Clement Desalle extended his contract with KRT for a further two years last week reports Alex Hodgkinson but no news on a new deal for Jordi Tixier, which appears to leave the Frenchman looking for a 2018 ride.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s star MXGP rider for the last two years has inked a deal extension that will take him until the end of the 2019 season.
It’s the Belgian’s best season on green with two grand prix overall victories on the bounce (France and Russia) and currently sits second place in the 2017 FIM World Motocross Championship standings, 91 points behind Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tony Cairoli after 12 rounds.
“I’m really happy to continue working with Kawasaki as I enjoy my job and the work we do together – it’s good that we reached an agreement to continue working like that,” said the 28-year-old.
“It’s good to sign so early in the season, as at some stage you start thinking about your future, but now I can focus entirely on each race and each GP to get the best results for all of us. I’m also happy as we have worked hard for one and a half years to develop the bike, which is now really good, and we can stay focused on our common goal which is winning races.”
On Desalle’s team-mate, Jordi Tixier, Hodgkinson says the former MX2 world champion will be hunting for a new ride for 2018 with KRT looking elsewhere in the pits for next year.
It’s been rumoured that Tommy Searle could switch from the KRT satellite team of Dixon Racing to the factory outfit but the latest word is that Kawasaki’s target is Yamaha’s Benoit Paturel, who ages out of MX2 this year.
