Ken Roczen traded in his racing helmet for a professor’s chapeaux last weekend when the Monster Energy Supercross Series visited Northern New Jersey for Round 14, in the shadow of New York City, and that gave him the opportunity to matriculate NBC Today Show reporter Joe Fryer in the finer arts of motorcycle racing. The result of this higher education can be seen Saturday morning, April 29 (7 a.m. - 9 a.m.), on the weekend edition of the Today Show on your local affiliate.
“I had never ridden a dirt bike,” Fryer said during the segment. “I have to admit I was a little scared. Didn’t sleep super easy last night. When you have Ken giving you instructions, you’ve just got to take your time; follow the instructions - ease into it. Do it gently. You can do it. It’s a huge confidence booster for me to know that, no I didn’t go super-fast, [and] I’m not going to be competing anytime soon, but I can actually do it with my feet off the ground, without crashing - without stalling the bike. It was awesome.”
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While visiting New York City, Roczen also had an opportunity to visit the Empire State Building. During this visit, he hauled his bike to the top of the observation tower and engaged the switch to light the building.
“Obviously that was [Fryer’s] first time and he did great because he had super good clutch control and throttle control,” Roczen said. “It’s not easy. It comes second nature to us of course, but for people who have not sat on a dirt bike before, it can be a little intimidating with all of the cameras around, but I had a lot of fun teaching.”
Roczen did more than teach the NBC freshman in the New York metropolitan area; he had a few lessons for the upper classmen as well.
On a muddy track, Roczen outlasted the competition and was one of only four riders who finished on the lead lap. Roczen’s third-place finish in that round was his second consecutive podium finish and his 13th top-10 of 2023 with a new team and manufacturer. His deal with Suzuki and HEP Ecstar Motorsports was finalized in the late stages of the offseason.