It was 9:30 p.m. on a brisk January evening at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
The collective roar from the crowd erupted as the 30-second board went sideways and the revs increased for the gate drop of round three’s 450-class main event. Ken Roczen entered the race undefeated, but on lap 10 the unthinkable happened as America’s favorite German charged toward the front of the pack. The stadium gasped in horror as they watched Roczen get ejected from his Honda CRF450R and launched high into the air in what would be the costliest mistake of his young career. His year ended the instant he made impact, and the weeks that followed were suspenseful, to say the least. The severity of Roczen’s arm injury could have resulted in amputation, but thanks to the swift action taken by him and his team within the minutes, hours, days, and months that followed, his career hopes were saved as well as his ability to function—not just as an elite athlete but as a normal human being.
If there’s one thing that we’ve learned, it’s that Ken Roczen doesn’t accept defeat. He has spent the last eight months defining himself as a fighter. The German has overcome the odds no matter how badly stacked they are against him. This is Ken’s account of that life-changing night and of the recovery that’s followed. He’s already been to hell and back, and he’s just getting started.
THE LEAD-UP
Roczen’s dominance during the summer of 2016 set the tone for what many predicted would be his most impressive year yet. After inking a multi-year contract to Team Honda HRC, he lined up for 2016 Monster Energy Cup with only a few days’ worth of testing on the new red bike and won two of the night’s three races with ease. Although the overall victory escaped him due a strange crash that sent him flying over the bars, he and his team weren’t fazed. The success of that night was just more proof that he was going to be a title favorite in 2017.
Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av TransWorld Motocross.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av TransWorld Motocross.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kick Start
Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb is one of the grittiest riders in the sport, and there’s never any doubt about the effort and aggression he puts forth on the racetrack. In his last year on a 250, Webb left nothing on the table and went out with a bang winning everything that there is to win in the class. We chatted with The Scrapper just before he headed to Italy to captain the United States Motocross of Nations team.
Wheelie Cool, Man!
Raising it up.
A Man Of The World
MXGP Mastermind Giuseppe Luongo
Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha's
Growing up on the East Coast as an avid motocross rider and fan of the sport, Eric Gass admits that he loved tinkering with bikes just as much as riding and racing them.
To Hell & Back: Ken Roczen's Own Nightmare, Relived
It was 9:30 p.m. on a brisk January evening at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
2018 KTM 450 SX-F
The 2017 KTM 450 SX-F finished second in our annual 450 MX Bike Shootout, bested only by its counterpart, the Husqvarna FC 450.
2018 Suzuki RM-Z450
Back in April we journeyed to the All Japan National MX Championship series opener at Kyushu Sportsland in Kumamoto, Japan, and saw what was ultimately a great preview of the 2018 Suzuki RM-Z450.
2018 Kawasaki KX450F
For 2018, the Kawasaki KX450F returns without change, and that’s really not such a bad thing.
Instant Classic
The 70th running of the famed motocross of nations will go down as one of the best in the event's history.
kick - start
kick - start
