Source: Supplied.

Ken Roczen has credited a set-up change made during the week to his season-first race victory on Saturday’s seventh round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at RedBud – his first moto triumph in the outdoor series since clinching the title in 2016.

The Honda HRC rider ultimately fell just shy of the overall win with 1-3 moto scores, however it marked a significant step forward following almost 18 months of injuries.

The German ace admits he was lucky to earn the victory in the opening affair following Eli Tomac’s (Monster Energy Kawasaki) misfortunes, although he’s still pleased the accept the result.

“It was a great weekend overall and this is my second podium this season, so it feels good,” Roczen commented. “I kind of got lucky grabbing that moto win because a few of the good guys were in the back and Eli [Tomac] had that issue. Still, I’ll take the win because that’s racing.

“Either way, it felt so great to cross the finish line for that first win since everything that has happened. We had a bit of a dip down in the results the last couple weeks, but to be back on the podium is awesome. I had a mellow week and feel like I just came back this weekend even hungrier and was riding a lot better.

“We’ve really just been figuring out the bike more. We made a pretty drastic change this week to see which way we should go with things, and it really helped me out a lot. I’m excited for the rest of the season and looking forward to getting back out there in Millville.”

Roczen sits fourth in the championship standings, 18 markers behind third, as the series heads to Millville on 21 July.