Scott Motosports: Swizcorner “Mach 2, Hair on Fire”

 

I haven’t gone back and tallied the number of times I’ve written about Ken Roczen through 8 rounds of this Motocross series and I have a terrible memory so there’s not a chance in hell I can recall without looking it up; but once again I am compelled to write about what I’m seeing from Ken Roczen.

 

The title of this edition is a throwback to a line from Top Gun when Maverick’s love interest tells him he isn’t going to be happy unless he’s going Mach 2 with his hair on fire. It’s a cheesy Hollywood, testosterone-inspired line but I’ll be damned if that’s not exactly what I was thinking while watching Ken quickly assess his bent shifter after the gate drop of moto 2 and the early laps that followed. It was simply unreal! He looked every bit like he was shot out of a cannon into a dash for cash which lasted 30+2 while his competition in comparison appeared to be on the opening lap of first practice just getting comfortable with the track.

 

I hate to say that because the guys he was flying past are obviously the best of the best (another Top Gun quote there) but it can’t be argued, he was absolutely on another level. Remember in the early 2000’s when RC would put over a minute between he and Kevin Windham(Washougal I believe was the most demoralizing margin for Kdub), that’s the last time I remember feeling as bad for an elite rider as I did each guy that Ken made look silly in the opening laps of that second moto.

 

Let’s not forget either that he did this with a bent shifter. Theres a part of me that ponders the thought that maybe his throttle was stuck wide open and he’s just THAT comfortable with his setup that he managed it instead of pulling off for rectification. He was destroying berms, spinning the rear around and steering with the back tire like RV used to.

 

As Matthes pointed out on Twitter today, all the talk of Ken being silly for leaving Aldon Bakers training program has been unequivocally silenced. I was one of those people who was absolutely adamant and vocal in my belief that Ken was off his rocker for leaving that undeniably proven program. I may be stubborn but I’m no idiot and it is as clear as EKS Brand vision that Ken is better than he ever has been at any point and it comes after a few hiccups during Supercross when his split from Aldon seemed to be less prosperous.

 

When Dungey exited the series with his injury, I also assumed Ken would continue to push the level beyond what was needed to win races and put himself in a dangerous position by demoralizing his competition. Well, I was partially right on that argument. I believe Ken is trouncing the competition with a modicum of excess, not nearly the level I believe he could if he really wanted to but the thing I hadn’t counted on was how comfortable he is out ther in any situation he finds himself in. What RV used to do with anger and aggression, Ken, in my eyes, is able to do with flow and pinpoint accuracy of line selection and execution.

 

There’s really only one X factor left for Ken that could ultimately be the monkey wrench which leaves all this impressiveness spiraling down the toilet bowl of regression… Yup the new Honda. I’d love to see Ken take that possibility and flip it on it’s head just like he has done with so many other aspects of his program over the last year. Only time will tell.

 

Talk to me Goose…