Image: Supplied.

The first laps of Jason Anderson with Monster Energy Kawasaki have been labeled by the former Supercross champion as ‘kind of surreal’ as he adapts to the factory KX450.

Fresh from inking a 2022 contract, Anderson has transferred to the Kawasaki following seven years at Rockstar Energy Husqvarna.

“My first day on the Kawasaki KX450, it’s different – staring at a green fender, had the Monster logo on it, so it’s kind of surreal for me, but at the same time, first day of riding the bike, it’s been pretty sweet,” Anderson recalled.

“Obviously it took a bit of getting used to and just the way the bike works and everything like that. I’ve had a little bit of time off, so bike change and being rusty is kind of weird right now. But give me a couple of laps, we didn’t change much for today and honestly pretty comfortable. Let’s see if we can keep that progression going.”

After finishing eighth overall in this year’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship with two podiums – third at Arlington 1 and Atlanta 2 – time will tell if the fresh surrounds will provide Anderson the platform to launch an assault for a first 450SX title since 2018.

Anderson has just over three months to continue to adapt to the KX450 and complete his pre-season testing program before the 2022 Supercross season commences on 8 January at Angel Stadium in California.