The Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP is a big family with no less than twenty people working under the guidance of team owner Kimi Räikkönen and team manager Antti Pyrhönen. Thanks to his great knowledge and experience both as a GP rider and now as team manager Antti has assembled a solid team of mechanics and technicians to work for the team.
 
For Antonio Tiveddu, the MXGP technical manager, motocross has always been an integral part of his life. “I started racing when I was very young; my dad was racing for fun on Sardinia but he didn't achieve any real success, so as soon as I was born one of his dreams was to put me on a bike. That’s what he did when I was six years old, and for him the dream came true! I started racing on Sardinia, then advanced step-by-step to the Italian championship. I was working in a factory until I was eighteen-years-old, and then in 2005 I joined Team Maddi and tried to become a professional rider. The first season was OK but then I had a knee injury. Anyway it was still my dream to be at least one time behind the gate at a Grand Prix and that happened in 2009 at Faenza. I did a few MX3 races in 2010 but I realised that maybe it would be better to stop racing and become a mechanic,” explained Antonio, who then entered his new challenge with passion.
 
“ I was studying to be a mechanic at school, and I had always been working on my own bike. In 2011 I got the opportunity to work as mechanic in the JTech Yamaha team, and I had the chance to have Iller Aldini, one of the best technician in the paddock, as teacher. I worked with him for a couple of seasons and he really taught me what is motocross in a professional way as a mechanic. Then in 2014 my phone rang; I was really surprised to get this call from Antti Pyrhönen. He offered me the possibility to work in a factory team, which was another dream, and since that time I have always been working with him. Coming from Sardinia I didn’t speak English so well at the time so communication was short but I have improved my English step-by-step and I worked successively with Todd Waters, Christophe Charlier, Max Anstie and Pauls Jonass. In 2020 I became chief mechanic, and since the team started working with Kawasaki I have been the MXGP technical manager,” he added.
 
With twenty world championship rounds every year, plus testing sessions and some international races, the team staff is always travelling somewhere in the world. Passion is essential to undertake this job for so many years, and Antonio does it with charisma and professional attitude. “As technical manager my main goal is to take care of all the people who work on the technical side, and to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. That means coordinating all the people in charge of the bikes, the engines, the suspensions and mapping to combine in the best way. We have had the chance to work with almost the same people for several years; it is just like a big family. The main thing is to have a good relationship with everyone as we live together, we travel together, we stay in the same hotel. It’s important to work together in a good atmosphere with a calm and positive attitude. We are a big family, but everyone must also always remain highly professional,” he concluded as the KRT team look forward to the resumption of the FIM MXGP world championship with the French GP at Lacapelle-Marival this weekend.