Ken Roczen Taking Break from 2022 AMA Supercross. Team Honda HRC rider Ken Roczen impressively won the January 8 Anaheim 1 season opener, but has stumbled since. Suffering from health issues and the frantic racing schedule impeding progress, Roczen has decided to take a step back from racing indefinitely. That decision is effective immediately with this week’s round in Detroit.
Roczen has been battling with the aftermath of the Epstein-Barr virus after recovering from multiple injuries in 2017 and 2018. Things got so bad for Roczen that he missed the entire 2020 AMA Pro Motocross series. He suffered from an unrelated illness at the end of last year, making his win at the beginning of January all the more remarkable. But then Roczen had a bout with Covid-19 at the end of January. In attempts to fully recover both physically and emotionally, Roczen and his team came to the mutual agreement that he step asides and work with specialists, both in the United States and in Europe.
Roczen is appreciative of the support he’s received from Honda, stating that it is “just second to none.” He also indicated that he “owes them a championship, and that’s my focus moving forward.” Brandon Wilson, Manager of Sports & Experimental at American Honda had nothing but great things to say about Roczen. He noted, “Ken has so much heart and wants to be out there, but that’s not in the best interests on anyone involved with things as they are.”
Roczen is currently in 9th in the points for this season, trailing leader Eli Tomac by 72 points. As a fan favorite, there will be large number of people counting the days until Roczen gets back into competition.
