Yamalube Yamaha Racing newcomer on his rookie MXD season ahead.
A new season marks a new wave of rookies stepping up from the junior ranks and into the MX Nationals MXD championship, and in 2020, Queenslander Levi Rogers is set to make a highly-anticipated debut with Yamalube Yamaha Racing.
Coming off an injury-affected second half of 2019, Rogers strong junior career as a whole earned him the desired spot on the factory Yamaha team, which re-enters the MXD division after a two-year hiatus.
“I really wanted to make 2019 my best junior year, and it started off like that by winning the Sunshine State series and few more Queensland titles,” Rogers explained to MotoOnline.com.au.
Image: Foremost Media.
“But I got hurt at the second round of the MX Nationals Rookies at Moree, so I showed up to the Aussie titles a bit underprepared and wasn’t able to get the results. But to be able to sign with Yamalube Yamaha Racing for my first year in seniors is pretty good.”
Rogers is no stranger to his ‘new’ surroundings in 2020, having been part of the Yamaha Junior Racing program since 2014, which is also managed by Yamalube Yamaha Racing manager Scott Bishop.
It’s a confidence boost for the teenager as he heads into his rookie campaign, and with a highly-experienced teammate in multi-time Australian champion Jay Wilson, he feels he’ll be well equipped with the right people to guide him through the next 12 months.
Image: Foremost Media.
“Since with I’ve been with Yamaha Junior Racing, I’ve been around Scott Bishop and Mike Ward since 2014 – so nothing much has changed, I’ll just be showing up to different races. Being at Yamaha and seeing the work they put in, I don’t need to stress too much on race days.
“They build me a really good bike, so I just need to make sure I’m ready to go racing this year and not worry about anything else. Jay’s been racing for a while now and he knows what he’s doing, so I’ll definitely be trying to learn as much as I can from him.”
While the MXD title is the ultimate goal for Rogers, he’s not getting ahead of himself, maintaining he wants to be a podium regular to be in contention for the championship come Coolum’s finals.
Image: Foremost Media.
“Hopefully I can get some podiums and race wins – I won’t be trying to show up and win every race by a long way, I just want to be in contention for the whole year. I don’t want to blow it in the first races of the season or anything like that.
“The biggest challenge will be being in a new environment – I’ve only been able to do a few Rookies rounds, so learning new tracks and racing nine rounds, as well as a lot of motos, will probably be the toughest thing.”
Rogers will make his debut at the MX Nationals opener, scheduled for
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