Nate Thrasher Leaves Star Yamaha for Pro Circuit Kawasaki in 2027

Nate Thrasher is done with blue. After seven seasons at Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, the Tennessee rider is moving to Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki for the 2027 SuperMotocross season on a KX250F. Kawasaki made it official on October 19, and the move puts another proven 250 race winner on Mitch Payton's five-rider bench.

Riders should care because this is not a mid-pack reshuffle. Thrasher has won at least one 250SX race every season since his debut year in 2021, and his seventh career Supercross win came at Round 14 in Cleveland in 2026. He leaves Star Yamaha as a rider who shows up with a win almost every winter, and he joins a Pro Circuit program that just added a 250SMX World Championship with Levi Kitchen.

The lineup, in plain terms

Per the Kawasaki release carried in full by Racer X, NBC Sports, and SPEED SPORT, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki enters its 34th year of professional racing with this 250 roster:

• Levi Kitchen - reigning 250SMX World Champion after his first title in 2026; runner-up in the 250SX Western Division and third in Pro Motocross
• Seth Hammaker - Daytona 250SX win in 2026, second in the 250SX Eastern Division, first career outdoor overall at Fox Raceway, then a shoulder injury at High Point that ended his outdoor campaign early
• Drew Adams - returning for a third pro season after building qualifying speed (fastest qualifier at Daytona Supercross and Spring Creek) despite injuries
• Nick Romano - fill-in ride in 2026 turned into a full-time 2027 deal; went 4-5 for third overall at Thunder Valley, his first career overall podium
• Nate Thrasher - new to the team for 2027 on the KX250F

What the release does not assign: East or West coasts for any of the five. Until Pro Circuit or AMA Supercross posts coast lists, that stays open.

What Thrasher and Payton said

Thrasher, in the Kawasaki release: "I'm super excited to join Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. It's been a lifelong dream to be on this team, and I can't wait to start riding the KX™250F. I'll be training in Florida with my teammates Levi [Kitchen] and Nick [Romano]. Mitch Payton and the whole team have been great and super welcoming. I look forward to getting the bike dialed in, and my goal is to win a championship this year. I want to keep stacking race wins; my goal would be to get to 10 race wins total within this year. I feel like this is my year, and I want to make it count."

Mitch Payton, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team owner, in the same release: "Going into 2027, we have a lot of momentum to build on with Levi [Kitchen] coming off his SMX World Championship and Seth [Hammaker] continuing to show his championship capabilities. I believe this off-season will give each of our riders the time they need to recover, reset, and dial in their programs for the upcoming year. Drew [Adams] and Nick [Romano] continue to develop their speed and race craft, and both showed a lot of improvement throughout the year. We're also looking forward to having Nate [Thrasher] join the team. I believe he's a great fit for our program and has the speed and experience to deliver strong results throughout the season. I'm eager to see how the guys perform in 2027 and showcase the capabilities of the KX™250F throughout the year."

GateDrop also posted Thrasher on the move with the same quotes from the release.

Seven seasons of Star Yamaha

Thrasher spent the first seven years of his professional career at Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, according to Racer X. NBC Sports dates his Star tenure to a 2020 pro debut and puts his best championship finishes at fourth in the 2025 250SX East and fourth in SMX.

The win streak is the cleaner resume line. Racer X notes he has won at least one 250SX race every year since his debut Supercross season in 2021. The Kawasaki release and NBC both credit him with seven career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victories, with the latest at the 2026 Triple Crown round in Cleveland. NBC frames that Cleveland win as extending a winning streak to six consecutive seasons.

Star Yamaha is losing that kind of rider just as the rest of the 2027 silly season keeps moving. Cooper Webb already left for Team Tedder Husqvarna. On the other side of the paddock, Joey Savatgy is out at Quad Lock Honda, Red Bull KTM signed DiFrancesco and Bennick, and factory seats keep getting spoken for. Thrasher's exit is the clearest 250 win-loss for Star heading into Anaheim.

What it means for the 250 East/West split

The release never names Thrasher's coast. It does say he will train in Florida with Kitchen and Romano, which is a training detail, not a division assignment. Kitchen raced the Western Division in 2026 and finished runner-up there before winning the SMX title. Hammaker finished second in the Eastern Division. How Payton splits five riders across two coasts will shape who Thrasher sees every Saturday night, but that call is still ahead of this announcement.

What is already clear is the depth. A team with the reigning 250SMX champion, a Daytona winner coming back healthy, a first-time outdoor overall winner, a Thunder Valley podium fill-in now on a full deal, and a six-season 250SX race winner is built to pressure whichever coast it loads up - and to keep Stars, KTMs, and Hondas honest in the outdoors and the SMX playoffs.

Anaheim 1 opens the 2027 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship on January 9. Full series context lives on our AMA Supercross hub.

Rider takeaway

Thrasher is officially green for 2027 SuperMotocross with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki on a KX250F, joining Kitchen, Hammaker, Adams, and Romano. He wants a championship and ten career wins. Star Yamaha loses a rider who has won at least one 250SX every season since 2021. Read the Kawasaki words on Racer X, NBC Sports, and SPEED SPORT, and treat coast assignments as TBD until the team posts them.

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