He rode Suzuki as a schoolboy, won his first GP on the brand at 15 in his German homeland, and now, in his late 20s, Ken Roczen is back winning on Suzuki in a story bok win that saw the HEP Suzuki squad get their first ever win at this level.
Larry Brook told me in an interview at Tampa that the signing of Roczen came a year earlier than the team planned to have an elite rider on board but when Roczen came up – they couldn’t say no!
Brooks said: “The idea was to come in and build the infrastructure to hire a top rider like Ken Roczen or whoever, then he came available, rode the bike and enjoyed it and they made the decision early, a year earlier. We weren’t really planning for it but you know, when you have the opportunity to work with a great rider like that we had to take it when it came available.”
That decision to go for it has paid off with Roczen taking the what he said is the biggest win of his career, with the German now reflecting on his achievement on social media, saying: “I am so incredibly proud of @hepmotorsports crew! All the hard work we have put in paid off last night. Soooo many long days and nights because we believed that we can pull this thing off and that’s why we never stopped!
The Vibe in the Stadium was something I haven’t witnessed in a long time if ever for me personally.
I wouldn’t have want it any other way.”
“To all the riders that came over afterwards…. One of the coolest things ever! I was so stoked on that. It was a night i will never forget. Thank you to seriously to everyone involved. So many people and companies that are part of the program that make all this happen and they don’t get thanked enough in my eyes. So thank you!!!”
Image: Feld Entertainment Inc.