NEWS: Ken Roczen goes Supercross only

WSX champion Ken Roczen has revealed he will return to the series this year and race supercross only in future. Despite saying he’d contest the AMA Nationals which start at the end of the this month, he has now made a U-turn and will race the WSX series which kicks off at Aston Villa football ground near Birmingham on July 1.

He has signed a three-year deal with WSX Global organisers, who will run a six round series in 2023, upping to eight in 2024 then 12 in 2025. Roczen will be with his current Pipes Suzuki team in 2023 but has not yet made any deals for 2024 or beyond.

He also plans to contest the three AMA Supercross Playoff finals when the USA nationals have ended. This depends on him having enough total points from the AMA Supercross and nationals combined to qualify. If he doesn’t, he has said he may race one or two US nationals in order to pick up enough points.

Roczen says the move to stop racing pro motocross full-time to focus on supercross only will extend his career in the sport, and believes many other top riders will follow him.

“I had a great time in Cardiff and Melbourne last year, which made it easy to commit to the World Supercross Championship,” said Roczen. “I’m hungrier than ever for race wins and will be giving it my all with my team to be standing on the top step when the season ends in Melbourne this November.

“For supercross to grow as a sport around the world I think it’s really important that more riders focus solely on the discipline, which is why I’m concentrating on the World Supercross Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in the coming years. I feel like my riding this year has been as good as ever, and I’m excited to see what I can do when focusing on one speciality.

“I’m particularly proud of what we’ve achieved this year with the Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki Team. Dustin, Larry and the whole team have put in a huge effort to make me as comfortable as I have been to race at the front all season long.

“For us to continue our supercross momentum together and take the sport we love to fans around the world is an amazing opportunity that I’m very grateful for. I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to compete for a world title at home in Germany, which is something I could only dream about until now.”

2023 World Supercross Championship Calendar
British GP, Villa Park, Birmingham 1 July
French GP, Groupama Stadium Lyon-Décines, 22 July
Asian GP, Southeast Asia 30 September
German GP, Merkur Spiel Arena, Dusseldorf 14 October
Canadian GP, BC Place, Vancouver 28 October
Australian GP, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne 24-25 November