Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 6 hours ago
Transcript
00:00quite the journey to this point in their own words have a listen
00:06yeah it's it's unreal i mean i remember sitting through kenny's injury at ironically his place
00:14with his dad you know in germany and and to come back from that is is amazing i can't speak
00:19for
00:20him whether he ever looked at hanging the boots up after that but i know what i went through and
00:24then to come back it's kind of like playing with house money you know because you you almost get
00:28to a point where you defeated and you've accepted walking away from it but then to rebuild yourself
00:33is is cool you know obviously my story i mean you know we keep hearing it every single weekend and
00:38the injury but to be quite honest i haven't been in that mindset i haven't thought of my injury i
00:43haven't thought about hey it's been you know almost 10 years and and you know came from from the bottom
00:48of the barrel i haven't really put my my mind there um i think all of this will whichever way
00:55it goes
00:55will settle in after the race but you know these last few weeks they have definitely been intense
00:59you know the 32 year old german up against the 26 year old australian he needs the ride of his
01:07life
01:07right here only one can be champion what a build up what a season this is the moment championship time
01:16monster energy ama supercross hunter lawrence on the inside and roxan's right there with him
01:22the top two were the first two into turn one it is game on watch kenny ken to the inside
01:29roxan to the front uh if i'm hunter right here i'm gonna do everything i can to stick with him
01:37and wear him down yeah wear him down if ken roxan he did exactly what he needed to do we
01:43knew that he
01:43was going to go for that inside hunter also knew that as well but this is what we wanted kenny
01:49is
01:49going to be extremely fast these first 10 minutes but make no mistake about it hunter knows that what
01:56he can't do is get over excited right here he's got to stick to the game plan i told you
02:02guys about
02:03execution and situation watch it play out this night in salt lake city is one we're going to
02:10remember for decades coming off the back of that 250 main and now we've got the top two in the
02:15championship in the top two positions of this race all with the title on the line yeah i feel like
02:21if
02:22i'm hunter i i expect this i expect kenny to do his thing i just don't want him to run
02:27away
02:27so for me if he could just stay like you just mentioned just be calm just let this race play
02:32out
02:32even if kenny gets two seconds that's okay yeah you're fine well and again every time that he has
02:39had to do it he's been able to make up that time i'm talking i'm talking about hunter right now
02:43in
02:44late races so a lot of racing left here and again apply the pressure because in my opinion i think
02:51the pressure is on ken right now and roxan has commented in the past that from 10 minutes on
02:57he knows he openly acknowledges how strong hunter lawrence is late race yep and who knows that as
03:03well hunter lawrence so yeah it's gonna be good jt it sure is and you know for hunter sure he
03:10would
03:10love to be in the lead right now but if he can maintain this small gap to the halfway mark
03:15that is
03:16an absolute win for hunter warrens as you were mentioning it may seem like he's losing the race
03:21right now but right as long as he can maintain this gap he is very comfortable with that and as
03:26we sit up here we can only think and anticipate it or assume what the game plan is for hunter
03:34but
03:34i just gotta say you don't know if he's going 120 right now yeah and i think if you're hunter
03:41i put
03:41myself in that spot you gotta calm the nerves like what you're probably start seeing hunter start making
03:46a few mistakes because he he understands like this is a good position he's going to be in kenny didn't
03:51get away but you can almost tighten up so if he can get through these next three or four laps
03:56i think he'll be fine just minimizing those mistakes keep that 94 in check where they are at the moment
04:03whoever finishes in front of the other one is going to win the 450 monster energy supercross title
04:11it's roxon's favor at the moment as they settle in to their race rhythm yeah i mean it's it's really
04:19blow for blow right now and both guys doing exactly what they need to do and james i am having
04:26replays of
04:272006 just you know if i was hunter again a little bit different i didn't have to beat you to
04:32win the
04:32championship but the guy had to beat was just a couple riders behind me and if i could just stay
04:37close i knew it would give me an opportunity and these guys are right it's superbly right now
04:43absolutely let me give you a little insight now ken roxon is already his game plan of running away
04:49from this race is done what he's doing is starting to go with that defensive understanding that when
04:54hunter comes where am i going to block him where's hunter good so even though he's out front he's paying
04:59attention and making sure he's already prepared for when that 96 comes up i'm going to tell you guys
05:04right now too and james i've never seen anyone be able to do it as good as you has is
05:10when someone
05:10would pass you for the lead you were so good at getting them back right at right as soon as
05:17they
05:17pass you and kenny kenny roxon is one of those guys so if hunter is able to get by watch
05:23the attack
05:24in the reaction from the 96 hudder is close they haven't been this close in a while
05:30yeah talking about tenths of seconds between them he's just he's still got to play it cool now the
