KAWASAKI ANNOUNCES FACTORY TEAM LINEUP FOR 2023 SEASON

With only four rounds left in the 2022 Pro Motocross season, we are starting to learn more about which riders are switching teams and which rider/team combos are remaining the same for next year’s season. Just two days after the announcement of the 2023 SuperMotocross Championship, Kawasaki has announced their lineup for the 2023 season. Interesting to note, when Jason Anderson left Husqvarna after the 2021 season, he only had a one-year deal with Monster Energy Kawasaki. Now, Anderson has agreed to stay with Team Green for next year alongside Adam Cianciarulo who also will be returning next year after missing almost the entire 2022 season due to a knee injury he sustain at Round 3 of the Supercross season. Joey Savatgy has been filling in for AC9 this summer, but there’s no mention of him sticking with Kawasaki next year.

In the 250 class, the Ryder Difrancesco will jump to the big leagues full-time. He has recently raced the Red Bud and Millville Nationals for Pro Circuit Kawasaki, but because he stayed under the 40-point limit, he was able to retain his amateur status to compete at the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National which is happening right now in Tennessee. At the moment, it is undecided if Ryder will join the factory team to race the remaining four Outdoor Rounds this summer, or if he will wait and make the official advancement up to the Pro team in 2023, either starting in Supercross or Outdoors. Read below for the press release from Kawasaki:

MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 450 TEAM

Jason Anderson had a one-year deal with Kawasaki for 2022 and now he has re-signed for 2023.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. (August 4, 2022) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki are geared up for yet another full year of world-class racing in 2023. The Kawasaki racing teams will compete against the premier supercross and motocross talents from around the globe as they seek to contend for the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the groundbreaking SuperMotocross World Championship.

Monster Energy Kawasaki will continue its two title favorites of Kawasaki Team Green™ graduate and 2020 Pro Motocross runner-up Adam Cianciarulo who will compete for his fourth year aboard the KX™450SR alongside 2022 AMA Supercross runner-up Jason Anderson following an exceptional 2022 season. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki will also continue with its roster of proven race winners with Jo Shimoda, Austin Forkner, Cameron McAdoo, and Seth Hammaker in addition to nine-time AMA Amateur National Champion Jett Reynolds and upcoming Kawasaki Team Green rider Ryder DiFrancesco.

“We are confident with our team roster for 2023,” said Kawasaki Racing Senior Manager, Dan Fahie. “The success we shared with Jason in both supercross and motocross is promising as we look to the upcoming unified SuperMotocross World Championship. We’re also very optimistic about Adam’s return to the starting gate as he’s proven to be a top contender at the premier level. We are in a great place with the development of our KX450SR and look forward to continued success through this next evolution of professional motocross.”

Anderson and his KX450SR proved a winning pair through the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, earning seven Monster Energy Supercross Main Event wins and leading 135 Main Event laps; nearly twice as many laps led as his closest rival. Anderson carried his success into the Pro Motocross Championship where he claimed his first 450 Class overall win at Round 2 and asserted himself as a staple podium finisher. Looking to the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, Pro Motocross Championship and SuperMotocross World Championship in 2023, Anderson aims to continue his fight for premier class supremacy.

Jason Anderson won his first overall in the 450 class at the 2022 Hangtown National.

“My first year racing the KX450SR with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team has been awesome,” said Anderson. “I’ve won more races this season than any other in my career, so it’s clear the program and the team environment we have are working well. Next year there will be more up for grabs than ever before, so we are focused on making another strong push for the championship.”

Cianciarulo will line up with Monster Energy Kawasaki in 2023 to continue his illustrious 18-year partnership with Kawasaki as he enters his fourth year of 450 Class racing. The No.9 KX450SR rider graduated through the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green program on his way to the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship, was crowned 2019 Monster Energy Cup Champion, secured 2020 Pro Motocross runner-up honors and has a total of 21 combined professional wins. Cianciarulo is geared up to capitalize on a full off-season of preparation with the team ahead of his 2023 Championship efforts.

Adam Cianciarulo will return to the Kawasaki team for 2023.

“I’m eager to get back to racing at the top level again this year,” said Cianciarulo. “With a thorough recovery period behind me, I’m in a great place physically and mentally to excel when we go racing. I’m really enthusiastic about what’s coming with the new developments to our sport and I’m doing everything I can, along with the whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team, to be the best when it comes time to drop the gate.”

MONSTER ENERGY PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI 250 TEAM

Mitch Payton is keeping all of his riders for next season and adding Ryder Difrancesco to the mix. 

Bolstered by a remarkable 30 years of professional racing success, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team will contest the 2023 AMA SuperMotocross World Championship with a familiar lineup. The host of an unparalleled 291 combined supercross and motocross wins, and 31 total championships, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki is equipped for continued success with Shimoda, Forkner, McAdoo, Hammaker, Reynolds, and DiFrancesco.

“We are bringing back a proven group for the 2023 racing season,” said Mitch Payton. “Jo has progressed well this year to get his first overall Pro Motocross win and we expect him to race at the front of the pack. Cameron and Austin had a solid start to the Monster Energy Supercross Championship last year and they will definitely look to carry on that same race-winning success. Seth has also shown he can compete at the front of the class and he is gaining a lot of experience this year, so we anticipate more strong performances out of him. Jett has been hard at work with the whole team to prepare for the season ahead and Ryder showed a lot of promise in the select Pro Motocross nationals he raced so we look forward to helping both of them progress next year.”

Jo Shimoda smiling for the MXA cameras at Washougal. In his first two years with the team, Shimoda raced his KX™250 away from the competition to etch his name in the history books as the first Japanese-born winner in Monster Energy Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross. With increasing frequency to his winning ways and a reputation for consistent finishes, Shimoda has the prowess to be a championship contender in the 2023 racing season. 

Austin Forkner has had a rough string of injuries, but the Pro Circuit team is sticking by him for 2023. Entering his eighth year with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, Forkner’s 13 wins mark him as a title favorite heading into 2023. The 250 Class veteran is poised to bring home his first professional championship. 

McAdoo earned his second Monster Energy Supercross win in 2022 amid a streak of five consecutive podium finishes. The Iowa-native aims to build upon his success with a full championship campaign in the year ahead.

Lining up for his third year in the professional ranks, Hammaker’s Supercross Main Event win and five podium finishes have proven his readiness to battle at the front of the pack throughout the season. 

An amateur standout and recent Team Green graduate, Reynolds is set to continue his development with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team through 2023.

After a successful debut in the 2022 Pro Motocross Championship, DiFrancesco will look to join the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in 2023.