MX Yamaha Racing Revitalised

After a five week break in the series, Yamaha Racing and its three factory supported teams are refreshed, revitalized and ready to go this weekend when the championship picks up at Nowra for round six of the MX Nationals.

The break in the series has allowed some injuries to heal, some training to be done and some fine tuning to be finalized so each rider and team can come home in the second half of the series in good form and with strong results.

CDR Yamaha – MX1
Dean Ferris and Dan Reardon return to Nowra fighting fit and ready to make their mark on the championship. Ferris currently lies in third place at the halfway point and with some race and round wins already to his name.

A final moto fall in Wanneroo has been the fire that has driven Ferris in the break and now with his health back to 100%, Dean is looking to put up a huge fight to secure his first MX1 championship.

“I took a week or so off after the WA round just to heal up a bit and have been head down ever since. I started with some good off track fitness and then got back on the bike and instantly felt the improvement.

“Nowra isn’t a track I have raced a lot in the past but its dirt and jumps so I’m sure I will be fine. I’m glad the break is over as I’m ready to go racing again,” Ferris ends.

Dan Reardon ended the first half of the series under an illness cloud and was unable to ride round five in WA. Since getting on top of those issues, Reardon hopped on a plane to the US and has spent the last month riding and training in California to hone his speed and intensity.

“I have had an awesome time in the US and was able to put in a lot of hours riding on good tracks with plenty of fast guys. I feel the trip always works for me and inspires me to keep putting in the effort so I’m excited to go to Nowra and get my results and season back on track,” he stated.

Serco Yamaha – MX2
The break came out a good time for the Serco Yamaha team so they could refocus their energies and dial in any issues. Both Wilson Todd and Wade Hunter weren’t satisfied with their start to the season and both are out to turn their fortunes around.

Todd loaded up the car from his Cairns based and came down to the Gold Coast to ride and train with other fast riders. The last month has seen Todd put in a more focused and disciplined effort in his riding and training after witnessing firsthand how the more established pros go about it.

“The team had a bit of a talk to me about what we could do during the break and we decided that coming down to the Coast and basing myself down here would help,” Todd explains. “It’s been a big learning curve for me as I have seen the effort that riders like Kirk Gibbs, Todd Waters and Luke Styke put into racing and I have tried to match what they do and take the same approach. It’s been good to work alongside those guys and now it’s time to put all that training onto the race track,” Todd ends.

Wade Hunter is determined to reshape his 2016 season after a rough start to the year. Hunter elected to get back to basics and work on his general bike skills and fitness in an attempt to bump start his season.

“Riding a dirt bike fast is about doing the basics well and sometimes as a rider you gloss over that in your preparation so for me it was good to strip it all back and rekindle the love of riding and racing.

“I had the opportunity to do some rider coaching so in a way I was reinforcing the things I had to apply to myself while assisting other riders.”

Yamalube Yamaha Racing – MXD
Crashes have proven costly for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing teamsters of Jordan Hill and Mitch Evans who between them have won two out of the four MXD rounds and five out of the eight races contested yet sit in fourth and fifth respectively in the championship.

Both riders have hit the dirt at the wrong times and that has proven costly in the championship chase but both are ready to come out swinging in the second half of the year and go full tilt in each and every race.

Jordan Hill sits in fourth, around 40 points from the championship lead and only 15 from second place and knows that he must eliminate any mistakes if he wants to make this championship his.

“Ever since joining the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team, I have been on the podium at every race apart from two, which I have crashed at. So, the simple answer is to stop crashing and the results will come so I need to stay focused on the track and just get the job done.”

Mitch Evans showed he was back on the pace at round four with some scintillating rides at Murray Bridge. A spectacular fall after hitting a track side hay bale at top speed slowed his progress, but he rebounded string in moto two to take a commanding 20 second moto win and set him up nicely for the final half of the year.

“I started to feel the way I should at Murray Bridge,” Evans says. “So, I left there feeling confident because although I didn’t win the round, my speed was back. The plan now is to just win races. I don’t care about the championship at this stage, so I’m going to rack up as many moto wins as I can and lets see where that puts me at the end.”

All six Yamaha factory riders will make a special appearance at Carr Brothers Motorcycles, 2/ 21 Princess Highway, Albion Park between 11-12 this Saturday- July 2.

Action gets under way this Sunday at 8.30am at the Nowra Motorsport complex.