The battle between Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence went down to the wire. With a single point separating the duo going into the final race, Roczen had a good day at the office, while Hunter Lawrence had a less than perfect day. Sure, he was challenging Roczen hard out for a while but a few uncharacteristic errors cost him dearly, finishing seventh. Meanwhile, Roczen held on for a battling fifth, winning the season by three points. In a race of‘ if-onlys’ and what might have been, racing is racing and in the end, Suzuki’ s Roczen took the title. Hunter and his team were quick to congratulate Roczen, calling it a well deserved victory, nice. With the crown on the line, it is important to recognise the ride of the night. Chase Sexton showed he still has what it takes and will go into next season stronger than ever and there are a bunch of top riders showing that the 2027 crown will be a tough win. Despite not quite finishing the job, as Kiwis, we will still claim Hunter’ s second spot, as we do. They can keep the pavlova. The second-place trophy will look mint next to Cole Davies’ 250 winner’ s one.
ROCZEN ROCKS AMA SUPERCROSS
Despite being one of the most talented and well-known riders of his generation, and despite a total of 28 career 450 class SX victories over a 13-season career so far, believe it or not, this is Ken Roczen’ s first title win! Really. What makes his epic finale even more amazing, to be honest, is the fact that the Suzuki RMX450 platform has not radically changed in, well... a while. It has always been a reliable and wellbalanced bike but with many other brands heading deep into technology and chasing new pathways, Roczen showed that a well sorted bike can do it without any gadgetry. Sure, the team worked hard to refine the package but many in the media had written off his challenge due to his sticking with the same basic bike he has raced over the past six years. Consistent and never far from the front, Roczen denied the hard charging Australian ace, Hunter Lawrence, at the final hurdle. Nobody in the paddock could deny that he had earned it. Hard to believe it is his maiden title in the AMA SX.