What's with Ken??

He doesn’t look good at all. First race he got passed like he was standing still. Really weird

Gotta be the arm. I saw him come up short on the finish line jump 1st moto..

Yea he looks like he's not even there tonight funny how after the first Moto they paraphrase an interview they had with him where he was fired up for the second one and he just had to get the jitters out-of-the-way well clearly that wasn’t the case because he stunk it up in the second Moto just as bad as the first maybe even worse because it was longer I don’t know what his deal is but clearly he’s not anywhere close to the normal Ken were used to seeing it’s very strange actually I almost want to believe it’s because it’s Anaheim two and the incident a year ago blah blah blah but he’s been so adamant about that not Not being an issue nor on his mind and it’s just a matter of fact that the race is happening it has nothing to do with it being anything related to last year to me these are two completely different nights including the format

Gotta be a mental thing

Lack of confidence Ralph!!

bball35 wrote:

Lack of confidence Ralph!!

Drop That Gate!

The starts are key, according to the commentators.

Second corner he was looking back and letting guys past him. Was really odd.

Maybe it has something to do with the round he crashed at last year. I was thinking this format should favor him, but apparently he has something else going on holding him back.

Superdave19 wrote:

Gotta be the arm. I saw him come up short on the finish line jump 1st moto..

How do you explain him running great lap times and currently in 4th place now?

Kenny mouth wrote a lot of checks he couldn’t cash before the season even started. He may still be getting up to race pace, but that may take him the rest of this year.

By the looks of his hand and what he has been through, the journey continues, with an unknown outcome.

Kenny did great tonight considering the mental challenge and nerves he endured.

Highs and lows are parse and parcel to anyone when they are rebuilding. Be it Pro, Amateur, or an Every day rider.

It has to be mostly mental for him tonight. I mean shit....this time last year , this place damn near ended his career , and sent him down a dark path. I don't blame him for being careful. He still has 14 more rounds to go.

Brutal qualifying time with 12 within 1 second

Has there been even any recent details about the status of his arm’s rehabilitation? Details like range of motion and strength measurements? It’s gotta be very difficult to race at the level we’re used to seeing from Roczen if it’s far below full recovery. It’s incredible he’s even out there considering the injury and complications he endured.

Might be the fact that he had ten surgeries on his arm last year. Or maybe the cadaver ligaments take some getting used to. Damn you idiots have obviously never had a bad moto injury. Takes time.

Watching in person, he was really tentative in the pack. I don't think he's comfortable in traffic, at A1 it took him awhile to get going. Houston he got the start and was fine. At A2 he was buried in Moto 1 and 2 and there wasn't time to wait for things to settle down. Moto 3 he looked okay, but when has Brayton held off Kenny for 19 laps?

On to Phoenix, still in contention.

The fact that he's even racing is a miracle of modern medicine (alliteration not intended)

He's just Not in race shape yet. Sure he can run a quick lap with nobody around him, but race speed is coming along. Most didn't even expect him to be at A1. I think he's doing just fine.

On the other hand, I think they can back down now at bringing up his crash every time they mention the 450s or give him an interview. No wonder it's always on his mind. Any time there's a Mic in front of his face, they're talking about the crash and replaying it on tv

It's a mental thing. He'll be glad to be done with the weekend.

He still beat the guy that's banging his old problem.

You have to think the goal for the weekend was to just get through it safe and healthy..move on from there.

nosredna297 wrote:

Gotta be a mental thing

Yep, its this. It seems he is experiencing what Tomac did during round 1 and 2 last year to some extent. He is probably getting arm pump and having some confidence issues after coming back from such a big injury and time off. Adrenaline and the hype probably carried him for the first A1 and Houston. Of course being the one year anniversary of his crash didn't help. Once he realizes he is the same guy that dominated the outdoors and can pass anyone in a flash, he will be back.

I hope it is a mental thing and not that the arm can not handle the abuse of racing every weekend. .

Mit12 wrote:

I hope it is a mental thing and not that the arm can not handle the abuse of racing every weekend. .

You may have point there....

Premix wrote:

Kenny mouth wrote a lot of checks he couldn’t cash before the season even started. He may still be getting up to race pace, but that may take him the rest of this year.

lol....dont like the guy eh?

Superdave19 wrote:

Gotta be the arm. I saw him come up short on the finish line jump 1st moto..

That’s because Anderson cut him off. The dude is out there defying odds purely off of his will power (and talent). Has nobody else noticed his left hand when he holds his drink after the race. Definitely not 100% yet but damn you got to admire his determination. Big Roczen fan now

I've always thought that this year is more of a rebuilding year for Ken then anything else, regardless of what he has said. In that regard a 4th in the last moto isn't bad.