Q & A with Aaron Johnson: The Man Behind Ken Roczen’s Bike

After an exciting AMA Pro Motocross season watching Ken Roczen tear up the track each week, we wanted to know a bit more about his bike. The 11^th race of the season at Budds Creek National, allowed Roczen to secure his title as 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Champion. Roczen headed into the final round of the season with 534 overall points, 76 points ahead of his closest competitor. To get a deeper look into how Roczen’s focus and preparation gave him a winning season, we sat down with Aaron Johnson, the man behind the bike.

Q: Ken Roczen had a great season! How did the hiccup at Southwick affect the way RCH prepped his bike?

A: Thank you! The re-introduction of Southwick on the race schedule brought up concerns of heating issues, due to the sandy nature of the track. Bel-Ray’s broad line of different engine oils allowed us to be better prepared, ensuring confidence with our engines and translating into confidence for a successful weekend. Ken has been using Bel-Ray for two years and he never had one problem with the product. We focused on always improving on the bike and supplying Ken with what (he) needed to maintain confidence, as well as maintaining their competitive edge on the track.

Q: Great sponsors always make for a better season! How did Bel-Ray influence the winning season?

A: Bel-Ray not only supplied the team with all of our lubrication needs, but also gave the team confidence to put doubt aside when trying to achieve better performance, to allow our riders to have a competitive advantage. Oils and lubricants are a crucial part of performance when trying to develop better settings. Bel-Ray’s willingness to work closely with our performance needs ensured us that we would be supplied with whatever we needed to succeed at a premier level. Winning the race on the weekend is just the topping on the cake, because most of the work that is not seen is done during the week at the shop and at the practice tracks. It is a relief knowing that we can count on Bel-Ray for all of our chemical needs, and it takes any questions out of the equation, leaving the team confident in our abilities.

Q: Was there a specific Bel-Ray product Ken used the most in his bike?

A: The team used a plethora of Bel-Ray products throughout the entire season including chain lube, electrical contact cleaner, engine oil, silicon spray, and degreaser.

Q: How did the team prepare together to prepare for the race at Budds Creek knowing Ken could clinch the title?

A: By making sure the motorcycle was 100% and treating the weekend just like a normal race. Some of us would have lucky hats or gloves that we would wear every weekend, but we tried to not think about the championship and to take it one race at a time. (But) the last lap of the second moto at Budds Creek was when we knew we did it.

Q: This was the team’s first title, how did everyone celebrate?

A: After the race at Budds Creek we had pizza and drinks at the semi-truck. It was a great feeling, to win a premier class championship is a very hard thing to do. It was a big team effort. Motocross is such a demanding sport physically and mentally. When we won it gave us a huge sense of accomplishment.

Q: Motocross is very demanding, how did the team face their biggest challenges this year?

A: In a motocross series, engine temperature is always a concern. Being able to send oil samples to Bel-Ray was a great resource and provided great information for the team. When Engine temperatures were high, we were confident knowing that Bel-Ray oil could handle it.

With proper planning and bike maintenance, riders are able to better allow their bikes to perform to the highest of their abilities. For a closer look at the product Roczen used on his bike, please visit www.belray.com.