News 17 Oct 2014

QLD cancellation stalls Yamaha's supercross plans

Factory 250 teams still hopeful of state championship campaign.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

The cancellation of Leyburn’s opening Queensland Supercross Championship round scheduled for 25 October has temporarily halted the opportunity for Yamaha to field its factory 250 teams in the high profile state-level series.

Newly-crowned MX2 champion Luke Clout and Jay Wilson were due to line up for Serco Yamaha, while Wilson Todd would have made up the GYTR Yamaha operation as Jed Beaton continues his recovery from a broken leg sustained during the outdoor season.

All three riders were due to compete for the extensive prize money awarded by series organisers and Yamaha’s factory contingency plan as part of the brand’s ongoing plan to develop top-level Australian talent while further promoting the title-winning YZ250F.

The Queensland-based teams had completed supercross testing in the lead-up specifically for the state championship series after Yamaha Motor Australia pulled all three of its factory-backed teams including the powerhouse CDR Yamaha 450 team from the Australian Supercross Championship.

“Yamaha still wants to race and that’s what it comes down to,” GYTR Yamaha team and racing communications manager Scott Bishop told MotoOnline.com.au. “We have riders contracted and want to provide them a platform to race, it’s as simple as that.

“We were certainly invested in it and hope that the last two rounds will go ahead – both Serco and our GYTR Yamaha team had made plans, testing and so on, to go ahead. It’s disappointing that it’s got to the situation it has for round one.

“But for sure, GYTR wants to keep racing, as does Serco, and I’m sure if you ask [CDR Yamaha owner] Craig Dack he would want to be racing [supercross] as well. As a race team, you want to be at the races.”

Despite Leyburn being cancelled due to a shortfall of entries, organisers are hopeful that the final two rounds at Dundas (22 November) and Jimboomba (6 December) will go ahead as scheduled, with both the Serco and GYTR Yamaha teams already confirming their commitment to those events.

Additional information on the Motorex-backed 2014 Queensland Supercross Championship can be found at www.qldsupercross.com or via the series’ official Facebook Page by clicking here. The series is designed to cater to a range of riders from pro to clubman and junior level competitors.

Yamaha’s lone official representation at the national supercross series comes this year with the satellite DPH Motorsport outfit fielding Kade Mosig in SX1 and Boyd Hocking in SX2, which attracted management from YMA’s national office to Bathurst’s season opener last weekend.

But while reiterating Yamaha’s ASX championship exit, Bishop went on to quash speculation that Yamaha teams would wildcard at Brisbane Entertainment Centre’s final round in Queensland on 8 November.

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