There are factory rides and the polished image that comes with them – and then there’s the path that Kevin Moranz has carved for himself on a professional scale. The 26-year-old has built his own Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM program from the ground up, with Profiled taking a look at what goes into being an owner/rider at the highest level of SMX.

From beginning as a privateer to running his own transport rig and securing sponsors through personal relationships and content creation, the growth has been organic, hard-earned and, for Moranz, racing Monster Energy Supercross isn’t only about chasing results.

He finished a respectable 16th in the 450SX category in 2023, highlighted by a seventh-place finish in East Rutherford, but it wasn’t enough to secure a seat on any one of the official team outfits for the following season. The Kansas native spoke about that turning point in detail during this week’s pre-season media sessions at Anaheim.

Image: Octopi Media.

“It honestly all came from not getting any real opportunities after a pretty good season in 2023,” explained Moranz. “I wasn’t going to sit here and whine and cry and wait for an opportunity – I was just going to build my opportunity. I was the top KTM/Austrian brand bike because everybody was hurt. And I still didn’t even get [anyone from] KTM walking over like ‘Hey dude, we appreciate you’. I thought, ‘I’m not waiting for this. If it fails, it fails, but I’ll have fun doing it’.”

Moranz is now responsible for everything his Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM team becomes – aka Kevin Moranz Racing (KMR). Sponsorship outreach, logistics, bike builds, flights, parts, race entries… all while lining up under the lights on Saturday nights.

“Every day is business,” he said. “I get done racing, and I have a lead sheet because one thing I’ve learned is that retaining sponsors is a lot easier than finding new sponsors. I’ve heard stories of teams not taking care of their sponsors – that’s one thing that I do really well, I think.

“I’m really involved, and I send thank you packages every year. I try to keep my people happy, because it’s easier to retain those sponsors and grow with them instead of finding new ones every year. Even at the Dog Pound, I do what I need to do on the bike and in the gym, then I come back and I’m making calls from my lead sheet trying to find sponsors.”

Image: Foremost Media.

That business-side passion has also shaped major decisions about who joins the program. He openly weighed up riders including Cade Clason, Tristan Lane, and Grant Harlan – who has joined KMR for 2026 – to become a second 450SX entry, which is something he sees as key to long-term stability.

“So there were four people that I was looking at right off the rip,” added Moranz. “Cade Clason and Tristan Lane – because he’s already on KTM, he’s a buddy, and we’re looking for a good dude and a 450 main event-quality rider, so those were the first two that I was looking at. I stayed away from Freddie Noren and Grant Harlan – those were the other two – because they wanted to race outdoors, and I know they like outdoors.

“For us as a team, we’re trying to grow. I’m trying not to bite off too much that I can’t chew, so I wanted to find somebody who’s cool with Supercross-only, which I knew Tristan and Cade both were. Cade ended up staying with PRMX, so that put us in a position where we had a conversation with Grant. Grant was okay with having a Supercross-only type deal and that’s where it came from.

“It’s tough for me because I want to grow the team, right? I could be content leaving me as the only rider – cool, we’ll move to a semi – cool, I’ll find a way to fund it. But I want to set it up so that if I ever get to a point where I want to step out of racing, I have something that sponsors want to continue supporting.

“Right now, if I get out of racing, I’d say 90 percent of our sponsors are supporting us because of what Kev does. They like the vlogs, they think I’m a good role model for the kids, and I’m a good kid in their eyes. That’s not for me to say – that’s for the public to decide. But I have a lot of people who support me because of the drive I have and the cool things I’m trying to create.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Where factory riders benefit from established systems and support, Moranz has worked to build his own. He oversees sponsor relations, produces his own media content, and drives the commercial side of the program – roles usually handled by multiple staff within a traditional team. It’s a brand he has been forced to create and maintain, recognizing his value extends beyond race results alone.

“Honestly, over the last three years, I’ve learned and gotten better – seeing what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “We’re trying to bring back a lot of the crew we had last year because last year was just awesome. It is a lot to handle, but I enjoy the business side of it just as much as the racing. That’s why it works for me. But it is tough to manage – I don’t get to spend as much time training and doing everything I need to.”

With the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Championship set to take off in one month’s time, Moranz enters another season running his own organization, intent on continuing to elevate both his riding and the structure surrounding it. The objective remains clear – establish Kevin Moranz Racing and the Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM team as a sustainable, multi-rider operation while proving that he too belongs in the sport’s premier class.