Wilson Todd is aiming to leave behind costly early-race errors that saw him battle through the Motul MX Nationals MX2 field for much of his rookie season in 2016.

Now part of the DPH Motorsport Yamaha team for 2017, the 18-year-old is laying the foundations for a more calculated championship approach during his pre-season preparations in Victoria.

“The problems that I had last year, I’m going to work on those,” Todd told MotoOnline.com.au. “Some of them were out of my reach, but I’ve just got to get out of all of the shit in the first couple of laps. Nobody really knows, but I went down within the first two laps of every moto over the first half of the series last year.

“I came from last place every race at that stage and everyone looks at it on paper saying ‘oh he got sixth again’, but that’s coming from last. I’m going to go out there will all of my problems fixed and I’m definitely going out with the goal to win it; I have the right crew around me and it’s all heading in the right direction.”

Confirming a relocation to Victoria for the upcoming season, Todd has aligned himself with high-calibre training partners and some of the best training locations in the country to continue his development.

“I’ve been staying with the Beatons and riding with Jed, Gibbsy [Kirk Gibbs] has also been down here riding with us too,” said Todd. “I’m out there and Ross [Beaton] is on the pit board and coaching us through the day, obviously making us all better riders. Rob [Wilson] at RidePark also helps us out a lot too, we’ve been going there on the weekend and staying with his parents, so we’ve got a perfect track to ride both days each weekend – it’s all coming together really well so far.”

Wilson will carry added confidence into race weekends with former Secro Yamaha crew member Ben Griffith, who also made the move from Queensland to Victoria, by his side as his mechanic both during the week and on race day.

“Ben’s going to be there during the week, that’s something I really wanted,” he explained. “I wanted someone with me during the week that will be there on race day as well – someone that I can go to the line and have faith in. I needed someone that if something goes wrong with the bike, he knows it inside out, it’s something that I really wanted and the DPH guys made it happen.”

Todd will be the sole YZ250F pilot on the current Motul MX Nationals MX2 championship winning DPH Motorsport Yamaha team, as Kade Mosig returns to the squad for the new year aboard the YZ450F in the premier class.