Vamo Honda Racing Team will enter two riders aboard the new 2018 Honda CRF250R in the MX2 category of the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) in 2018.
Dutchman Micha Boy De Waal continues with the team and is joined by new American signing Marshal Weltin.
Also continuing with the team into next season is sponsor No Fear, who expand their partnership through their energy drink brand and will appear on bikes, team collateral and rider clothing. Bolstering the team’s 2018 campaign is another new signing as sponsor Jumbo, the Dutch supermarket giant who themselves are no stranger to motocross, join the team.
De Waal originally joined the team in 2017 as a stand-in rider to replace Lars Van Berkel when he, in turn, made a stand-in appearance at Team HRC. The 22-year-old rode the Honda CRF450R for the previous two years in the Dutch Masters series so is no stranger to Honda, and has also enjoyed a long-standing relationship both with No Fear and Jumbo. Having had 12 rounds with the Vamo Honda Racing team in 2017 on the CRF250R, De Waal starts 2018 with a solid foundation upon which to build within a strongly established team structure.
“I am really happy that I’m going to ride for a second year for the Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda Racing team,” said De Waal. “I’m going to do all of the European GPs and the Dutch races again. We have already started with training on and off the bike and it’s going well, and I’m enjoying working with the same group of people again. The first race is Markelo in March so we will be ready for that, and then the next one in Valkenswaard for the first GP race. I’m really looking forward to having a great year and want to thank everyone in the team for all their hard work getting us ready for 2018.”
Lining up alongside De Waal is Honda newcomer Marshal Weltin who makes the switch to the new CRF250R for 2018. The 22-year-old rode in both the EMX250 and MX2 series in 2017, finishing 6th in the highly competitive EMX250 series with an overall podium in Portugal and narrowly missing a second to Honda’s Mathys Boisrame in Switzerland. His performances earned him an MX2 wildcard in the Czech Republic, where he finished an impressive ninth overall.
“Coming into 2018 I am proud to represent Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda! Honda has such a reputable name and I am excited to be able to work with them,” expressed Weltin. “The Vamo race team has been great to work with so far and we have gotten off to a great start. Everyone on the team is equally as motivated as me for success and I feel like we have a great fit together. I am ready to put in some solid work this off season in the sand here in Belgium. Argentina will be coming up fairly quick, and I’m excited to show the team my work ethic and get some results for the 2018 season!”
The MX2 season gets underway at the MXGP of Argentina on 3-4 March 2018, ahead of which the team have a busy testing and training schedule to arrive to South America ready to fight.