05:36biggest thing though is they got to be mindful because prado and the four of chase exon are lurking
05:44and there's some traffic they clear that no problem yeah you can already start to see you know hunter's
05:51pretty strong through the whoops kenny's starting to make some mistakes and like i said at this point
05:55my game plan is already to go into offense and when i go to pass them back i think ricky
06:01as you
06:01mentioned that's why i was so good at passing guys back because that first game plan was gone i started
06:07prepared and catch that guy off guard and i would assume again we talked about the people that hunter has
06:14and is here they know the strong suits of the 94 and where he can do his best work
06:21so hunter should know that and anticipate and that's all assuming that he is going to make the
06:27move by the 94 will wiki you talked about the guys behind these guys right now mentor johnny o'meira
06:35as you obviously know very well we talked all about larry brooks team manager and mentor for ken
06:39roxson and when i spoke to them multiple times today they just said oh couldn't this just be over
06:45they just wanted the day to accelerate and they said this is what we fight for this is it but
06:49johnny was
06:50saying this is way harder than racing he's like i would sooner put the helmet on and go do this
06:54myself because not being in control of this and having to watch is the hardest part the entire
06:59team is behind both of these guys uh respectively and it's uh it's tough for all of them right now
07:05to
07:05watch this all unfold hunter lawrence may have an issue here because jorge prado has suddenly come
07:11into view and into the mix this could be hunter lawrence's worst nightmare he just wants a clear path to
07:18ken roxson roxson's enjoying his time out front meanwhile jorge prado he's in search of his first
07:24korea supercross victory yeah this is a very difficult spot for hunter and jorge as well
07:31because he doesn't really want to get in between but i think if jorge makes the pass he probably has
07:36to make sure that he can get around the 94 as well he doesn't want to be in between them
07:40and
07:40from hunter lawrence at some point if jorge is running it in he almost might want to let him go
07:45so
07:46he can get kenny and then you can go back to that race instead of having to deal with him
07:50there's been a
07:51lot of times this year where hunter has been in a position where he's been behind prado and he has
07:56wasted too much time and i don't know i would hope in this situation that prado races is clean doesn't
08:03make anything too crazy of a move because he knows what is at stake for these guys and i think
08:09would
08:10expect a return in the pro motocross championship as well if he was in this position an unfortunate end
08:17of the supercross portion of the season for jordan smith he's off meanwhile lawrence gets closer and
08:23closer to roxon yeah if i'm if i'm hunter lawrence i'm gonna try to get him now you know and
08:28as good
08:28as jorge's riding maybe i can get around kenny and i got to make sure i plan at where it
08:33happens so kenny
08:34doesn't get back but maybe then kenny has to deal with him but i i think that he needs to
08:38get by him in
08:39the sand section james that way he can get a little gap before he gets that left-hander before the
08:44finish
08:44because anywhere in this tiger areas it's just too easy for kenny to make another move to get back by
08:50him cooper webb bottom box fighting dylan verandes for seventh place or pass him in the corner before
08:57the whoops close him out so ken can't get a drive and get him back yeah rapidly approaching the halfway
09:04mark of this main event the final one of the supercross season cooper webb almost side by side with
09:10dylan verandes kudos to ken roxon right now still riding exceptionally well and this is the area of
09:17the race and the time of the race where it's he's going to have to do his best work from
09:22the halfway
09:23point on yeah you can tell roxon starting to loosen up and that point where he starts to go into
09:30that
09:30offensive mode or defensive mode thinking that hunter is going to get around him now hunter has a problem
09:34because now kids getting comfortable it's going to make hunter mistake by hunter lawrence leaves the
09:41track able to come back on lost time to ken roxon and now has prado all over him
09:49that was a huge moment right there with hunter lawrence saving that motorcycle shouldn't be oh he's down
09:57it's over hunter lawrence has dropped it done deal right there and again he goes down drops the bike
10:09this has massive championship implications there it is yeah wow that'll do it right there
10:17and it's unfortunate because they both are riding so well and it is going to take an absolute miracle
10:26for hunter lawrence to win this championship against a guy who is as polished as ken roxon
10:32yeah he made the mistake before going off the racetrack over jumps that front end goes then it hooks up
10:38and
10:38you got to start thinking that that was a little bit of what happening with ken as i was just
10:42saying
10:42ken starting to look more comfortable now hunter has to pick up that pace and that's it
10:51lawrence is now 15 almost 16 seconds adrift of this man right here ken roxon and again ken has so
10:59much
11:00insurance right now because all he has to do is finish in front of hunter and jt it uh it's
11:07it's been a
11:08wild ride it has been and guys i really think that a big variable there was jorge prado showing up
11:15to the
11:15party because it changed hunter lawrence's strategy he had to pick up the pace he had to
11:21find some urgency to defend against prado you saw him starting to get a little bit more aggressive
11:25that led to one big mistake which led to another it's really hard to say a race all came down
