It’s tough to communicate the grueling endeavor that is the AMA National Motocross Championship. Twelve rounds, 24 motos, and 40 of the world’s top motocross racers, each vying for the number one plate. Even some of the sport’s greatest racers have failed to reach that goal. But for Ken Roczen, that goal is now a reality, having come to fruition at the final round of the championship at Miller Motorsports Park, just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.
450 Class
When Ken dominated the series early in the season, it looked like a runaway might be developing. But at the halfway point, his Red Bull KTM teammate Ryan Dungey turned on the afterburners, rattling off wins while Ken struggled with newfound competition in his rival, Honda’s Eli Tomac. But that all changed at the penultimate round in Indiana, where Ken excelled in the extremely muddy conditions, gaining 13 valuable points on Dungey to come into Utah with a 20-point lead.
That 20-point lead was everything. Dungey had been gaining between seven and ten points at nearly each round in the second half of the series, and the critics were vocal in exclaiming that Dungey was the heavy favorite to win it all. But with those 20 points, the whole story changed. Ken had not lost that many points to anyone all season, meaning that if he stayed calm and kept up with business as usual, he would hoist the number one plate after the checkers flew in moto two.
The interesting part about the racing in Utah was that neither Ken nor Ryan was leading. Honda’s Trey Canard managed to dominate the day, taking both moto wins in front of Ryan, who took two second-place finishes.
So, it was all up to Ken. Even with two decent finishes he would be the champion. As usual, Ken displayed maturity beyond his 20 years, and save for a brief scare in moto one when he tangled with a lapper (and made a miraculous, million-dollar save), Ken rode smooth and poised all day, trading moto finishes with Tomac to take fourth on the day with a 3-4. Usually, Ken would be disappointed with fourth, but on this day, he held the coveted AMA championship plate, one that he has never held before in an American outdoor MX national championship.
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