The World supercross champion and former World MX2 champion and two time AMA 450 motocross champion Ken Roczen is making big progress as he races for the HEP Motorsports privateer Suzuki team. The German veteran finished on the podium in Angel Stadium this  morning and spoke to the World media about his continued progress in the 2023 AMA supercross championship.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, we are excited to see if Roczen, in the later stages of his career can get in amongst the major points, take maybe some main events wins and battle for his first ever AMA supercross championship. It will be hard work, but that isn't something Roczen is scared of. He has gone 5th, 4th and 3rd. Is it a second place finish next weekend?

MXLarge: Ken, handful of races now with the team and you mentioned on the podium that you guys have been making changes and doing everything you can on making the bike better. How has this month been with that process?

Roczen: It has been extremely fun. I know more about the bike now and it made it really fun. It has been busy, besides the training, I feel like I have been on the phone and emailing a lot. I have really taken that side of the sport in and it’s a first for me. I have really enjoyed it, it is really hard to talk about how much work we have put in, but we have been doing some big changes. Riding a lot during the week and we are all working together and that helps me out a lot. I am super happy with how we are all working together. Results wise we are going in the right direction. We still have a lot of work to do and I am super stoked to put it on the box tonight. I felt it was hard earnt and we had some tough races and of course Eli went down, but I passed Dylan and I thought I had to pass Dylan to get on the podium. I can’t complain.

MXLarge: Does it concern you the amount of effort you are putting in considering we have seen you have problems with your health late in the season. Will you have to back down that work-load are you just enjoying it?

Roczen: First off, it is off-setting, but I don’t feel like it is a hassle for me. We are putting in long days, but it isn’t a stress for me. We had the off-season. My health is really good, and I am happy about that. I think this hard work is needed to get to the top, so I am pretty confident we are doing the right thing and I am doing the right thing. I am doing all my training on my own and I plan my whole week by myself, so I feel like I have a really good system right now. I don’t have anyone telling me what to do, and I am the best judge of that.

MXlarge: The training by yourself, what are the pros and cons of doing that?

Roczen: For me personally, I don’t see any cons. I have never needed anybody to kick me out of bed to go and train and with all the off-season races I have done, I didn’t see the need in anyone telling me what I needed to do. I was flying to Australia, California, England and it is hard to have somebody telling me what to do when they are not with me. It started with that and I enjoyed that and my health has been a lot better. I felt I was able to absorb everything and work out harder and I felt I just had good hard days and some light days. With myself doing it, I feel I am not getting tired throughout the weeks, so there are no cons in it.

MXLarge: You stopped doing the triple, why was that?

Roczen: I did it a couple of times in practice, but there was no particular reason really. The problem was, once you get off the table, it just didn’t flow very well and I checked it in practice and it didn’t really make it that much faster, it didn’t make that much difference, so I just stayed with that kept me in a better rhythm.

MXLarge: How good does it feel to be back in the battle and what is the heart rate like in these situations?

Roczen: I mean, it feels amazing and the last couple of races we have been able to put in a fight and I have had races where I am not really riding that well, so if I can race well and make moves and passes and stay in it and not have to give up, that makes it a lot more fun for me. I had a really good time out there, plain and simple and I am really bummed I slide out before the finish line and that is why somebody went by and I could have held onto second and maybe got the overall thing, but we take the good with the bad and move to the next one. We all know these main events get pretty long, for sure the last one and overall the racing was super fun today.

MXLarge: Ken, first podium with the team and I think this is the first podium for the team ever. What was the vibe like?

Roczen: I mean, it was great, we are just trying to take it all in right. I wouldn’t say it came out of nowhere really. You kind of think it coming into the season and now last season went and its been a long time since I was last on the podium. With the new crew I haven’t had that much time on the bike right. I also started with Factory Connection, and we started from zero and my trust is in them and to be honest, the whole San Diego was a test day for me, so from going out there with something new all the time and the track being pretty gnarly and super rutty, it was tough for me trying to get in some fast laps, but like I said, the vibe is really good and we will celebrate a bit tonight.

MXLarge: Moving forward, what does this now mean for your motivation?

Roczen: Moving in the right direction is huge. Getting a podium doesn’t mean we rest on that, we still have a lot of work ahead and we just gotta see how this next week goes. Obviously we go to the east coast tracks and I am really looking forward to that. We will keep pushing forward and see if we can creep up to the top step.

MXLarge: You mentioned you don’t have anyone telling you what to do. How important in this stage of your career is that personally and emotionally?

Roczen: I needed a change, urgently and I think I did a big change and it got the ball rolling and from there I found the fun again. I have been with some good trainers in my career and taking some of that and being smart with everything. I am self-motivated and I wake early. It is a snowball and I get better and have fun with it and working with the team and seeing the bike get better, its just a lot of fun.