Official: Kove Factory to enter MXGP paddock - Starting with EMX250 in 2027

Long story short, developing a competitive 250 is more difficult than developing a 450, so they've changed plans and decided to go straight into the MXGP class instead. 

The team is going to be managed by Tom Steensels.

I interviewed Tom Steensels tonight, teammanager for KOVE. Will be online tomorrow on Belgian websites / Facebookpages.

If he agrees with it, I could translate it to English.

This is the best news possible for our sport! There is going to be a lot of horsepower missing and lot of technicals (i guess they could finish 70-75% of the races) but still, another new manufacturer, and that will give us longer gates, longer gates mean more comoetitive races. More competitive races (not just the top 5 bit you'll have a race for the points: headline KOVE scores first mxgp world championship point) and in some years this can bring back purse money. Or better contracts for the riders

I like it.. I honestly liked the OG teal rims with the teal plastic. You gotta stand out today and when several brands run red it's hard to do that. It's why I love Kawasaki and Suzuki.. their colors pop on track. 

Add some red splashes here and there and it would look great on track but I'd rock it like this too 

Looks good in that livery 

I think it looks great in that photo, I like it a lot better than the one with some red that BCE posted below you. 

I think the teal with bits of white is great, any other colour creates too harsh of a contrast imo

Imagine the suport when the race at the China MXGP.

Sexton to Kove? 😎

I bet they could score points in Turkey 

But wasn't there something on Kove's Social Media earlier in the year saying that whatever racing is happening is not a factory effort? Is Tom Steensels just buying up a bunch of bikes and spares and running a private effort? 

Now with Kove, which inevitably means ZXMoto as well (the founder also helped found Kove and there definitely seems to be some beef so seems like he wants to beat them at their own game... and I have to say their bikes look really good), and now JHL entering MXGP that has to put the participating number of manufacturers list at an all-time high.

1. Honda
2. Kawasaki
3. KTM/Husky
4. Suzuki
5. Yamaha
6. Ducati
7. TM
8. Triumph
9. Kove
10. JHL (at least for MXGP of China... maybe more for 2027)
11. ZX Moto??

Love to see the growth in this sport.

Now if they can come around to emotos (or at least bring back their proposed E-MXGP class or whatever they were calling it), that could open it up even more to Stark, Bonnell, Sur Ron, Talaria, E-Watt....

Yeah to be honest when that went on Kove's social media i thought it was about TBS/Tom Steensels effort. As in TBS made the announcement and some testing in hopes to attract Kove's support.  But i can't imagine someone would actually continue all this (and spend all the money on setup the whole shop, buy up bikes and spares etc.) just in hopes to get support. 

Any news on riders? I've heard they tested with Paturel, Gifting and Moosdijk already.