Kawasaki KX450SR Ricky Carmichael replica revealed
A 25th anniversary display at San Diego pairs Carmichael’s original KX250SR with a modern KX450SR run in period-inspired livery.
Before anyone gets too excited, no, Kawasaki hasn’t slipped a two-stroke back onto the Supercross gate. What it has done is roll out a nostalgic nod to one of the most important seasons in modern Supercross history.
Monster Energy Kawasaki will mark the 25th anniversary of Ricky Carmichael’s 2001 AMA Supercross Championship at the San Diego round of the 2026 series on Saturday, January 17. Central to the display is Carmichael’s original 2001 KX250SR, the bike that carried him to his first premier-class Supercross title and set a new benchmark for dominance.
Alongside it will sit a 2026 KX450SR dressed in period-inspired graphics that deliberately echo Carmichael’s old #4 machine. And it’s not just for show, as Chase Sexton will race a similarly liveried KX450SR at San Diego, with Garrett Marchbanks also running one-off anniversary graphics for the night.
San Diego was the location where, in 2001, Carmichael won the opening round of the season, setting the tone for what followed. Over 16 rounds, he won 14 races and finished on the podium every single time. Only Jeremy McGrath briefly disrupted proceedings early on, winning two of the first three rounds before Carmichael took control and stayed there.
That 2001 title was Carmichael’s first in the premier Supercross class. He’d finished fifth overall the year before, but 2001 was the moment he came of age in the class. From round four onwards, the championship became less competitive than inevitable.
The fourteen wins Carmichael secured remain a joint record for a single season, shared with McGrath – although Carmichael achieved it across a longer championship and with relentless consistency. Kawasaki, meanwhile, hadn’t managed consecutive premier-class Supercross main event wins since Jeff Ward in 1988, a drought Carmichael ended emphatically.
There is no word on production or a public release, and for now, this tribute remains as just that – a hat tip to one of the greats of the sport.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!