Image: Octopi Media.

A fourth-place finish in the final SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) standings was ‘the best case scenario’ according to Ken Roczen, with a 5-4 moto scorecard also earning him P4 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki’s Roczen spent an extended period sidelined after recovering from an ankle injury sustained late in Monster Energy Supercross, entering the playoffs having had only two gate drops from his Unadilla Pro Motocross cameo.

After finishing P7 in Charlotte, the 31-year-old then improved to fourth at St. Louis – scoring 2-5 in the motos – before a P4 finish in the SMX Final clinched fourth overall in this year’s 450SMX series.

“Fourth place in the championship was the best-case scenario, and that’s exactly what we executed last night,” Roczen reflected. “I had some good battles in both motos after sub-par starts, having to really go to work.

“We were tinkering with the bike both days, and I think we had it at its best for the races, which is where it counts. I was pleased with that, and a big shoutout to my crew for the good work. I still have work to do, but that starts with putting in some consistent good rides, and then we go from there.”

Roczen finished fifth in the 2025 450SX championship with a single main event win at Daytona. Unlike recent years, two-time SX1 title-winner Roczen will only contest select rounds of the World Supercross Championship (WSX) as a wildcard through the off-season.