Don’t Let The Smile Fool You
Spend a few minutes with 19-year-old Lachlan “Lala” Turner and you probably wouldn’t pick the quietly spoken young American as someone whose ultimate goal is to race professionally against the boys. But when Turner pulls on a helmet and lines up behind a motocross starting gate, that shy personality quickly disappears, replaced by raw talent and determination that has seen her become almost unbeatable in the world of MXW.
Already a two-time AMA Women’s Motocross Champion in the United States, Turner added the 2026 Australian MXW Championship to her growing list of achievements this year with the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha team. And Turner revealed she is far from finished.
She plans to return to Australia and has her sights set on Supercoss action as well as defending her MXW title in 2027, ultimately, she wants to see just how far she can take her racing career, and that includes racing against the boys.
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It’s a remarkable ambition for a rider who didn’t even start riding a motorcycle until she was 12 years old. Growing up in Gardnerville, Nevada, motocross was already part of the Turner family. Her father had raced when he was younger, while older brother Lux was the one who ultimately inspired Lachlan to get on a motorcycle herself. “My dad used to race. He got his first bike when he was 19, but when he had kids he had to put that dream aside,” Turner explains. “My brother started riding first, and I just wanted to do everything he did. Before long, we were all living motocross together as a family.”
Lux remains an important part of Lachlan’s racing life and is far from an easy-going big brother when it comes to helping his younger sister improve. “He’s probably the toughest person on me, but it’s because he always wants to make me better,” she says.
The siblings initially spent their time riding together in the hills before deciding to attempt qualification for the prestigious Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross Championship, America’s premier amateur motocross event. Both made it. “We spent a lot of time riding in the hills together. Then one year we both qualified for Loretta Lynn’s, and I think that’s really where it all started for us.”
What followed was a remarkably rapid rise. Turner became a multiple Loretta Lynn’s amateur champion before establishing herself at the top of American women’s motocross, winning consecutive AMA WMX championships in 2024 and 2025.
Her success ultimately brought her to Australia, where Yamaha Australia and Yamaha USA put together a two-year program allowing her to compete in both countries aboard the YZ250F.
That arrangement has meant plenty of time on aeroplanes in 2026. Turner contested the four-round Australian MXW Championship while simultaneously defending her AMA WMX crown, regularly travelling between Australia and the United States.
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Her Australian campaign began with victory at Wonthaggi in March before she returned home. When the MXW series resumed in July, Turner came back to Australia and continued where she left off, eventually securing the championship at Queensland Moto Park. Yet the results tell only part of the story.
Lachlan has quickly become a popular figure in the Australian paddock and she has noticed an increasing number of young female fans waiting to meet her after races. “One of the coolest parts about racing here has been meeting so many young girls who come up wanting photos or telling me they want to be like me one day,” she says. “That’s really special.”
Australia has also become much more than just another place to race. La la speaks warmly about the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha team and has already confirmed she wants to return for another Australian campaign in 2027. “I’m really enjoying racing both here in Australia and in the United States,” she says. “I have an amazing team over here and a great team back home as well. I’ll definitely be back racing in Australia next year with this team.”
Before then, however, another challenge awaits. Turner plans to contest Australian Supercross at the end of 2026 as she begins developing her skills in a discipline she hopes will become an increasingly important part of her racing future.
And that future could eventually take her somewhere relatively few female racers have ventured. “My plan is to race Supercross in Australia at the end of this year,” she says. “My ultimate goal is to line up against the boys.”
Three major championships in three years suggest those ambitions should not be underestimated.