2024 marks the third season that the Scandinavian duo of Manager, Antti Pyrhönen, and team principle, Kimi Räikkönen, field the Kawasaki Racing Team in MXGP on behalf of the Kawasaki factory and the optimism of all concerned is tangible.
Words and Images by Kawasaki Racing EU
Team Principle and 2007 Formula1 World Champion is characteristically forthright in the approach he and the team will adopt in the coming season.
“Let the results and bike performance do the talking. It’s going to be an interesting and demanding season ahead. The competition seems to get stronger and stronger each year which makes it exciting. KRT MXGP is a hard-working and professional team, our target is to grow together with Kawasaki and win – simple as that”
Fully supported by the formidable Japanese manufacturer in terms of race machines plus technical and engineering personnel, it is the honour of the team to field a widely updated KX machine in 2024; the very latest KX450-SR which has a direct connection to the retail machines are based and sold in Kawasaki dealerships.
Long time Kawasaki rider, Romain Febvre, has played a core role in the development of the 2024 machine which saw its debut in prototype form in 2023 and has been gradually updated and refined since.
With both the factory bikes of Romain Febvre and new signing, Jeremy Seewer #91, featuring state of the art electronics, it is only right that the machine in Kawasaki dealerships for 2024 also has engine map selections, launch control and a machine interrogation facility allowing riders to fine tune their machine and make records of their rides and settings.
“Romain really understands the KX philosophy now”, comments Team Manager, Antti Pyrhönen. “He tested and made suggestions to the Japanese engineers to aid the constant development of our new KX-SR race machine and was instrumental in the testing and cross-over of rider and technical features to the customer machine.
Our optimism about the 2024 bike is based on how well Romain went during last season. I think both he and the bike are at the next level for 2024 and we are quietly confident going into the season”.
That confidence can only be bolstered by the introduction of new Swiss rider, Jeremy Seewer, who joins with an illustrious career already established. Consistent and fast, Seewer has an incredible string of race attendances to his name.
“It’s quite a rider line up and I think other teams in the paddock see the combination of Romain and Jeremy as a real threat in 2024”, commented Antti. “Jeremy is super-fast and super consistent. He has a clinical approach, thinks about every aspect of the machine set up and is very precise. Allied to this, Romain knows the KX programme inside out and is a proven winner on our factory bikes.
Certainly it’s a nice position for the team to be embedded for three years within the Kawasaki culture and to have two such talented riders for 2024 lining up at the gate hungry for success”.
Commenting on behalf of Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. General Manager of the Marketing and Sales Division, Shigemi Tanaka, concluded:
“Motocross, like our KX models, is in a constant state of evolution, always seeking ultimate riding performance and track success. We enter the 2024 season with a refreshed team, a formidable rider line up of Romain Febvre and Jeremy Seewer plus the stunning KX450-SR.
“As the factory racing version of the recently launched KX450, we are confident that the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP will harness the formidable race potential of their racing machines and build on their remarkable record of achievement pushing at every race for ultimate MXGP championship honours.
The young competitors of today focus on MXGP and Supercross as pinnacles of two-wheel off road sport. Kawasaki is proud to fuel the dreams of these Team Green riders globally, each aspiring to achieve the success of their KX riding heroes.”
