Photos by: Hoppenworld
Six motos down and eighteen to go in the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and RCH / Soaring Eagle / Jimmy John’s / Suzuki’s Ken Roczen has won five of the first six in the 450MX. Were it not for a bike malfunction at Glen Helen, the German would be undefeated, and it didn’t look like anyone made a dent in his advantage at this weekend’s 2016 Thunder Valley National.
In the morning qualifying sessions, Kenny gave the field a little confidence when he qualified in seventh, over a second off of Monster / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac’s time, but that was very short lived. In moto one, the gate dropped and the #94 was just a rumor to everyone else on the gate. They knew he was out there, but they never laid eyes on him. Kenny went holeshot to checkers for his 4th moto win of the year.
Moto two didn’t go quite as smoothly for Kenny, but in the end, the result was the same. Kenny cleared the first turn around eighth in moto two, but by lap four, he was all alone up front running away from some of the best riders on the planet. Tomac was possibly on pace with Kenny in moto two, but with a bad start and ten seconds between he and the RCH / Suzuki, it reads the same on the scorecard as any other dominant win would.
With his second 1-1 of 2016, Kenny takes a head full of confidence and a twelve-point advantage over Red Bull / KTM’s Ryan Dungey into the week off. There are still a lot of motos in front of us, but if the #5 and #3 cannot find an answer and quick, this could quickly get ugly for them.
After the podium celebrations were over, Kenny sat down in the press tent to answer some questions.
Kenny, obviously you had a good day. Can you talk about it?
Yeah, my day was great. I said it before, I’m not that great of a practicer, so I went to the gate seventh [gate pick]. But I’m never worried about that ’cause I know I’m a racer. I love to race, and that’s what I do. In the first moto, I got an awesome start—just shifted a gear and my bike pulled right up there. I was super stoked to get the holeshot, and I never looked back. I rode a smooth race—very minimal mistakes—and collected a win. That was great. We went into the second moto with a strong mentality. I wanted to get another good start and definitely win. I didn’t get a good start, and I actually hooked a little into [Justin] Bogle and his elbow clutched my bike. (laughs) It was pretty crazy. I tried to do some quick moves here and there, but at the same time I didn’t try to rush because I knew we had some time to go. The roost definitely hurts. I’m definitely going to look like I played paintball. Overall, I can’t complain. Going 1-1 is a great thing, and we’re going into an off weekend now. I’m super happy about that. I think it comes at a perfect time. I 100% believe I have another level in me. We have some tricks up our sleeve to get even better on my part. I’m really excited for that. It’s an off weekend, and I’m going to have some fun on the weekend and then relax a little bit and come back strong for High Point.
In moto one, as soon as you got the holeshot it seemed like you went almost a ludicrous speed to get a lead and then settle into your race pace, which was still a fast two-minutes, eleven-seconds a lap.
I don’t know what it is at the beginning of the moto. I’m never really a guy that hangs it out; I’m always riding where I’m comfortable and especially where it’s safe. I guess the beginning of the race is my strong part. Putting in some good lap times and feeling good on the bike, it all comes by itself. I don’t do sprints at home or any of those kinds of things. I feel like I got it in me, and when I feel good on the bike, that’s how I ride and that’s how it should be.
You mentioned “tricks up your sleeve”. At this point, with things going so well, will you continue to test to improve or do you step back?
Not on the bike at all. My bike is pretty dialed, and I’m gonna to keep it that way. It’s more myself. I have a good program going, and we have tricks up our sleeve, meaning to get even stronger and better. The off weekend is perfect for that because obviously you’re not racing on the weekend, so you can go a little bit harder. It’s not always about going harder, but doing different things instead of always the same routine; it gets old. It’s not that good for you honestly. I do all kinds of different stuff to stay sharp.
So, celebrating that donut day, steak and mac ‘n cheese, and that kind of thing?
Exactly! (laughs) That’s part of it. Those kinds of things, a little donut isn’t going to hurt. I’m sure I’ve burned a few thousand calories today. I’m having fun at the same time.
