Monster Energy Kawasaki loses two key riders: following Jorge Prado, Chase Sexton has also ended his association with the team.

Monster Energy Kawasaki in crisis: after Prado, Chase Sexton is also leaving

Prado’s departure was still manageable for the manufacturer. He had never ridden a non-Austrian bike, was new to the American Motocross paddock and was unknown to many American spectators. For this reason, the blame was attributed to external factors rather than the KX450 itself. Kawasaki’s signing of Sexton was more than enough to reignite optimism. The departure of a championship-winning rider from a factory team so quickly is an extremely rare occurrence, and Prado’s exit seemed like an isolated incident to everyone involved. Losing Prado was a minor setback, but losing Sexton is a total failure. A double blow of this kind is simply unheard of, and leaves Kawasaki in a disastrous situation from which it will take years (not months) to recover. The buzz surrounding the relatively new 2027 KX450 could be a plus point, although without a winning rider in the saddle it will be difficult to gauge whether it would have affected Prado’s or Sexton’s standings. The best possible outcome with their new line-up of Garrett Marchbanks and Malcolm Stewart is that they achieve solid results in the role they have always played: that of consistent riders in the top five.