In taking on Kawasaki’s official MX2 and MXW program for 2026, Jed Parsons Motorsport (JPM) is making a big step forward this season, equipped with KX250 machinery. This Industry interview features JPM 360 Developments Kawasaki team owner Jed Parsons to learn more about what’s ahead for the newly-established Gold Coast-based organisation.

Image: Supplied.

Jed, can you give me a rundown on the team? We saw last year that you had solid success with Jet Alsop and Haruki Yokoyama in ProMX and then transitioned into the official Kawasaki program for 2026.

Yeah! So being a performance shop, we did run a little privateer team last year with Haruki and Jet. And, you know, the fundamentals were really good, and we got some solid results in ProMX. Then we helped Deegan Rose out through AUSX last year, and he actually rode really well, kind of [in his] first year of supercross. Then the Kawasaki deal came about – we’ve always been really close with Kawasaki. They approached us to run their 250 team for 2026 and, you know, we thought, why not? We’ve got some good backing with 360 Developments, MXstore, and a couple of other partners jumping onboard. And, yeah, we thought, why not just go all out with it?

With JPM being a performance shop, I feel like a race team as an extension in this arrangement is good marketing, especially if you’re extracting performance out of the bikes…

Correct. I believe the race team will reflect hugely on our motors, especially. We want our Kawasakis to be the best bikes on the track, that’s our goal, which will reflect massively on our business. We’re stoked on what we are doing here and hopefully we can grow it in the years to come, so I guess the fit for us is really good because we’re dyno tuning here as well as engine building. If you were to look at Pro Circuit in America, that’s what we’re pushing to try and be, but obviously JPM here in Australia. So yeah, as far as a fit-wise with the race team, it’s a really good collaboration with our background.

You mention Pro Circuit, so do you guys do hard parts as well, or is it mostly dyno work and engine tuning?

No, so we do make our own hard parts, and that’s something that we’re developing more and more. From our second injector kits to brake plates and axle blocks, we’re trying to do more and more as we grow. The things we do have lined up for this year, that’s probably [coming] midway this year, we’re going to have a lot more hard parts available. Which is really good because we’ve got several guys on bikes at a national level that we are developing and some in the US, as well. The feedback’s been good so far and, yeah, I’m keen to get them into the market. We’ve been at this shop for about five years now, and previously, I was over in the States working with some of the privateers at MTF (Millsaps Training Facility). I came back to Australia with Yamalube Yamaha and then started JPM.

Nice, it’s good to get some backstory on the program. Transitioning into the Kawasaki side, last year’s results really put you on the map, so how did the Kawasaki deal originate?

Well, I always spoke to Darren [Holmes] from Kawasaki, and he informed me that the previous team – Empire Motorsports – was going 450-only, so it opened up a solely 250 team. We were interested in it if we could find the right support, and then 360 Developments jumped onboard, which was fantastic, so it has been all guns blazing since then, pretty much. That’s what set it off, and I just said, ‘Yes.’ And yeah, Kawasaki has been unreal. Then, we have MXstore jumping onboard heavily as well, so it’s cool to make that all happen. And I guess, you know, Empire going purely 450s, the 250 side of things is all ours. That’s what we would like to structure around anyway, being an engine shop, [there’s] just much more work on our end to extract power from the smaller bike.

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With the riders, what went into the decision-making there? Jayce Cosford and Ryan Alexanderson are very capable, but was there a lot of interest?

I believe we got really lucky there. I spoke to Kawasaki about my wishlist and it turns out Jayce and Ryan were on theirs as well. I think that’s a pretty solid team. There wasn’t much shuffling around at all, honestly – it went really smoothly. As soon as I spoke to the boys, they were more than interested once they found out we were doing it, so yeah, it’s good. It’s also good to have Taylah [McCutcheon] on green again for this year in the MXW class, and then we’ve chosen to have young Deegan Rose on as a development rider. We think Deegs is coming through and has talent, so we’ll help him in the background as someone we’re developing. We believe that’s heavily needed in our industry right now, you know? He’ll contest MX2, so we will have three MX2 riders, including Deegs on the side, and then one in MXW, too.

What have been the first impressions of your riders so far?

It’s been awesome. Ryan’s been on the bike for a while now, since the start of January. It has been really good getting him comfortable. He’d been off the bike for a while, too, coming back from Europe, so it’s just more bike time for him now, to settle in and get back in the groove. That’s been solid, he’s Gold Coast-based as well, so it’s been a good fit with developing suspension and motors as well – everyone being up here. With Jayce, he just got off a shoulder reconstruction, so he’s just gotten back on the bike. He has been off for a while, but Jayce has always been very fit, so there’s no stress there. Now it’s just knuckle down and getting his set-up right for round one, and yeah, he’ll be good. Then Taylah’s Gold Coast-based as well, so that’s super-easy. We’re very lucky to have people close by where we’re not freighting bikes or sending suspension or anything like that. It’s been really good to have it all in-house and everyone close by.

It’s always a tricky one, especially with the new structure and everything, but what are some of the expectations you have outlined for this year?

Look, the expectation is always to have fun, and everyone to get along and enjoy what we’re doing. But my expectations as a team are top-eight to top-six every round for Ryan. If we can get Jayce close to the podium and then Taylah close to the podium, that’s a realistic goal. Obviously, we’d love Jayce to be on the box as much as we can at every round, and maybe some moto wins, but yeah, they just have to be there. Every round, we’ll look for consistency and if we can deliver top-fives or near the podium each round, it’s good for championship points.

Future-wise, what’s the ideal scenario? Do you have a two-year or five-year kind of goal or plan?

Yeah, I want to keep building the program. I mean, a primary goal is, you know, if we can run it for six-to-eight years, that’s unreal. We don’t want to be in it this year and next and then fade away, so I guess getting our foundation right in the background and easing our way into it is important. We just need to keep it professional, keep it simple, and really build on what we can make this year.

Image: Supplied.

What has 360 Developments and Kawasaki added to your program for 2026?

So 360 Developments, they’re our, I guess you’d call it a title sponsor. They’re providing financial support and a lot of support in the background as well, helping us, like we’re building the truck at the moment, and they’re really helping out with that. They’re a property developer up here in Queensland – they buy land and build factories. The support from Kawi has been massive, too. You know, as far as parts and bikes, there are no delays. Which has been awesome because previously, I mean, especially being a performance shop, we’re always delayed with parts from, you know, just rebuilds and everything like that. So, as far as Kawasaki goes, it’s been awesome. There are definitely no complaints in that area. We’re already so organised, bikes are built, and we’re ready to go for round one. We’ve still got four weeks to go, and everyone’s happy, so it’s been really good.

Last year with Jet and Haruki, what was the experience like, and some of the takeaways you had? Because again, I think that it went really well.

Yeah, it was good. It was good to get our feet wet, I guess you could say, and really kind of iron out what you’d have to do to run it at a professional level, financially, and running it around our workshop and our business, so it was really good. But, you know, the Alsops are great, Haruki’s great, so they made it a lot easier for us. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with good people and, yeah, you’ll do well.

Lastly, what does this mean to you personally? Are you stoked to have this, to be in this position? Is it cool to run a team representing a manufacturer?

Definitely. Back when working with Yamalube and a couple of other teams, it was always a big goal of mine, even when I was young, to run a team and have backing from a manufacturer. So, you know, looking back now, it’s unreal. You kind of don’t think of how special it is until you look outside the big picture. It’s been really good, and yeah, I’m stoked.