Motocross

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team prepared for victory

Posted:

Sunday, February 18th, 2018

9:14 PM

The FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship will kick off in Argentina at the beginning of March and the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team is ready in its new livery to push for victory in 2018.

After a five month break everyone is now preparing to jet out to South America where the 2018 MXGP World Championship will be launched on March 3rd and 4th at NeuquÌ©n in the Patagonia region of Argentina. The factory KX450-SR race machines are ready to be shipped in a few days, and ClÌ©ment Desalle will enter his sole pre-season race at Lacapelle Marival in France this weekend while new teammate Julien Lieber continues to train in southern France.

ClÌ©ment Desalle's factory KX450-SR

Forced to sit out the final two GPs last season due to injury, ClÌ©ment Desalle narrowly missed a top three world ranking after a strong season, but his second year with the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team was a good one with two GP victories and several podiums. In the wake of their experience working together through the last two years the Belgian rider and the team, aided by the strong partnership with the Japanese engineers and those at the Kawasaki Motors Corporation in the USA, have established a close relationship to set up the bike perfectly for the rider and everyone in the team is confident that the 2018 set-up will deliver even more success.

Julien Lieber

‰ÛÏWe worked mainly on details concerning both the engine and the chassis with KHI, KMC and our technical partners,‰Û

Julien Lieber

"I had a very good winter preparation with no injuries and have been able to train in good conditions in southern Spain," Desalle said. "I was back on the bike in November and we had enough time to work with the team on the bike; there are no big changes but a lot of delicate fine-tuning, mainly to the chassis. I‰Ûªm very happy with the results and have a very good feeling with the KX450-SR.

"My season will start this weekend with the Lacapelle International; it was our choice not to contest too many races as the season will be long enough. I‰Ûªm totally focus on the World Championship, and I‰Ûªm happy to start the season in Argentina as it‰Ûªs a nice country and a nice track; the goal this season will be to perform well in each round."

Julien Lieber's factory KX450-SR

Now that Julien Lieber is able to ride again following kenn surgery he is growing in confidence.

"I've been back on a bike for three weeks and the feeling with the KX450-SR is better day after day," Lieber said. "The first week I used a production bike as I had a four months break due to my knee surgery. It was the best way to ease back into riding and after that week I jumped on the factory bike; I must say that the first sessions were not easy as this bike is so much more powerful, but we worked with the team on the settings to adapt the bike to my riding style and we have found a very good set-up.

"It was not my first experience on a 450 as I did some sand races a couple of years ago and I really love this class. We skipped the pre-season races as I was not ready to go racing so soon after returning to riding, but I‰Ûªm confident for Argentina; it was better to focus on our tests and my training.‰Û