The Kawasaki Racing Team enters the FIM Motocross World Championship stronger than ever in 2025 as the team will compete in both major classes this year; alongside the rich history of the team in the MXGP class, a new chapter will open as they will also line up in the MX2 class.
Based in Lommel (Belgium), which is considered the ‘heart of European motocross’, the Kawasaki Racing Team has a long experience in racing in the premier off-road series as both the team owner and management have been involved in motorsport for many years.
Former Formula1 world champion Kimi Räikkönen, the team principal who has been passionate about motocross since his childhood, is universally respected in the sport as is team manager Antti Pyrhönen, who successfully contested the motocross world championship for more than a decade before turning to team management twelve years ago.
Working closely with Kawasaki Motors Ltd, the team achieved outstanding results during the last two campaigns as they celebrated twenty-three GP podiums, six GP victories and twelve moto wins in the MXGP class, the pinnacle of off-road racing.
Throughout the winter the team members and Japanese engineers have worked systematically to optimise Kawasaki’s commitment to new FIM technical and environmental rules with continued updates and refinement to the KX-SR factory machines, which themselves are developed from the stock bikes available to customers at the worldwide network of Kawasaki dealerships.
Testing went perfectly in sunny Sardinia throughout January to prepare for the first pre-season races, the first of which is hosted by the Salop Motor Club at Hawkstone Park in England prior to the opening round of the FIM World Championship in Argentina on March 1st/2nd.
It was a busy and intense winter as the team will not only remain committed to success in the MXGP class with Frenchman Romain Febvre – it will be his fourth season with the team – and Latvian Pauls Jonass – a former MX2 world champion – but also extend their portfolio by entering the MX2 class as the official Kawasaki team for the first time with Mathis Valin.
After his victorious campaign in the European EMX250 series during his first season with Kawasaki, French teenager Mathis Valin has been promoted to lead this exciting challenge with the new KX250-SR Kawasaki as KRT seek success in both classes to excite and satisfy the hunger of the lime-green community worldwide.
Mr Manabu Shinobu: Senior Manager -Marketing Department – Marketing & Sales Division -Kawasaki Motors, Ltd: “The Kawasaki official entry in both MXGP and MX2 for the 2025 season shows our level of commitment to off-road sport. We hope fans globally share in the success that is being anticipated using the same KX models that fans can purchase as the base for the world championship machines being campaigned.”
Antti Pyrhönen : Team Manager: “The time we are all working towards is here yet again and the Championship is set to start. I am feeling very calm, our riders have completed an extremely strong winter test program and the team is in a good place”
Steve Guttridge: Race Planning Manager – Kawasaki Motors Europe: “The 2025 season lays ahead and both the team and all lime green fans are ready for the gate to drop. Competing officially in both MXGP and MX2 is a huge step forward for our motocross project and we have the riders, staff and machinery in place to make a huge impact.”
Romain Febvre: “We had perfect conditions to work in Sardinia; I also had a perfect physical training schedule in Spain before Christmas and then again n Sardinia. The Japanese engineers were with us in Sardinia; we had successful testing sessions with them, and I must say that the bike now suits me even better! I feel confident for the season ahead; now I can’t wait to be behind the starting gate to finalise our preparation!”
Pauls Jonass: “Everything has been going really good so far, good preparation and good testing weeks in Sardinia, it was good to know the bike more and more and work on different things as I have never been riding a Kawasaki before joining the team. It has been great to learn the bike better, to work with the mechanics and everyone in the team before the first races. Of course there is still some work to do, but the season is long. I feel ready to go racing and excited to see how the bike and I react in race conditions.”
Mathis Valin: “I was welcomed whole-heartedly by the team and I immediately felt comfortable with the team members and the bike. We worked a lot this winter with the team. I also worked hard physically and I feel ready for the new season; I’m happy to be back racing soon to face the challenges ahead.”
