Ken Roczen | Will Miss All Of 2020 Pro Motocross
Share
2020 LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP | COMPLETE COVERAGE
Here is a bombshell just days before the start of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Ken Roczen and Team Honda HRC have decided that the rider should skip the summer series entirely due to a multitude of issues. Speculation about this had intensified in the last few days, especially as Roczen had gone mostly quiet on his social media platforms while Christian Craig had been spotted in Southern California testing the Team Honda HRC CRF450R. Monday’s press release states that Honda supports Roczen’s decision to sit out the nine-round outdoor championship and that they will have Craig fill his place under the factory tent alongside new 450 Class rookie Chase Sexton.
The last few months have been eventful for Roczen, all of which really became public during the final seven rounds of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Series. It was there that Roczen and his wife, Courtney, announced that they were due with their first child, where he struggled with a myriad of physical problems (it first said to be a case of elevation-induced asthma and later became a shingles diagnosis) that were understood to be related to an illness he had late in 2019. Despite being out of sorts and off the pace on a few occasions, Roczen managed to claim Main Event wins during the extended stay to Salt Lake City that completed the series.
The two-time 450 MX champion has kept a low profile since and in the last few days, we had heard there was a chance he would not race at all this summer due to the upcoming birth and his ongoing issues. The press release states that Roczen will use this time off as a chance to get health and reset for a run at the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Series.
Taking this shortened outdoor season off was a very difficult decision, but I’m confident it’s what’s best for me and my team in the long run,” Roczen is quoted as saying in the press release. “It will be good to regroup, let my body heal, enjoy this important experience with Courtney, and build back up for 2021. I’d like to thank my team and sponsors for having my back through this, and I look forward to supporting Chase and Christian from home this summer before once again doing my job the best I possibly can.”
Roczen is currently in the middle of a three-year contract with Honda, a deal that was announced in May 2019.
The full statement by Team Honda HRC is posted below…
American Honda and Ken Roczen announced today that they have decided to have the German sit out the 2020 AMA Pro Motocross series. In his place, Christian Craig will ride the factory CRF450R alongside Chase Sexton.
Over the course of the next few months, Roczen will focus on his family (wife Courtney is due with their first child in September), on giving his body time to fully recover from the health issues that have hampered him in recent seasons, and on resetting physically and mentally, with the ultimate objective of making a championship run at the 2021 AMA Supercross series.
“Taking this shortened outdoor season off was a very difficult decision, but I’m confident it’s what’s best for me and my team in the long run,” Roczen explained. “It will be good to regroup, let my body heal, enjoy this important experience with Courtney, and build back up for 2021. I’d like to thank my team and sponsors for having my back through this, and I look forward to supporting Chase and Christian from home this summer before once again doing my job the best I possibly can.”
“Of course we’re disappointed that we won’t have Ken in the pits and on the track for the upcoming outdoors season,” said Brandon Wilson, American Honda’s Manager of Advertising & Motorcycle Sports. “He’s an important part of the Honda family, and it won’t be the same without him. That said, as a company and a team, we support Ken during this special time, and in his efforts to get back to full strength. We look forward to working closely with him during this period and attacking 2021 with him in top form.”
