Yamaha Racing is loading all the bases and covering all the angles in an exciting restructure of the national motocross and supercross racing programs for 2018.
In addition to the premier teams, CDR Yamaha and Serco Yamaha, exciting changes and additions have been made to ensure Yamaha teams and riders every chance of success.
CDR Yamaha and Serco Yamaha will remain the headline teams for Yamaha. CDR Yamaha has already announced an unchanged line-up for 2018 with Dean Ferris and Dylan Long at the controls, while Serco Yamaha is due to announce its rider line up in the near future.
MXD – Bulk Nutrients Yamaha Racing
Yamaha Motor Australia welcomes Whitten Brothers Racing (WBR) into the fold to take on the MXD duties under the banner of Bulk Nutrients Yamaha Racing. The Yamaha dealer based team from Echuca in Victoria, will be Yamaha’s official support team in the U19 or MX Development class for 2018 with a two-pronged attack with riders to be announced in the coming weeks.
The WBR outfit has been around for several years and proven themselves to be a high performance, well-managed unit that has achieved some excellent results.
Team Manager, Travis Whitten, is excited by the opportunity to become part of the official Yamaha race program and looks forward to working with a great group of people in their pursuit of the MXD championship in 2018.
“Since our transition to Yamaha a few seasons ago, our team has progressed quickly and its amazing to be working with Yamaha who are so passionate about racing. We feel as though we have learned a lot over the past few seasons and this promotion to be an official Yamaha support team is rewarding for myself and all the crew that work on it.
“We have big shoes to fill as the Yamalube Yamaha team were extremely successful in the MXD class, but I’m confident we can do the job as well and it’s our goal to have every junior in Australia aspire to be on our race team when they compete in the MXD class at the MX Nationals,” Whitten ends.
Yamalube Yamaha Racing
Formerly the MXD team for Yamaha, Yamalube Yamaha Racing will now step up to play a vital role in the continued development of Yamaha talent and work across all three racing categories. The team’s primary focus now is to continue to capture Yamaha riders that don’t quite fit into the CDR / Serco or WBR outfits but are important to the brand and Yamaha’s racing future. This is another initiative derived from the Yamaha Step Up program that has been implemented around the world.
In years past when riders have fallen through the cracks, this will no longer be the case and with the team’s proven ability to harness and then develop talented riders, it is another important cog in Yamaha’s racing program that will only benefit Yamaha riders.
The 2018 rider line up will be released shortly.
“The gap between MX2 to MX1 or MXD to MX2 can be quite large and sometimes riders just develop at a different rate but that doesn’t mean we don’t see a future for them at Yamaha,” explains Scott Bishop.
“Very rarely does a rider make a seamless progression up the ranks and through the divisions and this team is now designed to surround these riders in a good environment within Yamaha until they are ready for the headlining CDR or Serco Yamaha teams.
“The restructuring of this team allows more opportunities for riders to grow within Yamaha and ensure we have the best talent pool to choose from in our racing endeavours.”
Tasmania YJR
It’s full throttle and shifting gears in junior racing for Yamaha with the additional of Tasmania to the already successful Yamaha Junior racing (YJR) program. YJR now is spread across six states and boasts a 14 rider line up that is by far the largest junior effort in Australia.
Former pro rider, Brody Jennings, will oversee a team of two riders who will become a welcome addition to YJR and make it a true national program with a unified look and goal.
“Having Yamaha recognise Tasmania as part of their national racing program is both exciting and a huge boost to local racing down here,” Jennings begins. “Although our riders don’t get the exposure as those on the main land, there are talented riders here in Tasmania and with Yamaha’s help, we are now able to harness that talent and bring them in line with a national race program that genuinely works.
“2018 is going to be an exciting year for us and we can’t wait for the racing season to begin.”
The 2018 MX Nationals begins in April and again, the Yamaha presence will be huge on and off the track.
“None of this would be possible without the significant support from our sister companies,” explains Yamaha’s Motorsport manager, Ray Howard. “The role Yamaha Motor Insurance (YMI), Yamaha Motor Finance (YMF), Yamalube, GYTR and Ficeda Accessories play in our racing activities can’t be underestimated and I thank them for their contribution and ensure all teams and riders will be working hard to achieve the goals set for them in 2018,” Howard ends.
for more information on Yamaha: www.yamaha-motor.com.au
For more information on the MX Nationals; www.mxnationals.com.au
