I can not understand why you Americans are so nationalist, one can not praise a driver you need to do more to foreign competition who has bigger, pulling out your samples.
once you praise a good performance of a pilot, I do not understand why diminish, then comparing Villopoto. (Which for moments where else to put it back).
Haha RV was one year older (lets wait for kroc next year) and he was on homesoil and Budds Creek is certainly not a track where you have disadvantages on a smaller bike (at least not as much as in denver and st jean)... he also smoked RC back then in both motos and I guess youre not gonna say that he was really that much better than RC...
I dont want to take anything away from rv, he has to get maximum credit for that
I love poeple who compare KR to RV when RV was on a 250... Makes me laugh.. RV only won at Budds Creek because he was on "home soil." Makes me laugh..
@mxmofo I did not just say that he was on homesoil... makes me laugh how youre not able to read bud
@mx_Fan: I enjoy watching the GP riders. but just the facts:1997 Kevin Windham decided to race the USGP being held at Budd's Creek, MD only three days prior to the event. European Champion and motocross hero overseas Stefan Everts made a comment concerning the top US racers deciding not to race the GP. Everts said he thought the US racers were being cowards. This angered Kevin Windham greatly. Stefan Everts at the time was one of the toughest racers to beat. Kevin went on to dominate the race and left no doubt that Everts had nothing for him on that day.( he probably shouldnt have angered Windham) ;-)
Everts and windham went 1:2 2:1 that day and everts was just back from injury. Btw kdub also beat the goat on a few ocations
First off I dont think anybody had anything for RV that day. And yea I dont think Pourcel was gonna catch RV even if his bike didnt break. Matter of fact I think RD would have got him back. We will see if he smokes Cairolli next yr. But one thing I heard is that Pourcel is paid what he was asking for in USA to race GP's. This shouldn't come as a surprise bcoz Ben Townley was being offered to race GP's for the same team instead of AMA. Now the question is, Are we going to See Stewart race the GP's bcoz of money?
@ Crusty,, I wasnt neccesarily refering to you,, comprendo ??? Read some of the others comments before you accuse me of not being able to read,, OK ??
In my humble opinion I still think O'Mera's ride at Italy in no way campares to what anyone has done since. There is a big difference between the bikes now and the 125' against the 250,500 cc 2 stokes and the hills on that track were something else. I still have the video and it is amazing!
Opps a pute not an a It's O'Mara gee I am sorry for the sp.
I don't see why Roczen should not be a title contenter in the US in the same way as other top GP riders have been in the past.
I always find it funny that some US people think the GPs are so bad. Over the years alot of AMA Champions have actually come out of the GPs.
@mxmofo Oh ok :D sry dude ;)
no sweat
Roczen is the real deal for sure!
He showed up in our supercross season with podium speed and crashed a bit too much. Showed at the end of our outdoor season he has podium speed and endurance.
When you demonstrate that kind of speed, with the current level of competition, you got a contender.......no matter what series or class he races in. When you see the speed, like Barcia showed, it doesn't matter what class the guy is in.
And that kind of speed has no national boundries, sorry guys. I can't help but root for my fellow Americans, but I love the competition, love, love, love no matter where it comes from. I think the biggest reason we are so dominant is that we have the best minicycle racing depth in the world. They run the biggest, most competitive mx butterchurn and the cream always rises to the professional level.
I was at Budds 07 and i will forever be grateful. Ricky's last motocross race, remember?
Kenny clearly was the fastest racer on both mxdn I don't see why so many americans can't be just open hearted to such an racer...and his performance was stronger than villopoto's that specific day ...
no one's interested in comparing all the "ghost's" of sometimes unchallenged racers in specific races back in the past with a racer at an specific event of today...
can anyone really say something different than that ken was the fastest man on that two specific mxdn ????? no!!! he was outstanding on tracks which clearly didn't favour a 250 ...so let him get his tribute to that...
is it really so hard for american people to admitt that there maybe someone out there who smoked everyone and doesn't have a stars & stripes flag in his head...
well I think you should get used to it cause next year there will be no one to hold him off taking SX Lites West and National Lites Title.... you don't believe it, watch ;-)
I just hope for a really sympathic 17 year old rider like ken who's dream always was to compete in the best series of the world that people will judge him by the content of his racing and not by the colour of his flag :P
I remember interviews of 1991's triple champion Jean-Michel Bayle (I know the darkest chapter of american SX and MX ;-) where he spoke about being a french racer in the states and that he mostly experienced rejection and hate in the states because he was not american...soooo sad !!!
oh and there was something I wanted to add to Kenny's first SX season...
in Europe we don't have much places where you can train supercross believe it or not. and if you have a training track for "supercross" it's so small no american would ever call it a supercross-track no really uncompromising big triples no long whoops nothing, most of those tracks are not even 1/5 or smaller than a usual supercross track of the stadiums ...
the only exceptions are the few large supercross races like paris where you get to see such tracks....
so kenny had to adapt to a whole new style of racing which we could see when he was going down to earth so often this year. he wasn't used to competition on such tracks...I think it was a lot to handle for him in the beginning...remember: he was always fastest in the practice and you should clearly see his potential he always chose different lines than the guy in front of him which made him and outstanding rider to watch...I could remember none of the other rider's which always could attack no matter if they took outside or inside lines...incredible...! always working on the bike ...not a jump where he tried to stay behind the rider in front of him ...he always worked on the bike to get into a good position...
if he goes on like the beginning of 2011 and his experience of his championship in addition to his supercross training now...welcome the dominating rider of the next decade...