11:31to
11:31that but i really think that what hunter wanted to do was wait wait wait until late and he simply
11:36couldn't do it because of prado you're 100 right jt you can tell i mean even when jorge ran i
11:41mean
11:41hunter ran off the racetrack just his angle of trying to protect making sure jorge didn't get
11:46back up to the inside i completely agree with you on that jorge had some just a little bit of
11:52influence
11:52and took his mind off and that was it yeah he went off script and had to ride defensive because
11:59of
11:59jorge and ken but you know how hard it was and you're talking about clutching up how hard it was
12:05for ken to remount from how the day has gone he wasn't that great in qualifying practice
12:10he he obviously had his issues and mistakes in the heat race and to start outside and just make it
12:18happen in the most important pertinent time that was incredible yeah yeah i agree we are over the
12:27halfway mark quick reminder to stock up on monster energy drinks at smith's and he just cruised
12:34about that point he's able to check up in the corners he doesn't have to take any risk whatsoever
12:41see a lot of lappers getting out of the way great job for that before roxon came to the united
12:47states
12:48he won an mx2 championship in europe and then he won 250 west division and he's won a couple of
12:56450
12:57motocross titles but never a 450 supercross championship at the age of 32 the father of
13:05two has been having the year of his career let's hear from kenny himself on how he handles this
13:12enormous pressure i've you know dreamed my whole life especially in these last few years
13:20years to be in a championship position and with that come you know high stress uh situations and
13:27and a lot of things to deal with emotionally so now i'm here and i i have those things i'm
13:33in this
13:33position to be able to wrap this up so it's time to enjoy that and take it all in
13:43probably some of the toughest moments of ken's yeah race and career it's just these laps right here
13:48yeah i mean this race was seven and a half minutes plus one lap it's going to feel like an
13:54absolute
13:54eternity you feel like you start hearing noises from the bike the engine as you two know all too well
14:02it's the people it's the people that surround you that that support you and will a key support person
14:10in the roxon story is his team manager and somebody who he regards as like a second father figure
14:17in larry brooks tell us more about larry so pivotally to kenny's program and just what they've built over
14:25the last three years since ken and larry got this going at suzuki and they had this dream and ken
14:32has
14:32told me over the season here that with larry not being there with him doing chemotherapy he said
14:39i want these wins for him every time we have a good night on the track whether it's a win
14:44or we got a
14:45podium that night he's like i want that for him that's like my gift to him so if that's a
14:50gift let's
14:51consider for a second larry's back now for the first time since the second round back in january at the
14:58beginning of the season everything that larry's been through when he means so much to ken what
15:03this is like to be able to share this with him and the achievements that they have made together
15:09it's uh very very special well said well said i i agree larry brooks is a huge huge part of
15:19ken
15:19roxon just keeping his attitude and i'm sure he went back and talked to larry after that heat race and
15:24larry told him what he would tell me kid you're good like you're good we've got here for a reason
15:30we have the red plate just go do your thing and he said it earlier a little bit ricky after
15:34that heat
15:35race like that might have been the best thing for ken because now it puts him in the spot he's
15:39not
15:39protecting heat race thing go good hunter lawrence is smiling puts him on the outside and on the gate
15:44which probably ultimately was a better position for him because he had a better angle going in
15:49everything was set up for ken to come out here and really be on the offensive and he he executed
15:55it in that first corner the second corner right here was his championship pass yeah and it's just
16:00like just go out there and do you it really does take the pressure off because it's almost like you
16:05don't it is what it is at that point this is adding to the significance of roxon in five minutes
16:13plus a
16:13collapse time if he seals the deal there's only a handful of foreign-born premier class supercross
16:20champions so he's going to join a very elite list and it's been 35 years since jean-michel bale
16:27since the last european-born supercross premier class champion i think the special nature of this
16:35moment just continues to amplify for ken roxon yeah i'm just i'm just going through and replaying
16:42these last 13 years in the premier class and the growth and the you know the challenges that he's
16:48had the things that he's done right and and the amount of talent he's had and the guys that he's
16:54raced along the way the villipodos the dungies the stewards the reeds i mean some of the best in the
17:00business on the record books and to finally be able to this stage in your career this stage in
17:06your age in your life to make it happen really it's a storybook ending and he could ride off into
17:13the sunset never race another day in his life and he finally got the job done absolutely here comes
17:19mr salt lake chase sexton has won this race i believe last two or three times won his first
17:25championship here three times in a row trying to make it four and i i think chase understands if
17:31he can close that gap on kenny kenny's probably just going to let him by so it's a great opportunity
