It is widely believed that former MX1 world championship runner-up and Grand Prix winner Steven Frossard will be riding a KTM in 2015 and has found an SX-F with the fast-emerging British Wilvo Forkrent team.
Rumours over the last week have the outgoing Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider linked to Steve Turner’s crew alongside Jake Nicholls for next year’s MXGP campaign.
Frossard’s representatives have been struggling to find a suitable arrangement for the Frenchman with his seat at Kawasaki due to be taken by South African Tyla Rattray. The 27-year-old allegedly had been negotiating with the Red Bull KTM team but a deal was taken off the table around the time of the Grand Prix of Sweden (early July) and Tommy Searle was given the opportunity to partner Tony Cairoli on either the works 350 or 450SX-F.
With every other works saddle occupied there was even talk of Frossard considering a year away from motocross. The rider from Lyon has had a decent recovery term from two seasons of injury misery and is currently vying with Shaun Simpson for fifth place in the MXGP standings. Frossard has been inconsistent at times but has also a podium finish when lead Kawasaki rider Gautier Paulin was on the sidelines recovering from a broken thumb.
It seems that Frossard could be steering a KTM for the first time in his career after all but Team Principal, Steve Turner, could not be drawn when asked this week. “At the moment I can neither confirm or deny what will be our full rider line-up for next year but we will be able to announce after the Motocross of Nations,” he said.
“Anyway I think it is a fantastic reflection on the work we have done and the growing status of the team that we can be linked with riders of Steven’s ability.”
Turner did comment that the team will again field two riders in the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship and Nicholls is the prime contender for the second 450SX-F for his second season in the category. The outfit will once more support teenage hotshot Adam Sterry in the European EMX250 Championship.
