Yamaha Takes Its MXGP Team In-House and Ends Its Factory MX2 Effort
Yamaha Motor Europe is ending its factory MX2 program immediately and running the 2027 MXGP team directly from a new R&D base in Italy, closing out its long-running Kemea arrangement.
Yamaha is tearing up its World Championship motocross setup. On October 14, the company announced it is ending its factory MX2 effort immediately and moving the MXGP program under the direct control of Yamaha Motor Europe for 2027 (Motorcycle.com). Cycle News reported the same shake-up as Yamaha bringing its MXGP team in-house (Cycle News).
What's changing
Two things happen here, on two different clocks.
MX2 is done, now. The factory MX2 operation was run by Hans Corvers and the Kemea team, and the move ends that long-running arrangement. That outfit delivered Maxime Renaux's 2021 World Championship and four manufacturers' titles, so this isn't a program that was failing on results.
MXGP gets rebuilt for 2027. Yamaha Motor Europe will manage the MXGP team's day-to-day operations itself, including technical development. Operations are being centralized at Yamaha's new Motorsport Research and Development facility in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy, which is described as Yamaha's main European R&D site and also develops its MotoGP, World Superbike and Rally Raid programs.
The ripple effects
The restructuring also touches Yamaha's European Motocross 250 and 125 programs. The Hutten Metaal Team, run by Wim Hutten, produced EMX250 titles for Thibault Benistant, Rick Elzinga and Andrea Bonacorsi, and Renaux himself came up through EMX125. The report doesn't spell out what exactly happens to those programs, so we won't guess.
Andrea Dosoli, Motorsport Division manager at Yamaha Motor Europe, put it this way: "we are refocusing our resources for the 2027 season." He thanked Corvers, the Kemea Team, Hutten and the Hutten Metaal Team, saying their dedication "has played a key role in Yamaha's success, especially in EMX250."
What we don't know yet
Plenty. Yamaha hasn't revealed the new MXGP team's management or its 2027 rider roster. For reference, the 2026 Yamaha MXGP riders were five-time World Champion Tim Gajser (third overall) and Renaux (eighth), and the MX2 riders were Latvian brothers Kārlis Reišulis (seventh) and Jānis Reišulis (sixth). Whether any of them are in the 2027 plan hasn't been announced, so treat any rider rumor as just that.
Why a rider should care
Race-team structure feels like paddock gossip until you remember that factory programs are where a lot of the bike development comes from. Pulling the team in-house and putting it next door to the engineers who also work on Yamaha's other racing programs is a bet that tighter control means faster development. Whether that bet pays off will show up on track, and eventually in the YZ450F and YZ250F you can buy.
It's also a reminder of how fast the landscape is shifting. A team that won a world title and four manufacturers' championships in the MX2 class is gone with immediate effect, and the replacement structure is still a blank page.
What to watch
- The 2027 MXGP team announcement: management and rider roster, both still unannounced.
- The EMX250 and EMX125 details: the report says those programs are affected but doesn't say how.
- Gajser's and Renaux's plans: nothing is confirmed either way.
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