KHI Old Boy Toshio Tsutsumi is currently a MFJ (Motorcycle Federation of Japan) technical advisor.

Visiting Saddleback Park – the holy land of motocross racing – on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, there wasn't a single Lime Green machine in sight. The majority of the motocrossers were from Yamaha or Suzuki, with a smattering of European bikes from Maico, Bultaco, CZ and Husqvarna added to the mix. Standing at the edge of the course, Toshio Tsutsumi (KMC Technical Service Dept. Manager at the time) wiped the sweat off his brow with a dusty sleeve. "How on earth are we going to get American riders to buy Kawasaki motocrossers?" he thought.
"In America in the late 70s motocrossers saw a sudden leap in popularity. But when Kawasaki first offered motocrossers to the public, we hardly even got a second glance.  Some people scoffed that getting people to buy our bikes would be impossible… In the 10 years since I had been transferred to the U.S. in 1969, I had had a technical role at KMC (Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.), but, realising that manufacturer and distributor would need to work hand in hand to turn motocrossers into a successful business, I began to get involved in marketing and sales promotion. 1979 also happed to be the first year the KX80 joined the KX250 and KX125, giving Kawasaki a line-up with broad consumer appeal. This was our chance – my search for riders interested in riding the KX80 became the first of Team Green's activities."
Dictionary in hand, Tsutsumi spent every weekend visiting motocross tracks in the area, immersing himself in his new role as a rider scout. His hard work paid off in the form of Sam Stor, an eighth-grader he met at San Diego's Barona Oaks. That first year Stor made a team of one. The following year (1980), control of the team passed from Tsutsumi to a newly appointed manager. From that time, it was officially named "Team Green" and its activities slowly began to stretch across the country.

"Saying it was a team is a bit misleading; thinking of it as a campaign might be more accurate. In either case, America is big country. Getting riders from remote areas together in one place for a riding camp, or moving around as a group just isn't possible at the amateur level. What we did was to provide a service that combined marketing and sales promotion and customer support: a campaign that promised ‘buy a KX now, and you, too, can be a Team Green member.' No qualifications were necessary. There was no scouting or selection process. As long as you bought a KX from an official Kawasaki dealer, you could register with Team Green. What you got was a bit of discount, some kit parts and technical information – that was it. There were no contracts or prize money back then."

Team Green staff greet a returning rider at the '96 AMA National Amateur Motocross Championships (a.k.a. Loretta Lynn's). Ponca City was the premier amateur motocross tournament of its day, but when Loretta Lynn also began hosting a major motocross event, Kawasaki invested its efforts there too.

When its activities started in earnest, Team Green competed for the most part in local races, but the ultimate goal was to be at Ponca City (NMA Ponca City Grand National Motocross Championships). Over summer break, amateur riders would gather from all over the country to compete in the motocross equivalent of the junior World Series. Categories were divided not only by displacement, but also into "stock" and "modified" classes as well. In the fiercely contested 80cc modified class, Kawasaki would enter prototype models of the KX80 being released the following year. The strategy was a great success.
"For the modified classes homologation wasn't necessary, so it was possible for new models not yet available on the market to compete. At the time, motocrossers were undergoing major changes every year, so if, for example, the current bike was air-cooled and next year's model had a liquid-cooled engine, everyone would want that new bike. Performance gains were also significant, so we purposely entered stock bikes against rival manufacturers' modified machines – and we would beat them. The message was clear: ‘Buy the new KX and win!' It didn't take long for the word to spread."
With Team Green activities generating great publicity, KX Series sales increased accordingly. At Ponca City, where the boom started, it wasn't long before half the bikes competing were Lime Green. That these racing activities also afforded rider training and the opportunity to test in actual competition just meant it was a win-win-win situation.

Kawasaki's '84 motocross factory team. At the time, Tsutsumi (centre) was coordinating Kawasaki's racing activities in America. Jeff Ward (no.4) and former Team Green rider Billy Liles (no.12) are also in the photo.

Kawasaki followed this by developing a contingency program that that offered riders financial compensation for successful racing results. The only condition was that riders buy a KX and place in a race. Races from national-level championships down to local races were covered, with predetermined payouts based on finishing position offered at each level – riders needed only apply to receive their contingency payment. This offer was open not only to a handful of contracted factory riders, but to any KX user: Kawasaki's way of sharing profits with all their riders. Other manufacturers followed suit, and today everyone considers a contingency program to be an essential marketing and sales promotion tool.
Team Green members were offered an additional incentive: win at Ponca City, and get a factory ride. The first rider to successfully take advantage of this system and earn a spot on the factory team was Billy Liles in 1983.
"I returned to Japan in 1985, but Team Green continued to grow, and is still around today. Come to think of it, this year is Team Green's 30th anniversary. Struggling as a lone scout, I could not have predicted my early efforts would eventually mature into such a prosperous venture. Team Green has yielded so much more than increased sales: the Kawasaki brand and the colour Lime Green have become household names amongst the motorcycle community. That's something you cannot put a price on."
Many of America's top riders got their start with Team Green. Unfortunately, Kawasaki only has so many factory seats, so when they turn pro, many of these riders move on to the factory teams of other manufacturers.
"But that's a good thing. If Team Green has become the foundation not only for Kawasaki but for the entire motocross community, I can't think of anything that would make me happier."