17:35for him to just put these um put the pressure on him a little bit these next two laps close
17:40that gap
17:41and you might get the second win of the year one is he looked really good there he's been very
17:47patient
17:48chipping away on jorge prado he's only a couple of seconds two and a half seconds behind roxon three and
17:54half minutes to go plus a lap being kenny in this situation too like not having to go and ride
18:04so
18:04hard and ride super efficient i mean it just makes the bike work that much better you're not overcooking
18:10the engine and everything's just working better and i don't obviously he wants to win the race but
18:15i wouldn't even think he'd be bummed yeah sex and got by him for the win because this is
18:21this is the big one he's getting right here well if they're friends uh and sexton looking up the track
18:27at roxon sexton a champion in his own right will be pleased for kenny to get this done as the
18:34minutes
18:34wind down and the fairy tale story gets closer and closer to actually being a reality
18:45wife courtney in the stands that's her mom in front
18:50what a journey she's been on with kenny and we go back to that very emotional night in st louis
18:58when it was three years after the injury that almost ended roxon's career to see kenny come back and win
19:05again yeah really cool you got jay dungy eli's uh mechanic right up there watching with him courtney's
19:14got the kid pulling on and that's true mom style right there but let's be the ultimate mother's day
19:20gift right here can you imagine just the emotions going through her head right now and especially kenny
19:25trying to stay focused and just thinking about what that's been like but still able to maintain this pace
19:33it's pretty remarkable definitely got the bike working a little bit better through those whoops
19:40compared to what earlier and as you mentioned maybe just slowing down a little bit the bike has more
19:44traction i think this is chase's opportunity right here kenny's sons griff and rave there with mom
19:53watching dad do what dad does best and what's chase sexton gonna do here i think kenny's gonna let him
20:01buy yeah probably right here in his next corner chase get in your front look back here we go
20:09sexton thought about it had a go now rounds rocks it up the kawasaki's in the lead oh what a
20:15win this
20:16could be for the four the monster energy kawasaki chase sexton and how his season's gone this is uh
20:23this is kind of nice jt it is and this is this would be four years in a row that
20:28chase sexton has won
20:29salt lake city i'm sure he was kind of iffy on making a move there with roxon but championship
20:33in hand chase sexton wants to go win a race because it hasn't been the best year for him either
20:38so what
20:38a way to go out on a high note bottom box justin cooper working on jorge prado to steal that
20:43final
20:43step on the podium away 30 seconds plus a lap to go cooper has time two laps two laps for
20:50this guy to get
20:51another podium possibly oh over jumping both justin cooper yeah you know there's a little bit of
20:57motivation from him to be able to try to get around um jorge and then you got cooper webb behind
21:03him
21:04kenny might have finished off the podium yeah exactly yeah he's cruising
21:09now even if he loses these positions championship wise he will still win because he has that advantage
21:17over hunter lawrence points wise roxon still third but here they come they're lining up for a shot at him
21:23through the whoops prado's gone by justin cooper's gone by and cooper webb is lining up yep roxon says
21:30you can go for it guys okay i'm looking at the big picture yeah kid he's like get away from
21:34me please
21:35get away from me he's gonna look back he's got one more lap
21:42absolutely incredible what a year by ken roxon wow take it in soak it in enjoy it kenny
21:53as a period in his career he imagined this could never happen
21:58and now a reality is less the reality is less than a lap away
22:08nice way to end the year for chase sexton he'll get his second win on the season after winning
22:13earlier in the year in a2 as he goes through the sand for the final time
22:21yeah through the whoops there there is a group of german fans with german flags and they have been
22:27cheering roxon on all day long every time he goes past them the fireworks are going off
22:35it's championship saturday sexton gets the win but ken roxon is a monster energy ama supercross 450 champion
22:46kenny finally does it
22:53the dream is a reality
23:10in 2017 injury almost ended his career
23:17in 2017 injury less than a decade later he's a champion
23:28and it's fair to say he's the people's champion
23:54he's having difficulty comprehending it
23:58jorge prado pumped so pumped for kenny
24:04and spare a thought spare a thought for honda lawrence
24:15really special man really special there there's mama we sat
24:21first time i met her it was on the plane ride over here really yeah we sat next to each
24:25other we were
24:25talking um congratulations to all of them
24:35he can't even move
24:47he called out the doubters earlier this season
24:51who said he couldn't finish the second half of the season he's come back and had
24:57more wins in the second half of the season to clinch this title
25:08wife courtney in tears
25:11here's the guy
25:12larry brooks
25:15the man who's battling cancer and the man who has driven roxon to the best season of his life
25:40that's it
25:51that's it
25:54suzuki the entire organization
25:59this is the moment they've been waiting for
26:01and
26:04i
26:09i
26:10i
26:13i
26:14i
26:14i
26:14i
26:21i
26:22i
27:12What a beautiful family moment.
27:17Daddy did it. Ken Rockson, the 2026 4.50 Monster Energy Supercross Champion.
Comments

Recommended