Ken Roczen: "Suddenly you see everything going downhill"

The evening at Indianapolis Supercross started for Ken Roczen Almost perfect – and yet it ended with a bitter aftertaste. Suzuki rider He won the first final of the Triple Crown race convincingly and felt comfortable on his motorcycle all day. However, a mistake in the second race led to a spectacular crash with Aaron Plessinger and destroyed his chances of overall victory.

“The first race was almost like a dream race,” Roczen explained later. “I felt really good on the bike all day. I was able to make some good overtaking maneuvers and win the race – sometimes you just need races like that.”

A mistake at the wrong time

However, the picture changed dramatically in the second final. Shortly after the start, Roczen lost control in a rut in the rhythm section just before the finish line.

“Right after the start, I got stuck in a rut and had a highside over the tabletop,” Roczen described the situation. “I couldn’t ride the next jump cleanly and practically had to abort two and a half jumps.”

While he was trying to regain control of the motorcycle, Aaron Plessinger was already directly behind him – with dramatic consequences. "Just as I was getting back up, Aaron was right behind me and practically drove under my motorcycle. That caused me to flip over completely."

Heavy impact – both drivers on the ground

The collision between Roczen and Plessinger resulted in a spectacular crash, with both riders going down hard. For a moment, the crowd paused. Lucas Oil Stadium He caught his breath. "We both hit pretty hard," Roczen said. "It was definitely not an ideal situation."

While Plessinger subsequently had to end his race prematurely, Roczen was at least able to finish the second final. Rank ten break up.

Damage limitation in the third race

Despite the crash, Roczen started again in the third final. There, the German once again demonstrated his strong pace and drove on Third place"In the last race I didn't have a particularly good start, but I was still able to work my way up to third place."

In the end, Roczen was left with nothing. fifth place in the overall standings – a result that, after the strong start to the evening, still seems disappointing.

"A missed opportunity"

Roczen himself knows that much more would have been possible that evening. "After the crash, you suddenly see everything going downhill," he explained. "But after I checked that everything was okay, I just tried to make the best of it."

Despite missing out on the opportunity, the German rider also took some positives from the weekend. "My speed was really good and I felt strong on the bike. We can build on that."

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Roczen welcomes the short break in the calendar. After the intense race night in Indianapolis, the AMA Supercross Championship now into a Off-weekend, before the series enters its next round.