A day after some photos leaked showing the 2016 Motocross Champion Ken Roczen sitting atop a Honda the company made it official and announced they signed the German to a three-year deal:
TORRANCE, Calif. (Sep. 21, 2016) - American Honda Motor. Co. is proud to announce the highly anticipated signing of two-time AMA Pro Motocross Champion Ken Roczen to a three-year agreement with Team Honda HRC. The young German rider will pilot the all-new 2017 CRF450R alongside new teammate Cole Seely in the AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross series. Honda has released a special video to celebrate the announcement.
Roczen already has a long list of accomplishments to his name, including the 2014 and 2016 AMA Pro Motocross 450MX Championships and nine premier-class AMA Supercross victories. Aboard 250cc equipment, he earned the 2013 250SX West title, and prior to coming to the U.S. to race full-time, he won the 2011 MX2 World Championship. Roczen is confident in his ability to build on that success, and he has Honda's full support and commitment.
Team Manager Dan Betley said he is pleased to welcome Roczen to Team Honda HRC. "I'm extremely happy to have a rider of Ken's abilities and accomplishments become a part of our program, and I'm glad we can finally officially share this announcement with our fans. Ken has proven time and again that he has what it takes to consistently win races and run up front, and I'm confident in his ability to continue doing that aboard the new CRF450R. Together with his teammate Cole Seely, we have what I consider to be one of the strongest two-rider teams heading into 2017."
Roczen debuts with his new team at the Monster Energy Cup on October 15 in Las Vegas. Check out the video introducing the newest member of Team Honda HRC:
