Former World and American champion Ken Roczen is fighting one of the worst battles a rider can have, and that is time. Having crashed badly in the last two years and picking up bad injuries, the German rider struggled in the opening round of the AMA Motocross Championship last weekend. Now he goes to Glen Helen with a lot of pressure to get on track, and not a lot of time to do it.

Another former World and American champion, Grant Langston mentioned after Roczens performance that he feels worried for Roczen. Mentioning that it might be tendinitis that Roczen has and that won’t repair quickly. The sport would be poorer with a less than 100% Ken Roczen, so let’s hope he gets it together soon.

Below is what Roczen thought of his weekend.

“I knew this weekend was going to be kind of crazy. We haven’t had a lot of time to prepare for the race, but I wanted to start the season off. We need seat time so there’s no better practice than racing. We knew we were going to show up and have to just wing it to see what we could do. I got the clearance to ride a few weeks ago, though it’s been very hard for me, with my thumb, to get a lot riding time in.

“We knew that we shouldn’t have high expectations because of the lack of preparation that I was able to get on the bike, but I’ve done everything I can and left nothing on the table in terms of what I can do to prepare my body. In the first moto I ended up sixth, which we were pretty happy with considering where we’re at. I knew the second moto was going to be tough.

“I’m incredibly fit, but my race fitness and bike fitness are just not there yet. I know each and every weekend, I’m going to be making big steps forward, which is important. We were also searching a little bit on the suspension side, just because I’ve only had a couple days of testing prior to this race. We still have a little more work to do to optimize everything.

“We made a little change from the first to the second moto; sometimes you have it in your mind, ‘What if there’s something better?’ Unfortunately, we went the wrong direction. Overall, I gave it my all and we came away healthy, which is important. I’m definitely going to do some work this week on both myself and the bike and show up at Glen Helen in a good mood and ready to rock.

 “The worst part is waiting for the next race to better myself. The type of patience I don’t have. Getting track time is always a benefit, but especially for me right now. I’ve been riding for a few weeks now, but only within the last week have I been able to put in some full motos. I’ve also only been riding in Florida and haven’t tested with the team anywhere else, so getting some time ahead of the race to try a few different settings is huge.

“I’m just excited to be back at the races with my team in general, but really looking forward to getting back to motocross,” he said. “It definitely comes more natural to me. I haven’t raced outdoors since I won the championship in 2016, and although I want to take things slow and progress each week since I’m just returning, I’d like nothing more than to give my team good results.”