Kensei Matsudaira Joins Team Roberts for 2026 MotoAmerica Talent Cup

Kensei Matsudaira will join Team Roberts for the 2026 MotoAmerica season, challenging for the title in the Parts Unlimited MotoAmerica Talent Cup By Motul aboard the Krämer APX-350 MA.

The 15-year-old from Los Angeles — who also holds roots in Japan and South Korea — is a multi-time MotoAmerica Mini Cup National Champion and brings a versatile racing background spanning road racing, supermoto, flat track and speedway.

In addition to his Talent Cup campaign, Matsudaira will represent the United States in the FIM Moto4 Latin Cup aboard a Honda NSF250R with Yoshimura support.

Matsudaira made his MotoAmerica debut in the Talent Cup at Circuit of the Americas in September, qualifying on the front row and earning a podium finish in his first weekend on the Krämer APX-350 MA — at a circuit the rest of the grid had already raced at earlier in the season.

Despite the late entry, Matsudaira set the second-fastest lap time of the weekend, just two tenths behind the new lap record, and crossed the line second in Race 2, finishing five seconds behind the winner. A time penalty for exceeding track limits dropped him to third in the final classification, but Matsudaira left the weekend having made a significant impression in the MotoAmerica paddock.

With the guidance of the legend Kenny Roberts, it's likely a safe bet that Matsudaira will find his way to the front of the pack more than once over the course of the 2026 season. Time will tell.