There was some confusion after Friday’s pre-race Team Manager media conference in Denver, when Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager Dan Fahie answered, “No,” when asked about rumors that Chase Sexton might not be racing Pro Motocross. That short answer could be interpreted many ways, such as, “No he is not racing,” or perhaps, “No, I don’t know,” but it turns out, from what we can tell, he meant “No I don’t need to address those rumors.”
After the race, Fahie spoke to our Steve Matthes and confirmed Sexton's presence for AMA Pro Motocross.
“To clear up yesterday, we will see both riders (Chase Sexton and Garrett Marchbanks) outdoors at Pala in a few weeks, right?”
Fahie then responded clearly with, “That is correct.”
Okay, so no one is sitting out of races in the near future. That’s clear. There are still issues, though, as Sexton, the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Champion and winner of seven races last year has had a well-below-par season with one win and two podiums in 2026. Fahie is noy denying that it has been a struggle.
“We're trying everything we can,” he said. “So is he. So, all we can do is keep doing our work trying to make it better, and that's what we're doing. So, really, there's nothing else. I don't know what else to say other than that. I can tell you we're working.”
Kawasaki’s factory team is proving they’re willing to think outside the box and make major changes if a rider asks for them. The team has faced criticism from past riders (like Jake Weimer) for not making changes he requested. On Sexton’s end, we’ve seen tons of changes, from Pro Circuit parts instead of factory units one weekend, to this week when photos surfaced of Sexton testing Twisted Development ECU parts. Fahie backs that they’ll try anything.
“I mean, he's [Jamie Ellis of Twisted Development] not the only avenue that we went down,” says Fahie. “We went down many other avenues as well. We're ready to do what we need to do to get the job done. I mean, look, we have a great team, and the guys are dedicated to do whatever they need to do to make it work. And if they have to go to Florida, they'll go to Florida. If they have to go to Timbuktu, they'll do that. They'll go wherever they need to go and do whatever they need to do, and that's what we've been working on.”
Sexton’s time with his previous two 450 teams, Honda HRC Progressive and Red Bull KTM, were also dotted by lots of bike changes. Fahie was asked if Sexton is maybe changing too much.
“I think that's always a risk with any rider any time but I think you have to have a strong foundation first. It's a very difficult balance, without question, and if I'm being honest, we haven't struck it yet.”
The year started well for this group, actually, with Sexton arguably the fastest rider on track at round two in San Diego when he went from stuck in the starting gate to fourth and then won round three at Anaheim 2. At that point it looked like things were headed in the right direction. Fahie was also asked if he saw any signs there would be struggles during the off season leading to Anaheim 1.
“I didn't see any signs of that to be perfectly honest,” he said. “It’s gone that way, but I didn't see any signs of it early. No.”
Speaking of trying everything, the team is now using Kyle Chisholm as a second test rider in Florida along with Broc Tickle’s work in California. Chisholm is also now back to racing as a late addition for the Partzilla Blaster Power Kawasaki team. Fahie says Chisholm is able to handle both testing and racing roles without issue.
“It doesn't have any effect on what he's bringing to us. He can do that and ride [race] whatever he wants to ride, however he wants to ride. He's a professional and his feedback is very good and it was a nice treat for us to work with him like we have and we probably will in the future too. I'm not sure, but that’s been a pleasant experience.”
What else did Fahie have to say on Friday?
What sort of feedback do you get from Japan? Are they more involved than other times at certain points? Like how involved is Japan in the decisions you make with testing and whatever else.
They support us the best they can. Look, they don't do a lot of supercross, so they can't help us a lot. For example, if we're going through the whoops and we're having trouble, they don't have a lot of feedback on that. They know the motorcycle inside and out, so they can help us there, but supercross is not their expertise.
Your other rider, Garrett Marchbanks. What are the thoughts on the season?
I think he's where he should be. Obviously, we would like to see it better, but he’s working with the team very well. He’s progressing. We don't always see the results of the progress, you know, like we have great weeks and we don't see the results necessarily every week. But we can see it and I think that's the most important thing.
It sounds like the 2027 KX450 is going to have some significant changes. Do you know what those will be, whether they will help? And equally, when will you get your hands on that bike for the first time?
No, I don't know if it will help. I don't know too much about it to be perfectly honest and I'm not sure when we're going to get it.
Dan, has there been one experiment throughout this whole process that has surprised you and gone in the correct direction?
Yeah, I think that, for anybody, when you experience challenges, you always learn. And I guess that's the thing that I would say the most is we have been challenged and we have learned a ton. So, there's not one thing, there's many, many things.
Matthes also asked Faie for his take on the event, , in which Sexton suffered another bad start and worked his way to fifth, with the help of some wild crashes with riders in front of him.
“That was one of the craziest races I’ve ever seen,” said Fahie in regard to riders like Cooper Webb, Dylan Ferrandis and Justin Cooper all going down. “I don’t remember one like that. As far as our night it wasn’t ideal, but you know what? It was a good recovery and I’ll take it. Heat race and qualifying were both good, I see some progress. We’re trying everything I can promise you that."
Watch the pre-race press conference with Dan Fahie starting around the 26:00 minute mark:
