BREAKING NEWS: JORGE PRADO RELEASED FROM THE KAWASAKI RACE TEAM

In a statement from the Kawasaki race team, they have reached a settlement for the early release of Jorge Prado from his Kawasaki rider agreement, effective October 16, 2025. Kawasaki “wishes the best for Jorge in his future endeavors.” Monster Energy Kawasaki has been hard at work in preparation for the 2026 SMX World Championship™ and will announce their 450 Class and 250 Class SuperMotocross racing teams in early November. The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship kicks off on January 10, 2026, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Jorge Prado had spoken about the misconnection that him and the team we’re dealing with through the 2025 seasons and will officially step away from the team.

Jorge Prado signed with Monster Energy Kawasaki for 2025 to race to race Supercross and motocross, but the partnership never really clicked and he struggled to get comfortable on the bike. In early September he and Kawasaki agreed he would sit out the SuperMotocross playoffs, which made it clear the relationship was winding down. The situation around Team Spain for Motocross of Nations added to the noise, with talk of him wanting to ride a KTM while still under contract.

Lack of comfortability is what it came down to, and to be honest it can be challenging for some riders to switch from an Austrian built motorcycle to the Japanese brands, as their are many differences.

The expectation is that Kawasaki brings in Chase Sexton as its 450 anchor for 2026 now that Prado’s release has cleared. It has been rumored for months that Sexton who was uncomfortable on the KTM was ligning up a deal with Kawasaki which we will see if that becomes true in the upcoming month.