Image: Octopi Media.

Pipes Motorsports Group (PMG) will field Ken Roczen in the 2023 FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), the German committing to the series for the next three seasons.

Roczen, 29, won last year’s pilot title across two rounds and will once again line up in WSX, set to contest the series through 2025. He effectively becomes a supercross-only rider, opting out of Pro Motocross in the US.

“I had a great time in Cardiff and Melbourne last year, which made it easy to commit to the World Supercross Championship,” said Roczen. “I’m hungrier than ever for race wins and will be giving it my all with my team to be standing on the top step when the season ends in Melbourne this November.

“For supercross to grow as a sport around the world, I think it’s really important that more riders focus solely on the discipline, which is why I’m concentrating on the World Supercross Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in the coming years.

“I feel like my riding this year has been as good as ever, and I’m excited to see what I can do when focusing on one speciality. I’m particularly proud of what we’ve achieved this year with the Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki Team. The whole team have put in a huge effort to make me as comfortable as I have been to race at the front all season long.

“For us to continue our supercross momentum together and take the sport we love to fans around the world is an amazing opportunity that I’m very grateful for. I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to compete for a world title at home in Germany, which is something I could only dream about until now.”

PMG team principal Dustin Pipes added: “Ken is a champion in supercross both on and off the track, and we’ve already seen what he can achieve with our team in the States. That relationship and consistency now transfer to our World Supercross Championship team, so we’re confident that Ken can deliver another world title win – this time on a Suzuki – in 2023.

Roczen has enjoyed an immensely successful Monster Energy AMA Supercross campaign to date this season, currently fourth in points with one round remaining in Salt Lake City this weekend. He has six podiums to his credit, including a single win in Indianapolis.

Last year saw the American-based international win the WSX championship with the Yarrive Konsky-led Honda Racing program, prior to his switch to Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki – part of the same organisation as PMG – without winning a main event. It was Eli Tomac who won Cardiff as a wildcard and Joey Savatgy won in Melbourne.

“Supercross has an incredible following across the globe, and we know Ken is one of the most popular riders in the world, so having him commit to WSX for the next three years is a fantastic step towards our mission to build a truly global championship that fans, athletes, teams, sponsors and media partners are passionate about,” SX Global CEO Adam Bailey commented.