AMA Supercross was a typically slick, fast and ‘shiny’ show that came and went in just twelve frantic hours at the Angel Stadium. The singular most impressive aspect of the day at Anaheim – after a week of story/content grabbing for us in southern California – was seeing the surge of attention that now follows Ken Roczen. The German is still only twenty years old but has already accumulated a world championship, AMA national championship, a west coast supercross title, four Motocross of Nations wins in a row, a home Grand Prix win at fifteen years of age and is now the most popular, versatile and flawless athlete in the vast arena that is American dirt bike competition. It is a long way from Mattstedt in Germany and certainly since that first international bow at Agueda in 2009 when a nervy teenager could barely stay up in practice for his first Grand Prix.
Roczen’s strength has always been the efficiency (and speed) of his adaptation. From a flamboyant teen to a resilient hard worker, to the Benelux sand (in which a degree of mastery is almost essential for MXGP championship success) to the rigours of supercross to the punishing physical regime required to make-it in the American heat of the Nationals. It feels like he has barely stuttered…and rarely makes mistakes. He is a formidable package. We knew he was special when he made the breakthrough to Grand Prix but I’m not sure any of the journalists that spoke to the skinny, exhausted and bewildered youngster after his emphatic home win at Teutschenthal in ’09 could have imagined Roczen showing the supercross world a deft turn like he is currently doing on U.S. soil.
Ken has had two years to slowly learn a new set of skills that doesn’t involve wheels and an engine. Good looking, (now) wealthy, faultlessly bi-lingual and eminently marketable he is the sport’s dream kid – as I use the youthful moniker on account of his twenty-first birthday not coming around until April. The clamour for his attention and time at Anaheim was staggering. So much so that he can easily consider himself in the Stewart, Carmichael, McGrath, Villopoto league of needing to escape to a vast American camper and dodge crowds that would surely eat into a timetable that barely pauses.
While it was slightly dismaying to see (or not) Ken cocooned out of public eye except when he emerged for an autograph session – for which the teams now operate on a first-come-first-served ticketing basis, like a ride at Disneyland – it was understandable for this particular character who is fast becoming the villain of the fairytale for his rivals. The majority of his lifestyle likely exists around a stringent programme overseen by trainer Aldon Baker with all the bootcamps and bare dieting, and the actual supercross events are a stressful affair of pressure and scrutiny (a minor example being this Blog). Roczen is totally in the big time thanks to the stratosphere he currently inhabits and the circle around him grows as the bonuses accumulate, his net worth increases and deals like the unexpected move to RCH begins to look very lucrative indeed. He did not need to look over his shoulder much at Anaheim but there are people like Trey Canard and Eli Tomac who seem to be the most likely to launch an attack to this ascendency so this is not the start of a new dominant era by any means….yet.
There are some that say Ken has changed, and his selectivity with interviews and impatience with media work could remove some of that initial charm and goodwill he constructed on his journey to the U.S. for the 2012 season. Then there are others like old friend and former Suzuki GP team-mate Arnaud Tonus, now also in California with Pro Circuit, who says he thinks the German has not changed at all…even if his life has transformed enormously. My own attempts to grab Ken for five minutes post-race in the paddock fell flat –despite going through the proper channels – but I saw a little of what Arnaud meant when he answered an email within minutes on Sunday morning. If Roczen wins the 450SX campaign then I cannot help but liken him to Marc Marquez – an exemplary athlete who has achieved so much at a ridiculously early age – and wonder what might be next.
Photo by Ray Archer
