Ken Roczen chasing a dream: to win the AMA Supercross title with a 2018 Suzuki!

This Saturday the AMA Supercross will tackle the penultimate round of the 2026 season at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, arriving with a new red-plate holder. Emerging victorious from the Philadelphia mud, Ken Roczen finds himself leading the championship standings with a 4-point advantage over Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC) and 24 over the reigning Champion Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing). All this with 50 points still up for grabs, including the Salt Lake City finale, where “Kickstar Kenny” could fulfill the dream of a lifetime. After having lived through a nightmare.

Ken Roczen’s story in contemporary motorcycling, including the pinnacle of American Supercross, is an anomaly. Technical and sporting, as the 2011 MX2 World Champion finds himself atop the most competitive motorcycle discipline across the ocean with a 2018 Suzuki RM-Z 450. Well-prepared, cared for, and developed by the Pipes Motorsport Group team—with direct factory involvement this year—but still a 2018 bike without a new model unveiled in the literal sense in the meantime. Add to this the fact that at 32, Roczen is fighting for a title after having gone through hell since 2017.

Having left Suzuki for Honda HRC in 2017, KR94 found himself, over the course of two years, forced to recover from two very serious injuries that seemed to jeopardize the continuation of his career. He came back multiple times, and multiple times he faltered. In 2020 he struggled once the season resumed with seven consecutive events in Salt Lake City during the height of the pandemic, suffering physical issues that forced him to yield. The same script played out in 2022 (eventually parting ways with Honda) and, from time to time, in recent years.

For this reason, in 2023, after weighing his options and testing every possible bike, he decided to embrace the Pipes Suzuki team. A squad built around him, with an RM-Z 450 that may be dated, but with the freedom to race for fun and without the pressure of a factory team like Honda HRC. In this environment he tailored the Suzuki to himself, rediscovering the joy of racing, feeling good and winning. Nurturing the dream of a 2026 title that would recognize an extraordinary career and an extraordinary story.

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