Musical Chairs: All eyes on Jorge Prado!
A major restructuring within the KTM group, Kawasaki ending the collaboration with their current MXGP team and one superstar wanting to switch camps. That superstar is two-time world champion Jorge Prado.
Rarely has there been such a complex puzzle on the table for the transfer market in the Motocross World Championship as this year. For several months now, a redistribution of the tickets for the teams from the Pierer Mobility Group (KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas) has been causing a stir.
IceOne Kawasaki?
In the meantime, it is clear that the IceOne team of team owner Kimi Räikkönen will be looking for other places in 2021 after seven seasons at Husqvarna. An announcement from Kawasaki on July 21 confirmed that the Greens will annul their marriage with MX Esca BV, the French-Dutch team of Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni, at the end of this season. Whether this actually means that IceOne will take over the Kawasaki MXGP deal remains to be determined. The fact that the Finns were already on Kawa in 2012 fuels the rumors even more.
Yet these types of mega deals are never obvious. How Kawasaki will enter the MXGP is an important piece of the puzzle for the entire paddock. Last but not least it also runs Triumph, one of the larger European motorcycle manufacturers, with very concrete off-road plans. Whether Triumph will join the MXGP in 2022 has not yet been confirmed. If that were the case, a collaboration with IceOne is of course also a possibility.
And where does 'man in form' Romain Febvre go? After ups and downs on Yamaha, the 2015 MXGP World Champion has reinvented himself on the KX450. However, there are not many options for the Frenchman and the Kawasaki suits him like a glove. One of the options for Romain is a return to Husqvarna, the brand with which the ex-EMX250 champion made waves in the MX2 World Championship in 2014.
Finally, the main sponsors also have a say in these shifts. Will Rockstar Energy remain at IceOne or will Monster Energy be the new title sponsor there?
Jorge Prado as the key to success
Rumors have been circulating for some time that things are no longer going well between Jorge Prado and his current team, the Italian Red Bull KTM Factory Racing led by Claudio De Carli. In any case, the bitter duels between teammates Tony Cairoli and Jorge Prado point to the fierce sporting rivalry between the two fighters. Nine-time world champion Cairoli shows that he still belongs among the world's top, but in September the popular Sicilian will turn 36. So there is no change for the future, while Prado (21) is widely tipped as the next super champion in the line of Cairoli – Herlings – Gajser.
Although Prado is still under contract, the Spaniard would not be unwilling to make a switch. On the one hand, there is the difficult relationship between him and his current team. On the other hand, there is currently a large gap in pay between the salary of Jorge Prado and big earners Gajser, Herlings and Cairoli. Naturally, “JP61” and its manager Oscar Lanza are also aware of Prado's market value. According to our Moto Verte colleague Pascal Haudiquert Yamaha has therefore made the 35-time GP winner a hefty offer. Other sources see a Prado-HRC Honda combination as a real possibility.
However, it is far from certain whether that will be sufficient. After all, KTM will have the opportunity to match Yamaha's offer. For both title sponsor Monster Energy and Yamaha itself, Prado could be the last missing link in the premier class. The last world title of the Monster Energy Yamaha tandem dates back to 2015. To be continued!
Tekst: Editorial office
Photos: Only Vidic, Ray Archer
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