As we discussed earlier this week, Travis Preston had a chance to test with the Monster Energy Kawasaki Supercross team, and Kawasaki has decided to hire him. Preston will finish the supercross series on the factory KX450F left idle as a result of James Stewart’s knee injury.
Here is Kawasaki’s press release regarding Preston.
Irvine, Calif. (February 1, 2008) – Monster Energy Kawasaki announced today that Travis Preston will finish out the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship season on a factory Kawasaki KXTM450F. Preston joins the team as James Stewart recovers from a knee injury.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Preston. “Monster Energy Kawasaki is one of the best supercross teams and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’ve been riding and preparing as much as I could since I received the call from Mike Fisher (Team Manager). It is tough to get up to speed so quickly but I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Preston enjoyed three top-five finishes last year including a season’s best finish of fourth at both Anaheim 1 and Phoenix. A shoulder injury limited him to just nine events. Since turning pro in 1995, Preston won the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites championship in 2002.
“Travis is going to be a great asset for our team,” said Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager Mike Fisher. “He has a lot of experience and when we knew James would miss the rest of the supercross series, Travis was the first rider we contacted. After seeing him ride this week, I knew he would be our rider.”
Preston will join Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry. Ferry is currently third in the supercross points standings.
