Kensei Matsudaira will race a Kramer APX-350 MA for Team Roberts in the 2026 MotoAmerica Parts Unlimited Talent Cup by Motul series.
“We’ve known Kenny (Roberts) for about a year now, and we’ve seen him in the MotoAmerica paddock this season,” Matsudaira said. “We did a track day at Chuckwalla (Valley Raceway), a shakedown. Then after the season ended, they reached out and they said they wanted to do something for next year. We did a test at Chuckwalla, and that was it.”
2025 was a busy year for the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup GP 190 National Champion. Matsudaira also raced in Spain in the FIM JuniorGP World Championship European Talent Cup, raced in China in the one-off Ohvale Guangzhou Supercup, raced in Japan in the Asia Talent Cup support race at the MotoGP World Championship round at Motegi, and finished on the podium in a wildcard MotoAmerica Talent Cup entry at Circuit of The Americas.
But there were disappointments and injuries along the way, and Matsudaira said 2025 was a learning year.
“There were some ups and downs. I was hoping to perform a little better in my wild cards in European Talent Cup. I was also hoping to make it into the Asia Talent Cup, but that didn’t happen,” Matsudaira says. “I learned that it’s important to keep your head up, not let those things bring you down.”
His plans for 2026 are not entirely finalized. At the least, Matsudaira is hoping to add more European Talent Cup (now known as the Moto4 European Cup) wild card entries to his MotoAmerica duties. But his 2026 goal in MotoAmerica is clear: “My goal is to try to win the Championship,” he says.
