TWO-STROKE TUESDAY: KEN ROCZEN’S 2011 125 MACHINE

Ken Roczen crossing the finish line in Fermo, Italy. Photo by Ray Archer.

On September 4th, 2011, Ken Roczen would beat Jeffrey Herlings to win the 250 World Championship. With nothing to lose, Roczen and KTM decided to run the last race on a KTM 125SX. Roczen wasn’t in the race for blood, but wanted to battle Jeffrey Herlings and Tommy Searle on the smoker. Tony Cairoli was also on the smoker in the 450 class, but had to pull out due to a family tragedy.

Qualifying went well for the German. He would finish fourth overall. For the first moto, Roczen fared quite well. While he couldn’t keep the pace of his two key rivals, Roczen was able to finish fifth. A DNF in the second moto put him out of finishing near the podium. Roczen said, “The first race was really good and I finished fifth. Then my start wasn’t as good in the second race and I came from way back up to fifth place. Then, I jumped into the ruts and it was very slick because it had been watered and I just couldn’t stay on the bike. My handlebars were bent, so I couldn’t go on. For sure I’m a bit disappointed because I was on a good way to get on the podium.”

Ken Roczen’s steed. Photo by Ray Archer.