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Welcome back Mikkel!
Solid move my Triumph to lock him in. He's gonna be good on a 450
I still wonder who will ride Kawasaki 450 next year. Jonass still has no offer, and Febvre had no idea when I asked him. He even suggested no 450 rider perhaps…
With Renaux locked in at Factory KTM, Febvre at Ducati and Vlaanderen with Honda SR it´s indeed not looking great for Kawasaki to sign a top talent.
Seewer is out of the question for obvious reasons. Fernandez is rumoured together with Jonass and Geerts, but nothing materialized as far as I know. Maybe that Gasjer can get out of his contract with Yamaha? but I don´t expect that to happen without a fight, so who they could consider? If even a Star Racing engine can't make him happy enough, maybe he will push to leave? Vialle has a multi-year contract and de Wolf recently signed a multi-year deal as well. Call me crazy, but I would go after Gifting. We really don't know what he could do in a factory setting, is reasonably young and a rider you turn on the TV for.
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I am sure i heard over the MXGP broadcast that Fernandez was going to Yamaha to replace Renaux.
With 2 new manufacturers now tapping into the rider pool (Ducati and Triumph) its even more important to develop talent in the lower classes.
I have to say , that with Coenen's leaving , the time for a good US rider to come to MXGP has never been better.
Nobody in the US now is going to beating Lawrences, or Coenens any time soon, long term, even less, only Deegan is on the upslope, everyone else is timed out and on the way out.
Yes I guess it’s possible they ask Gifting, but as a swedish fan I would rather see him stay at JK. I don’t think the bike is that great, and Seewer, Watson, Evans would probably agree. I agree they should look outside the mxgp paddock by now, but I can’t suggest a name that pops up.
Maybe they sign Toendel ? He was invited at the mxgp of Lommel during the AMA break, has GP experience and with his fill in spot at factory kawasaki in the US that he got for the remainder of the outdoors
Febvre did alright on it last year...
This would be a good opportunity for Gifting if he was offered it.
With the greatest of respect to Toendel, i cant see him lucking into a second factory ride , even with the same manufacturer.
I would take Gifting over him, but he is a legit rider, just wasnt prepared to ride in MXGP on a non supported ride, its way easier on a stock bike in AMA, than it is in MXGP.
Who would risk going there ?
If Jonass is out , which i think is still a possibility , the fact that they are struggling to fill what should be a prime seat is bizzarre.
For the first time in as long as i can recall, there are more seats than riders to fill them .
Seewer had issues at Yamaha, Kawasaki and Ducati and his current stint at KTM is not to write home about either. I think Watson is a capabale rider, but misses that elite status and talent. Evans got plenty of oppertunities, but injured all the time, and staying in one piece is a big, essential part of this sport.
The current Kawasaki’s under Iceone are very good and competent bikes. What they did together with Akira and their inhouse team on both the 250 and 450 is very impressive. I think they are right there.
He did, and still does. But we don’t know how fast he would be on a Honda, Ktm or even a JK Yamaha. Febvre might be fast on anything
Some other big news dropped today by Gatedrop.com regarding the possible entry of ZXMoto under JM Racing:
https://gatedrop.com/rumour-jm-racing-to-run-zxmoto-mxgp-setup-in-2027/
Jacky Martens is really a good pick to have an unproven bike run competitively. His honda 250's where and are still unmatched compared to the HRC bikes.
Seewer was solid on the Yamaha, what did for them was the team changing.
He was never out of the top 5 in the series, finished second twice, and even managed 4th on the Kawasaki.
The Ducati thing could have been great and wasnt, and he has never raced a steel framed bike as a Pro as far as i can recall , his early years in MX2 were Suzuki .
He is doing OK.
I dont see Ben Watson getting another go at it, as much as he has the talent to, on a Factory team, which is a shame.
I dont even know who else has to come up from MX2 this year.
Rumor that Chase is going to the next round , just to spectate though.
If Jonass doesn't stay green, I could see Beaton take the spot in 2027...
Jonas has been riding great last couple rounds. He seems to ride great when needs new contract... when he gets one he goes for win and crashes out. Cant see Kawasaki get anything better than him for next year but seems there is something between him and team we dont know.
To be honest, I would kinda like to see Kawi give Conrad one last chance at a factory rider. No real downside to it for them. If he sucks, well nothing new there. If he rides to his potential, he could do really well and make them look like a genius. Maybe now he would take full advantage of it being his last chance.
If not, call up Haakon Fredriksen.
Is Gaiser done at Yamaha?
Pit Row
We have seen this multiple times. No need for re-run.
If I was Kawasaki, I would definitely go after Fernandez. But I indeed read somewhere that he would go to Yamaha
Yeah i know it would be strange if they would sign him even for a possible second spot in the team but i just find it strange he was attending the Lommel GP as KRT guest, coming over during a 2 week break in the racing series you just got a fill in ride in with a factory team i would assume you better take that opportunity to maximise the training and test days instead off coming over to visit a GP when there is no other back story behind it ?
I just hope for the IceOne team they already have somewhat of a big name signed that they just cannot anounce for the moment. But the pool of free riders is not big for sure. Only names i can think of are likes Watson, Bonacorsi i think not to happy at Ducati like Seewer and Vlaanderen and opting a way out if possible ?, Geerts or Forato(if the JM racing change from Fantic to the chinese brand is true)
Bonacorsi will stay with Ducati.
I don’t disagree, but who else out there has the upside he has that is available?
JM Racing Fantic most likely switching to the Chinese manufacturer ZXMoto.
I don't understand why they wouldn't just sign Jonass to a one year extension.
I agree, he is riding really strong lately. However, he hasn't finished a season without missing a few rounds due injury since 2019. He finished 6th in his rookie MXGP season. But his ceiling his high, he always had podium speed. Not for every round, but occassionaly.
Yeah and he would be a good rider to employ for a year when you can't find a proper number 1 rider that replaces Febvre.
Conrad is getting paid nicely to race at home, and is making a good job of it.
He will know that everyone who has jumped on that bike, bar for Febvre has massively underperformed, in that team.
He has a great bike at Honda, with top quality suspension, that is set up exactly how he wants.
At this point, i dont see him giving up what he has now, dont lose sight of the fact he grew up away from home , from a very young age, and is over all of that already.
As for Frediericksen, he is another scandinavian rider with brutal speed in the sand, that hasnt got him on a good ride, because he spent the prime years of MX2 injured, and keeps getting overlooked as a result.
I dont see how you let Jonass go, when there is literally nobody else.
Is Conrad even interested?
Dylan Farrandis is MXGP with IceOne Racing-Kawasaki should be a good one. Kimmi can pay him for sure.
Ruben Fernandez with KEMEA Racing i think be a good one.
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