GYTR-YJR On Three State Tear

Liam Andrews got things under way in Victoria when he contested the fourth and final round of the Victorian Junior Motocross Championships at the Ballarat circuit. Andrews entered the final round in a strong position in both the 13-16 years 125 and 250cc classes but was determined to ram home his authority and rack up some race wins.

And he did exactly that, winning the day in both classes and in turn going on the win Victorian state championships on his YZ125 and YZ250F. It has been an amazing comeback for Andrews who suffered a major injury at the end of last year and was contemplating not racing in 2018. But he has shown his resilience and these two championships are a nice reward for his effort and determination.

“It was a goal of mine to win both championships this year and as it’s my last year in juniors, it’s a good way to go out,” Andrews said. “I started the year a bit behind but kept working hard and the last two rounds went really well for me and I’m pumped to have finally won a state championship.

“My parents have been behind me over the years, so it was cool to win it and see how happy Mum and Dad were. We also have some great sponsors in Yamaha Junior Racing and their support is awesome so thank you to everyone who supports our team,” Andrews ends.

In Queensland, things went much the same as Levi Rogers also racked up two state championships after the final round of that series was wrapped up at Hervey Bay, over the weekend. Rogers, competing in the 13-14 years 125 and 13-14 years 250cc dominated the series winning every moto on each bike and was awarded the Queensland Number 1 plate in junior racing for amassing the most points by any junior rider in the state championship.

This makes it the last four years in a row that a YJR rider has held the number one plate in Queensland and joins riders like Shaun Redhead, Joel Dinsdale, Hunter Lawrence, Jake Williams and Jack Kukas who have won it on YJR in recent years.

“Last year I was able to win the 125 but not the 250 so it’s cool this year I could win them both and keep the number 1 plate with Yamaha,” Levi said. “The tracks we raced at this year for the Queensland Championships were tracks I really like and it’s been good to race in the softer dirt like Rockhampton and Hervey Bay.

“Both my bikes ran so well at each round and my Dad worked hard to keep them looking good. Thank you to both my parents as well as Ben for helping me out on the weekends. It’s time to get ready for the Australian Junior Championships in Tassie.”

And not to be out done on the YJR winning spree, South Australia’s Alex Larwood decimated his competition at the third round of his state championship. Larwood, who missed a round due to injury earlier in the season has little chance of claiming a title this year but is doing his best to make up for the lost points by winning every race he entered.

He took six wins from six starts at the Keith Motocross Circuit and rocketed up the leader board but with one round remaining, his charge to the top might be just a little too late.

He also picked up a third at the Victorian state championships the week prior in what has been a good few weeks for the talented young rider.

“I have been racing nearly every weekend lately and it’s been good to keep the momentum going. I like going over to Victoria as there is lots of competition there to race against and it helps me back here.

“After missing a round with my broken collar bone, I don’t really think about trying to win the championship, I just want to win as many races as I can and keep trying to get faster. We still have one round to go so my goal there is to keep winning and I might be able to end up on the podium for the championship on both bikes,” Larwood said.

The year is far from over for junior riders with several major events still to come. Some states have their state titles to complete and then it’s time for the World Junior Championships at Horsham on August 24-26. Then it’s the Australian Junior Motocross Championships in Tasmania during the first week of October making it a big finish to the year.