Malcolm Stewart on his New Kawasaki Ride
From a Monster Energy Kawasaki press release dated October 28, 2006:
Monster Energy Kawasaki welcomes Malcolm Sewartt to its 2027 roster. Stewart’s addition to the team marks a return to his roots, having raced with Kawasaki Team Green throughout his amateur career and continuing the Stewart family’s storied history with the brand,
“I’m very excited to be joining Monster Energy Kawasaki for 2027. I started my racing career on a Kawasaki as an amateur, so coming back to the brand feels like I’m returning to my roots. It’s a full-circle moment.”
Yes, from 1999 through 2009, Malcom was a Team Green racer, starting out as a KX 65 (7-11) Modified competitor and charging all the way through 2009 as a 450A rider.
And now, 18 years later, Stewartwill reconnect with Kawasaki when lines up behind the starting gate at Angel Stadium for A1 in California for the opening round of the 2027 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship on Saturday night, January 9.
He's now hanging out in Southern California as he tests, trains and puts in the development work on the No. 27 KX450F-SR.
Stewart, 34 years old and in possession of well over a decade of world class experience, weighed in on the reality of his new surroundings,
“Right now I’m in Southern California,” said the man from Haines City, Florida. “I’m just testing out here with the team. Yesterday was my third day riding the motorcycle. Everything has been going really good. I’ve really just been hanging out.
I had some downtime right after the last SMX race. I’ve been doing a lot of fishing, of course.
More than anything, I’m just really stoked to be with the team. There are a lot of familiar faces. Even when I was nine years and my brother was back there in 2002, some of those people we were around are still in that building today and it’s really cool to see those guys. It’s almost like coming home again.
“You know with the Team Green program, to this day, I always thought Team Green had the best program,” furthered Stewart. “Especially back in the day. It was an awesome opportunity to be able to ride at Team Green. You don’t realize it as a kid, but those are some real special times and I’m really thankful for all the people that took care of me at that time. Everyone there was very, very good with the way they presented Team Green and all the sponsors and the kids and everything.
It’s cool. I look for that truck every time! That big rig with the big green thumbs up. You see it and you know we’re alright. You know we’re going to get our parts. If we need anything, they’re there to help."
Malcolm and the revamped 2027 Kawasaki KX450F./ Monster Energy Kawasaki
Has Malcolm looped in his brother James and father Big Kamest about just what’s going on with his new reality?
“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” enthused Stewart. “My dad is really stoked. My brother is really happy for me. A lot of people don’t know that my dad still has green cabinets at their house right now. They put them in a long time ago. My dad’s first motorcycle was a Kawasaki.
He’s always been a Kawasaki guy. A lot of people are like, ‘Big James has green cabinets?!’ Yes he does! He has green cabinets in his shop! The very first shop built had green cabinets. They’re still green to this day.”
“Oh yeah. It’s cool,” remarked Stewart. “It’s just a really cool opportunity. It’s different, you know? I think for me, it’s the history of the Stewarts. Not just Malcom, but the Stewarts in general. I think so many people are so stoked. My phone has been blowing up. Everybody is super excited for me. Everybody is like, ‘Man, your number is 27. Your birthday was October 27.’ There are just so many cool things that are happening with this. We’re very, very excited and blessed with the opportunity that Kawasaki has given me.”
Now off the Rockstar Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition and upon the 2027 Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F-SR, it has been all systems go for Stewart and the band of Kawasaki mechanics and technicians behind him.
“So far it has been awesome,” explained Stewart. “Everything has been going good. It’s going very, very good. It’s just good to be with a team that have very familiar faces in it. They can understand a rider individually. I’m very, very blessed to have those people. We can’t wait to get to work and show these boys what’s up.
Stewart had another year on his Husqvarna contract, but the in-house factory team shut down, sending him shopping for a new ride.
Racing the Husqvarna since 2022, has the switch to Kawasaki equipment been profound for Stewart?
“You know what? Of course anytime you switch to a different brand, it’s going to be different, but I personally think that with this new Kawasaki KX450 they came out with, it’s actually really, really good and I heard nothing but positive things about it even before I rode it.
I finally got to ride it and it has been going really good so far. I’m actually more blown away with how it has been handling right off the start. Normally, it takes me a while to adjust with a different motorcycle. I felt right at home with this motorcycle. We’re at the very, very early stages of testing.
Just learning how to ride the bike. Having fun. Enjoying it. We’re slowly starting to edge into dialing-in the comfort stuff. We started going in stages. Again, so far it has been going really good. The team is really, really, really positive about every single thing. They’re there for me. Anything I want from that motorcycle, they are willing to do. It’s good to have a team that’s willing to throw everything out to help you be better. That’s the team that I want to surround myself with and they want to win.”
Stewart explained just how the Monster Energy Kawasaki came about and ultimately fell into place.