At the same time, it seems like you’re poking a little fun at some of the guys that are super strict on their diets.
Yeah, I mean for some of the riders, that’s just the way they are. That’s their lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing my work. I’m pretty healthy, but at I’m not afraid to have a coffee and a donut in the afternoon.
How much different is your mindset for practice than it is in the races? You were seventh fastest [2:09] in day qualifiers, but on lap two of the race you’re running 2:05’s.
I don’t really care about practice. Practice for me is learning the track, getting a feel for the dirt and put in one lap and get a decent position. Some of the tracks, like here, it doesn’t matter if you’re first or fifth or eighth. All of the gates are usually pretty good. I’m a racer. I know I’ve done my work and I’m super relaxed, so it’s about mental strength and relying on myself.
We have a week off now and then we head east to High Point to a little bit different types of tracks. How do you feel about High Point and the other East tracks as we move forward?
Good! High Point, I’ve actually ridden really good there, so I’m looking forward to it. Most of the East Coast rounds really suit me. We’re actually going to Southwick—back in the sand. [sarcasm alert] You guys call it sand, I don’t. (laughs) No, I’m excited to have a little bit of a different soil. It’s been out [of the series] for the last couple of years or so. I’ve been there once or twice, and I’m excited to go back there and have a new track. I really wish… When I was in Europe they changed up the tracks. Every single year there was some kind of new section. I really wish they would do that here. At least at Glen Helen they actually do that every year we race there. They switch up the sections and pretty much the whole track. Honestly, I’ve only been here for five years or so, and I can come to most of the tracks and with just showing up and doing one lap, I can probably put in a pretty fast lap time without doing a parade lap. It would be cool if they could change up a few spots every once in a while.
One thing a lot of us have seen is s,ome people gain mental strength from hard discipline where you seem to have a different mindset. You definitely have discipline, but you have a balance with relaxation.
Like I said, I put in my work; believe me. So my mental strength comes from there. I’m also eating good. It’s not like I’m eating a donut every day, but a pastry isn’t going to hurt you. I’m definitely doing my thing, and that’s where my mental strength comes from—of course, also, how I feel on the bike. I got my bike dialed now and I could probably eat a pizza before going riding and still feel good on the bike. It’s not going to affect my mentality going into any kind of riding, practicing or whatever.
You were talking about switching things up a little over the break. What do you have planned for the break?
I like showing it with my results. Like I said, instead of always going on bike rides and doing the same thing, I mix my things up. I have a training partner, and we do things together. We make it like a competition. We’ll mix it up so it’s way fun, and it makes us stronger. I’m pretty sure I can reach the next level, and that’s what I’m working on.
Last week at Glen Helen after that first moto [with the mechanical problem]. seeing you back at the truck, you were pretty calm there. When you get inside the truck, was it different?
No, absolutely not! I gotta give my hats off to RCH for trying new things, especially trying to figure things out. I love that about them. Obviously, it failed and we took everything off, but it was worth a shot. We’re all trying our best to make everything better and find solutions to certain problems. I was pissed when I was riding, not that I was yelling out of my helmet, but I was like, “Damn!” But at the same time, I don’t let it distract me. I had two laps to go or so, and I want the Championship no matter how I get there. If I have to ride five laps with a flat tire, I don’t really care. I gotta finish and get points, and that was the only thing that was on my mind. I gotta give a hats off to those guys. They’re doing an amazing job, and when things like this fail, we’re just trying to make things better.
Last week at Glen Helen, can you describe what it was like riding with the air out of your forks?
Basically it’s like riding metal to metal. There’s no suspension, so I couldn’t jump anything, especially where that big triple step up was in the back. You turn around and you triple step down. There was just that little kicker where you land in the ruts, I barely launched off that. I could probably jump further with my bicycle. I would land and my hands would almost blow off. It’s like metal to metal. There’s no cushion whatsoever. Going down the hills, you go in the bumps and it’s super harsh. That’s pretty much it. It was a super long track, and it was probably the most jumpy outdoor track you have—and especially big jumps—and that didn’t make it any easier. The last few laps felt super long.
