It simply couldn’t have went any worse. First, Jorge Prado wanted out at the end of his first year on the bike and now Chase Sexton has got himself out of a highly paid Kawasaki contract in his first season.
Two world class talents willingly losing millions to get off a factory Kawasaki and onto a bike they actually like is unprecedented and a huge blow to the team and also the image of the brand, especially with Sexton seemingly having a bike issue (the team manager contests this) that led to a blown ACL to end his season and his last time on the bike!
Fortunately for Kawasaki, Romain Febvre has kept the green flag flying with an MXGP title last year and running up front all year with the number one plate in 2026 to somewhat counteract the American disaster, but still, it is an embarrassment the bike and team will not be able to shake for years.
It also begs the question, why can the GP team still be successful when the US team can’t. Is the works bike exception that allows MXGP to do whatever they want to fix the obvious issues the US team have?
Both Prado and Sexton had similar complaints, they did not feel comfortable pushing the limit on the bike. Both riders ride technically correct, they don’t hang over the back like Villopoto or steer from the rear like Febvre, they ride more like Stefan Everts with a smooth flow, turning with the front of the machine. But, Kawasaki has always been known for stability and not know for sharp-turning. The very character of the bike seems at odds with both of their riding styles, and, despite the team trying everything, they were never able to change the character of the factory bike away from it’s production base.
Kyle Chisholm, who tested for factory Kawasaki this season to help Chase, said recently on the PulpMX show:
“Obviously I was there behind the scenes for a good chunk of it in the middle to see and try to help. We made great progress, the team, those guys, bust their butts. In my opinion we made the bike quite a bit better, Chase agreed with that but it never got to where he wanted it to be. I would boil it down to the character of the bike. Something, he just didn’t gel with it, didn’t like it. Chase maybe at times could communicate a little better just with verbage.
“For me, a lot of the stuff he complained about, I could feel what he was feeling but for me I think he is a good enough rider to overcome it. I think he wants it to feel a certain way and he couldn’t get that. They have a new bike coming out next year in my opinion that was what the bike needed improved on (bike/swingarm changes).”
That said, good riders can still go fast on the Kawasaki, Garrett Marchbanks has had a good year and Malcolm Stewart is coming on board for 2027, in what is a strong signing with a very good rider who is very popular with the fans to still bring attention to the truck and the bike but, the very elite championship level riders will surely be thinking twice about going green on a 450.
Prado and Sexton needed that extra per cent from the bike that it doesn’t same capable of and it will serve as a warning for anyone moving up – even from the Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. These rider’s careers are on the line especially as a 450 rookie, and maybe they need to make sure their riding style suits the bikes character, it may work for a Levi Kitchen, but again for Levi it’s still a risk when he moves up.
Kawasaki have a problem. Their bike now has question marks (valid or not) and they are going to have a hard time changing that perception even if they have the money to get an elite rider, because when the best of the best say no to millions of pounds to get out of a contract two years in a row, it reflects badly on the team and the bike more than the rider themselves.
Something needs to change quickly in what has been one of the most successful factory teams since the 80s in America, with Jeff Ward, Jeff Emig, Ricky Carmichael then James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto all winning Supercross titles on the brand.
This may be the lowest point for Kawasaki in Supercross since the inception of the series in America.
Get more from Kyle Chisholm and Broc Tickle below on trying help Sexton get comfortable on the Kawasaki:
