Image: Octopi Media.

Opening the new season with a runner-up result at Anaheim 1, Ken Roczen indicated that the aging Suzuki RM-Z450 is still ‘plenty good enough’ to contend in Monster Energy Supercross 2026.

The Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki rider impressed inside Angel Stadium, setting the third-fastest qualifying time before recording victory in his heat race and 8.782s clear of Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive).

A strong start to the main event saw Roczen in the lead group early, moving into P2 and stalking race leader Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) throughout the 20 minutes plus one-lap encounter.

Roczen ultimately finished 1.470s in arrears of Tomac, however, the duo were over 20 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), marking a convincing outing for both riders.

“Eli and I, the [entire] 20 plus one, I feel like we were bouncing between a couple [of] seconds,” Roczen said after the race. “I would gain on him a little bit, and then he would make it back. It was going like that the whole time.

“It kind of pissed me off a little bit because every time you get that little bit closer, I
was hoping that I could just latch onto that and keep going. But unfortunately, it wasn’t there.”

The 31-year-old appears to have found a sweet spot with the Suzuki, with Roczen noting no changes have been made to his motorcycle since prior to his Daytona Supercross victory in March last year.

“I literally haven’t done one click change since probably before Daytona, to be honest,” he continued. “I haven’t tested or… I’m a little bit scared to mess it up. I just know it very well, and we kind of attempted to test – or we had it in our minds – and I always just said, ‘No, I’m just riding.’ Because as I said, I’ve ridden it on hard-pack, sand, clay… it doesn’t matter.

“Are there things that could be better at times? Maybe, but I’m a little bit worried about messing up other areas as well. And I think my riding shows that the bike’s plenty good enough to be on top of the box.”

Roczen is renowned for his fast-starting ability in Supercross, having held the series leader’s red plate leaving Anaheim’s third round last year. The 2026 season marks his 13th in the premier class, as he continues to chase an elusive first 450SX title.