51FIFTY Energy Drink Yamaha has signed Australian Hayden Mellross for the 2016 Western Regional AMA 250 Supercross Championship on board a YZ250F, the American team announced overnight.

After missing supercross through injury, Mellross impressed in this year’s Pro Motocross series as a privateer, securing him a seat at the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Yamaha outfit for the new season.

“I’m really excited to get this year underway,” explained Mellross. “I’ve seen the team build a solid foundation since they started only a few years ago. We’ve had productive testing days, the YZ is really fast, I’ve felt strong.

“I was fortunate to be part of great teams in Australia, but now for the first time Stateside, I’m able to simply focus on training, practicing, testing and racing. I’m confident with the team and Yamaha support I can be inside the top 10 and, once I get a taste of racing up front, be inside the top five.”

51FIFTY Energy Drink Yamaha team manager Craig Monty welcomed Mellross to the team: “His natural skill, blazing corner speed and work ethic are a strong foundation for success in 2016. I watched his races in ’15, how he handles himself as a professional and am confident he has the skill sets to be an elite rider.”

For the past year Mellross developed a strong relationship with his fulltime trainer/riding coach Tim Ferry and will continue training with the former factory Yamaha racer.