“It’s funny to say,” said Stewart. “I’ve had this kind of weird opportunity with Kawasaki a few times, but it wasn’t a complete and for sure answer. That kind of happened a few times in my career and we weren’t really sure. Things just didn’t work out at that time. This time around, I got the phone call from Bruce Stjernstrom and Dan Fahie at Kawasaki and they were like, ‘Malcolm, we’re really serious this time.’ I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it!’ At the time there were a lot of seats open and Kawasaki was like, ‘No, we want Malcolm. We feel like he’s the best fit for our program. He always has a great and positive attitude.’
I think I was what they were looking for. I just think they were looking for someone who is going to give it everything they have got, right? I felt like I pretty much checked all those boxes off and I got the opportunity and I went for it. But yeah, it was a really big question mark. A lot of people didn’t know about it. It kind of came out of nowhere. I was actually kind of shocked myself a little bit.
Kawasaki was really full force about it and I liked that. They didn’t drag their feet and they told me everything they wanted. They wanted me and I had a contract the next day. It was awesome. I was stoked. And I’d rather be with people you’re familiar with. I felt like this would be the best opportunity for me for the long haul. I’m very stoked and blessed that to be Kawasaki. And I’ve always wanted to be riding for factory Kawasaki as my brother did. So this is one of the items on the list I always wanted to check off.
If I pass up the opportunity to ride for a team that I’ve always wanted to be on, I just don’t know if I can forgive myself. Especially at this stage in my career. Let’s take the opportunity, have fun with it, make history and go out there and try and win races."
Malcolm Stewart/Monster Energy Kawasaki
As it turns out, Malcolm has never raced professionally on a Kawasaki, but that will all change in the new season. It's a full-circle moment for the whole Stewart family.
"When I told my dad about the whole Kawasaki thing, he goes, ‘Alright, go finish what you started.’ He’s more stoked than I am! He’s just a proud father, right? I know when he got off the phone with me, he started dusting off those green cabinets!
Looks comfortable
Based on Big James' words, seems like Mookie will likely retire there. Cool deal. Let's hope he's still there in October of next year......
Hope he comes out and does well !
So… not defending his King of Bercy title? No off season warmup races?
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seems like he believes the current management and bike will get the job done. Refreshing perspective countering the guys who want top to bottom change. Will be interesting to see how it works out this year.
Not exactly surprising, he's 34 years old now.
For a guy hoping to finish top 10, yes I’d say so. For guys wanting championships, probably not so much.
“his brother James and father Big Kamest..”
again, look at Triumph, Beta, Ducati. No big-name riders with huge contracts as they build the brand. Building momentum over the long term and hope it pays off with sales increase and brand acceptance, before going all in for championships.
That's a good comparison. Kawi should be looking at their team like they just got into the game. Forget all their past pedigree and dominant eras and really look up to Ducati, since they are both afraid to hire top riders now 😂
Nope. No MXON either. It's the Kawi way 💩
Let's be honest, it's not like he's going to be in the running for a pick to go to the MXdN.
He did say it's only a 1 year deal.
Let's be honest, it's a good thing Chase left so he can..
Malcolm will be great PR for Kawasaki. I'm happy he is there.
Well, if he could pull off another top 10 Pro Motocross overall like he did in 2025 (he finished 7th), he could be in the conversation, what with all the usual suspects making excuses not to go…
I wonder if Big James still has those Kawi green Snap-On tool cabinets in his shop? He's back to matching his kid's bike!
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How well has hiring top riders worked out for them the last 2 years? Why would any top rider WANT to sign with them right now? Why would you expect that to magically cure everything purportedly wrong with the org? Cleaning house with the management would set them back even further starting from ground Zero. There's no guarantee that would right the ship. They need to regain stability and not slide further into oblivion before they can become a top organization and compete with the top teams again. Kawi Corporate has made their decision- it's going to be this leadership until it isn't.
I think the Mookie signing is great for Kawi. A year of great PR because everyone loves Malcolm.
Keep him locked in for a year or two until he wants to retire which lines up with when Levi moves up to 450s.
He'll be a great brand ambassador in retirement. He's already talking about continuing to ride and race and sticking around.
You have some wild takes
Yeah, that's a bummer. He really had a standout ride last year.
He really does, I honestly wonder if he even believes them, or if he just has to be right and will plant his feet regardless of the logic.
living as long as I have, I gained different perspectives on things and don't immediately latch on to 1 as being correct to exclusion of all others- until proven so.
So I take it you also think you made a good comparison lol. Glad we agree with the point that you made 😂
You sure do practice what you preach 😂
I agree. And if true, I think it’s a missed opportunity for Kawasaki to regain some positive momentum.
No disrespect intended, as Malcolm will make a great sport ambassador one day no doubt but Kawasaki hiring him definitely has a lock on 5th thru 10th place next year.
Help me understand how they would take a chance on a 34 year old top 10 rider when a younger more deserving rider would make more sense? Are they focusing more on PR than results?
I can help you with that, but first define “more deserving.”
younger, better performing, better starts, better potential with Father Time.
Discuss.
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