Pauls Jonass will remain with the Kawasaki Racing Team for the 2027 FIM Motocross World Championship, with the Latvian set to enter his third season aboard the factory KX450-SR and take on the role of Kawasaki’s sole MXGP-class rider.
Kawasaki Racing Team will again field three riders across its world championship program next season, with Mathis Valin and Francisco Garcia continuing in MX2, while Jonass leads the manufacturer’s MXGP effort following the departure of 2025 World Champion Romain Febvre, who will join Ducati for the 2027 season.
The announcement comes after one of Jonass’ strongest MXGP campaigns to date. Despite missing two rounds through injury earlier in the year, the 29-year-old has returned to form and has been a regular top-five contender through the latter stages of the season.
The former 2017 MX2 World Champion moved into the premier class after claiming both MX2 world championship gold and silver medals earlier in his career. Since then, he has built a strong relationship with Kawasaki Racing Team manager Antti Pyrhönen and has become an important part of the factory development program during his two seasons on the KX450-SR.
With 12 Grand Prix victories to his name – 11 in MX2 and one in MXGP – Jonass has been heavily involved in the ongoing development of Kawasaki’s factory machinery alongside the team’s technical staff and race department engineers.
While Valin and Garcia will focus on Kawasaki’s MX2 project, the team believes Jonass’ experience will be valuable both on and off the track as Kawasaki transitions to a single-rider MXGP structure.
Jonass said he was pleased to continue his relationship with Kawasaki and believes there is still more to come from the partnership.
“Obviously I am very happy to continue with Kawasaki and the Kawasaki Racing Team for 2027!” Jonass said.
“I’m looking forward to work on the project for another year and keep building with the team.”
Reflecting on the progress made during 2026, Jonass said the relationship between rider, team and factory had continued to strengthen.
“This year we made a good step forward in terms of my feel with the bike and for the future I’m sure that we can make even bigger steps working in partnership with the Kawasaki factory,” he explained.
“It’s always nice to stay working with the same people and keep progressing, and it’s good to have a strong base as today the level in the MXGP class is so high.
“I sincerely appreciate the trust of Antti, Kimi and everyone involved for believing in me. Now we can focus on making another step forward together in 2027.”
Kawasaki Racing Team manager Antti Pyrhönen said continuity would be important as the team continues both its racing and development programs.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Pauls for the 2027 season and we firmly believe that the continuity that this offers will help him move to the next level in MXGP while delivering the opportunity to widen our testing and development program,” Pyrhönen said.
He explained that rider development and machine development have always been closely linked within the Kawasaki project.
“When Kimi and I discussed this project at the outset we knew that it would not simply be about racing but also testing and development; something very familiar to Kimi in his days in the Formula 1 paddock.”
Pyrhönen added that Jonass’ responsibilities will extend beyond racing in 2027.
“Pauls will not simply line up at the start gate next season, but he will additionally help with product development for our SR variant of the KX450F as well as helping with aspects of the production machine that Kawasaki customers can buy.
“We will also draw on his considerable Kawasaki experience as part of the global Team Green family as a role model for aspiring Kawasaki riders.
“There’s a lot to do, but Pauls has the attitude, skill and enthusiasm to make a success of his new role in 2027.”
Masanori Kinuhata, Senior Manager of Kawasaki Motors’ Marketing Department, believes Jonass’ value to the company extends well beyond race day results.
“Kawasaki is delighted that Pauls will continue with the Kawasaki Racing Team for 2027,” Kinuhata said.
“While his role within Team Green will continue to evolve, we believe his best MXGP results are still ahead of him.”
Kinuhata highlighted Jonass’ technical input as a key factor in the decision to retain him.
“In the racing environment, and across a wide range of testing scenarios we need a rider with not simply the highest skill level but also a rider who can feedback information and react well to subtle upgrades and changes to the KX package – Pauls has those attributes.”
He also pointed to Jonass’ position within Kawasaki’s broader rider development structure.
“At Kawasaki, we are famous for our long-standing Team Green programme – in fact we were among the first to create this aspiration environment whereby a rider can start on a youth training bike and move – in a staged way – all the way up to international level and, ultimately, MXGP.
“With KRT and Pauls at the pinnacle of Team Green in motocross, we have clear and positive targets for Kawasaki riders to look up to and progress toward inside the global Team Green motocross family.”
Before turning his attention to 2027, Jonass will represent Latvia for the sixth time at the Motocross of Nations, while Kawasaki teammates Romain Febvre and Mathis Valin will line up for France at the season-ending event in Ernée.
