Former British Champion and MXGP rider Shaun Simpson will be riding an RFX KTM for the 2019 season in the full MXGP World Championship alongside the British Championship.
Joining Shaun will be the young talented rider Joel Rizzi who will ride the 125 SX in the European Championship and the Michelin MX Nationals British Championship. Nathan Dixon will also join the team and after winter training on the new KTM SX-F 350 will decide which class in to compete in when he is back to full fitness. Nathan is coming off the back of a strong rookie season in the UK MX1 class and he may also join Shaun in the MX1 class in the UK but revert to a 250 to gain some EMX 250 experience next year. A third member of the team will be talented 17 year old Ben Clark. Ben will be joining the team on the SX-F 250 competing in two British Championships on home turf.
“I’m really pleased on joining RFX KTM for the 2019 season, it’s great to be back with a UK based team. It’s been an unlucky couple of seasons with injury but to get back onto a KTM and have people around me that are willing to work and get the job done is really motivating. It’s nice to have a team solely built around me, the main focus, the main rider. Nathan, Joel and Ben seem like really nice guys they are all going to be making steps in the right direction and if i can help them at any step of the way then thats going to be great for me, for them and the team. It’s nice to know I still have people that believe in me as much as I believe in myself. I feel like I’m a slow burner and with the right crew, the right bike and good people around me creating a good atmosphere I think we can do amazing things and the best is still to come. Also a big thank you for KTM for stepping up and helping us, I know they already have a lot of teams out there but for them to believe in me and the team I truly believe that we’ll be a force to be reckoned with,” said Simpson.
“It’s great to have Shaun join the team for 2019. I have known and worked with Shaun many times throughout his career he is a true professional and a credit to have him aboard the team, I look forward to seeing 2019 unfold and fight for championships,” said Paul Irwin of RFX.
“Having spent several years working with the Italian JK team and Yamaha, it is now time for a change. Not just the annual rider-swap, but a BIG shake up in order to move forward. It is a pleasure for me to sign a contract with the KTM factory and with direct help and support from both KTM and WP, this will add fuel the RFX KTM Racing global ambition. We don’t just want to compete and make up numbers… We need to be contenders at each level at which we race. I look forward to working hard with KTM, Shaun and the whole team and bringing home results.” said team manager Richard Dye.