Here in the States, motocross fans are wondering if and when James Stewart will race the Kawasaki KX450F. This bike has already been battle tested not only in Japan, but in the MX1 World championship.
Young Tanel Leok (20 years old) has been racing the KX450F for several months now in the MX1 championship. The KX450F has proven itself plenty quick . . . Leok is on pole position after timed practice for the 10th round of MX1 scheduled in Sweden this weekend. Leok was more than half a second quicker than his closest rival, and nearly one and one-half seconds quicker than Stefan Everts (Yamaha).
The pre-production bike Leok began racing earlier in the series has not been without its teething problems, and Leok was forced to miss one round with a knee injury. Nevertheless, the KX450F has turned into a very competitive machine — as evidenced by Leok’s pole in Sweden.
Certainly engine and suspension tuning information derived from MX1 experience will be shared with Stewart’s U.S. Kawasaki factory team if he is to race the KX450F this year. The KX450F is still very new, but it will not start from scratch as a factory racing machine.
