Regularly in the top five of the most recent MXGP rounds, Pauls has recovered well from the injury that forced him to miss two rounds earlier in the season. Thanks to his long experience, the 2017 MX2 World Champion is delivering his best season so far in MXGP having joined the premier class after clinching a gold and a silver medal in MX2.
Twenty-nine years old, winner of twelve GP’s in his career (eleven in the MX2 class and one in the MXGP category) the likeable Latvian rider has a productive and strong relationship with KRT team manager, Antti Pyrhonen. After two seasons on the KX450F-SR, he is fully integrated into the fabric of the team and has been involved in the development of the factory KX450-SR bikes alongside the team’s professional staff and factory race department technicians.
While Mathis and Francisco will focus on the KX250 project in the MX2 class, there’s no doubts that Pauls knowledge will be profitable to his team mates, and that his long and rich experience will help him to fight for top results in the MXGP class where he will occupy the solo role of Kawasaki factory rider.
Pauls will now represent Latvia for the sixth time in his career at the Motocross of Nations, while teammates Romain Febvre and Mathis Valin will enter this last famous race of the 2026 season a part of the French squad.
Pauls Jonass: “ Obviously I am very happy to continue with Kawasaki and the Kawasaki Racing Team for 2027! I’m looking forward to work on the project for another year and keep building with the team.
This year we made a good step forward in terms of my feel with the bike and for the future I’m sure that we can make even bigger steps working in partnership with the Kawasaki factory.
It’s always nice to stay working with the same people and keep progressing, And it’s good to have a strong base as today the level in the MXGP class is so high. I sincerely appreciate the trust of Antti, Kimi and everyone involved for believing in me. Now we can focus on making another step forward together in 2027.”
Antti Pyrhonen, Team Manager, Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Pauls for the 2027 season and we firmly believe that the continuity that this offers will help him move to the next level in MXGP while delivering the opportunity to widen our testing and development program.
When Kimi and I discussed this project at the outset we knew that it would not simply be about racing but also testing and development; something very familiar to Kimi in his days in the Formula 1 paddock.
Pauls will not simply line up at the start gate next season but he will additionally help with product development for our SR variant of the KX450F as well as helping with aspects of the production machine that Kawasaki customers can buy.
We will also draw on his considerable Kawasaki experience as part of the global Team Green family as a role model for aspiring Kawasaki riders. There’s a lot to do but Pauls has the attitude, skill and enthusiasm to make a success of his new role in 2027”.
Masanori Kinuhata, Marketing Dept. Senior Manager, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd.,
“Kawasaki is delighted that Pauls will continue with the Kawasaki Racing Team for 2027. While his role within Team Green will continue to evolve, we believe his best MXGP results are still ahead of him.
In the racing environment, and across a wide range of testing scenarios we need a rider with not simply the highest skill level but also a rider who can feedback information and react well to subtle upgrades and changes to the KX package – Pauls has those attributes.
At Kawasaki, we are famous for our long-standing Team Green programme – in fact we were among the first to create this aspiration environment whereby a rider can start on a youth training bike and move - in a staged way - all the way up to international level and, ultimately, MXGP.
With KRT and Pauls at the pinnacle of Team Green in motocross, we have clear and positive targets for Kawasaki riders to look up to and progress toward inside the global Team Green motocross family”.