Anaheim 1 marked the opening chapter of the 2026 AMA Supercross season, and once again, Ken Roczen proved he is very much a contender. The German delivered a strong performance inside Angel Stadium, taking a heat race win before backing it up with a hard-fought second place in the main event behind Eli Tomac. On a tricky, rain-affected track that demanded patience and precision, Roczen showed speed, composure and race intelligence from start to finish. Roczen spoke to the media after the race to break down his night at Anaheim, his duel with Tomac, the challenges of the circuit, and why confidence in his Suzuki is allowing him to focus fully on fighting for wins in 2026.
Ken, a good evening for you at Anaheim 1. A heat race win and second place in the main event. What’s the takeaway?
Roczen: Eli and I stayed pretty close to each other throughout the main event, the full 20 minutes plus a lap. The gap hovered around a second here and there. I’d make up a bit of time, then he’d pull away again. It was like that the whole race. It was a little frustrating because every time I closed in, I hoped I could latch onto his pace and keep moving forward, but that didn’t really happen.
The track was difficult. There were a lot of soft compressions because of the rain. Overall though, it was pretty hard-packed, with a lot of rocks. You had to be patient. The three-on tabletop was really big, and in the following corner, the dirt at the top of the berm got worse and worse as the laps went on, and it was hard to get a good drive out. You had to be patient while still staying fast. Every little detail could make the difference. I made a few mistakes, but I closed in on Eli a bit right at the end of the race. No win for me, but I’m very happy to start the season with a podium at Anaheim 1. Leaving the first round on the podium, regardless of which step, is a great way to start the season.
It’s probably one of the best versions of you we’ve seen in a long time. What was it like getting back into the rhythm after the incident between Justin and Malcolm?
Roczen: Honestly, I have a lot of confidence in my bike. I know it works perfectly for me, and I think the fact I haven’t made a single change to it for months has helped me a lot. Anything can always happen—you can get caught out, crash—but I know my bike inside out and I can really focus on the race itself. When the gate drops, I just try to fight for the win.
I was a bit disappointed to see the red flag. I don’t really know what happened between Malcolm and Justin, but it didn’t look good at all. It’s always a strange feeling lining back up on the gate and getting back into it after something like that, but it’s important to put it behind you. I was also a little frustrated because I’d had a really good start, a strong run down the first straight, and I was really happy with my position in the first lap, then the red flag came out. That’s racing, and in the end things worked out well for me afterwards.
In the final five minutes, it was clear you never gave up. Is that what we should remember from this race?
Roczen: For sure. I didn’t want to give up before the chequered flag. You never know what can happen. There are lapped riders, someone can make a mistake, and in the blink of an eye you might be able to make a move. So I attacked until the very end. The hardest part was that you couldn’t really attack that much. You could easily go over the limit, slide, lose traction, and then you’d lose a lot of time and the gap would grow even more. There was no traction to go all out so you had to pick your battles a little bit. At the same time, there are still 16 rounds to go so I didn’t want to throw it away and be smart.
One thing that’s always tricky for us is the sandy sections. You think you can go through them flat out, but you always hit a harder patch and end up making a mistake or running off the track. That kind of detail can decide a race. You can go through perfectly one lap, do the same thing the next lap, and suddenly find yourself off the track, like what happened to me in practice.
During the main event, did you feel there were areas where you were faster than Eli, and vice versa?
Roczen: Honestly, I struggled in the whoops. I tried them on the left, the right, the middle… Wherever I went, the second whoop was really blown out and the third one was almost non-existent. I got caught out a few times. Toward the end of the race, I moved back to the right side in the whoops, and from there I felt like I was closing in on Eli a bit because I could carry speed into the following triple. I’d missed it for several laps simply because I wasn’t getting through the whoops well and didn’t have the speed to jump it. That’s probably where I lost the most time to Eli during the main event. I could see that he was able to do it every lap and open up the gap there. I’d need to watch the race back to really say for sure.
Some corners seemed particularly difficult, especially the one after the triple where Justin and Malcolm tangled. Why was that?
Roczen: Honestly, all the corners were strange. The ruts were ridiculous. If you hit them right, it was fine, but if you went in too hard, you could lose the front or the rear. Some of the jump faces were also tricky. You didn’t really have a solid rut you could fully trust. You had to stay alert from start to finish.
You raced WSX during the off-season, so your bike is probably already well dialled in. Have you made any major changes recently?
Roczen: Honestly, I haven’t touched a single setting on my bike since—by my estimation—Daytona last year. I haven’t done any testing; I’m a bit scared of messing everything up. I know my Suzuki really well. We’ve talked about testing a few things, but I’ve always said no because I’ve ridden on all types of surfaces, I know my bike, and it suits me really well as it is. Of course, there might be little things that could be improved here and there, but I’m a bit afraid of going backwards in some areas while trying to gain in others. And I think I’m showing that the bike is more than good enough to be on the podium.
In 2026, Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen are still fighting for wins. That’s crazy!
Roczen: We’re old school. Vintage power! [laughs] I don’t really know what to say… it just shows that we’re still having fun and that we’re still fit. As long as that’s the case, we’ll be there.
