Vurb’s 2023 Team Previews: Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki

Welcome to the offseason and our new ongoing “Team Previews” column. Every week from now until the Monster Energy Supercross season starts in January we will be profiling a big team in the sport. We’ll go through the changes that have been made, analyze results, and give each team a grade on all of their offseason moves. This week we have Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki and you will find the full schedule below.

Who’s In:
#30 – Jo Shimoda (250SX/MX)
#35 – Seth Hammaker (250SX/MX)
#48 – Cameron McAdoo (250SX/MX)
#55 – Austin Forkner (250SX/MX)
#75 – Ryder Difrancesco (Supercross Futures/250MX)
#124 – Jett Reynolds (250SX/250MX)

Who’s Out:
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki will run the same team in 2023 as it had in 2022.

Last season’s Supercross Results:
Jo Shimoda – 4th 250SX West
Seth Hammaker – 18th 250SX West
Cameron McAdoo – 7th 250SX East
Austin Forkner – 9th 250SX East
Ryder Difrancesco – Did Not Race
Jett Reynolds – Did Not Race

Last Season’s Motocross Results:
Jo Shimoda- 2nd 250MX
Seth Hammaker – 7th 250MX
Cameron McAdoo – 18th 250MX
Austin Forkner – 26th 250MX
Ryder Difrancesco – 22nd 250MX
Jett Reynolds- Did Not Race.

Offseason Grade:  B

The Rundown: 

I almost gave Mitch Payton and his crew an A for the offseason grade. Here’s why I didn’t. The biggest problem with this lineup is injuries. Literally every rider on this team is capable of winning, save for Reynolds and DiFrancesco because they are still developing (they may have that speed too?). However, Shimoda, McAdoo, and Forkner would not surprise me if they came out and won their coasts this coming season. IF they can stay healthy, which has been the biggest issue for this team for the last decade. Staying healthy is a skill in itself and almost everyone on this roster has struggled with that issue recently.

Shimoda is an obvious title threat indoors and out after showing speed in 2021, winning a main event, but 2022 was a little underwhelming for him when he should have been a title contender. Outdoors was a different story as Jo was a standout in the 250 class and he finished second overall with two overall victories. With Jett Lawrence moving up to 450 class next summer, Jo is going to be one of the favorites for the 250MX title as well. Shimoda’s story is cool. When GEICO Honda folded he had a tryout with PC and they ended up signing him and now here he is as a championship contender and race winner.

Where does Seth Hammaker fit in? Is this year where he takes that leap and gets some more main event wins and is a podium level guy each week? Or does he end up in that 5-10 mix more often than not? Will his speed be just a tick off of the podium? A lot of questions will be surrounding Hammaker as he comes off of his best season yet as a pro. He keeps progressing with each season and in 2023 he should do more of the same. 

If Cameron McAdoo can stay healthy he will win a 250SX title. His speed has been incredible, but at the same time so have his crashes. No one hits the ground harder than McAdoo. With another year of experience and that trainer of his Nick Wey keeping things in order, it should be a nice season for Cam. If he’s healthy he will be a championship contender by the end of SX.

Oh hey, Austin Forkner! It’s been a little bit since we’ve seen your name. You had a renaissance of sorts in 2022 where you won again and showed Jett that you have the speed to beat him on a Supercross track. Forkner’s collision midair with Jett at Arlington was a very scary crash and he came back rather quickly to finish SX off strong. I’m assuming he will still have that same fight in him when he returns to SX racing. Don’t forget Forkner returned to race Fox Raceway II and finished sixth overall. Forkner was set to be a supercross champion by this point in his career, but the injuries have been massive. 

I believe that Ryder D will be racing Supercross Futures and joining the team full-time for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. This is a great entry plan for Ryder D because it will help him develop more SX skills, while at the same time keeping his eyes on the prize for his first full season of motocross. Ryder’s future is very bright and unless it gets derailed by injuries, he will be a top rider for many years to come.

Finally, we have Jett Reynolds. I have no idea the status of Jett. I’ve heard many things about his program, but none of them from a good source, so I’m leaving that up to speculation. I did reach out to Jett to see if he’d like to come on Vurb for an interview to clear some things up and I never got a reply. He’s been posting some riding photos on Instagram lately, so who knows. Maybe he is prepping for Supercross, or maybe he’s still recovering from injury. I’m not sure. One thing that I’m for sure on is that Jett has some serious skills and I hope we all get to witness them on a track sooner than later.

Cheers to staying healthy Team PC and being in the hunt for wins and titles in 2023.   

Thanks for reading my series of team previews for the coming season. If you’d like to talk about these or any of the other stories that I’ve written you can email me at [email protected] You can also reach me on Twitter/Instagram: @troydogvurb.

Team Preview Schedule:
10/27 – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/ GASGAS Factory Race Team

11/3 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing

11/9 – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Team

11/16 – Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing

11/25 – HRC Honda

12/01 – Red Bull KTM

12/9 – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki

12/14 – H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki

12/21 – Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha

12/28- Bar X Suzuki

1/3 – Team Solitaire

Main image: Kawasaki