The GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing team wrapped up a massive week at the 2022 Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) with two national championships and five podium positions, in a very successful event held at Rockhampton in Queensland.
After being cancelled for two years due to Covid, the AJMX was back and over 400 bikes turned up for the high profile and prestigious event that ran like clockwork and the nations fastest riders finally got to face off at a national event.Held over four days of racing, apart from some over night rain for day one, conditions were ideal with warm sunny days and a track that proved at gruelling as it did challenging as over 70 races were contested during the event and it was no place for the faint-hearted come Saturday afternoon.
To view the GYTR YJR bLU cRU AJMX review: https://youtu.be/2tz_7egcdFo
Jake Cannon and Heath Davy led an impressive Yamaha charge at the event, taking home victory in the 13-14 years 125cc and 9 to 11 years 85cc respectively. Cannon was on a mission all week and bought the heat from the opening day posting fast qualifying times and sending a message that he meant business. He ripped through the heats with ease and then when the 40 rider, three race final exploded, Cannon finished with 2-1-3 results to take the championship on board his YZ125.
He backed that up with a strong third place finish in the 13-14 years 250cc class as well. Cannon proved consistent all week on the YZ250F and was right in the hunt for a championship until the final moto when a couple of crashes proved costly.
“I’m so relived to finally get a junior title,” he said at days’ end. “I have been close so many times and not been able to get it done, so to finally get the monkey off my back is so good. I went into that last 125 race desperate to win it as I didn’t know the points, but after I ruined my start and went mental on the first few laps to try and get to the front. I got to second and was closing in on the leader but crashed. I picked up quickly and was in third and then a lapped rider went down right in front of me, so I lost time again there.
“But I was able to hold steady in third for the final few laps. I didn’t know I had won it until after the race. Ky Woods won the moto so I just needed to finish behind Jet Alsop to win, so I was pretty pumped when they told me I won,” Cannon ends.
Heath Davy showed he is a star of the future with some dominating performances throughout the week. Contesting both the 9-11 years 85cc class as well as the 10-12 years 65cc class, Davy was right in the heat of the battle in every moto. He easily qualified through to the final on his YZ85 and then went on a tear in the finals, winning all three to secure the national championship.
He was also a favourite in the 65 class but a fall in the very first round proved costly. In the five championship motos in that class, Davy finished with 15-1-1-5-1 to come home in third place.
“It’s been an awesome week here and I had such a cool time. I wanted to win both classes, but I found the mud difficult on the first day and fell a couple of times and that cost me on the 65. But the rest of the week was good and even just hanging out with the rest of the Yamaha team was fun when we weren’t racing.
“My Mum and Dad put in so much effort and the Yamaha Junior Racing teams looks after us so good, so I’m happy to get a championship for them,” Davy explains.
There was also plenty of bLU cRU on the podium with several riders enjoying a productive week in Rockhampton.
Western Australia’s Deegan Fort charged to a second place finish in the 10-12 years 65cc class making it a Yamaha 2-3 with team mate Davy. Fort also performed well in the 9-11 years 85cc division to take home sixth place in conditions much different to the sand tracks he races back at home.
Seth Burchell put in 100% all week and came home second in the 15 years 125cc class. Contested over five finals, Burchell was a model of consistency finishing with 2-2-2-2-3 results to lock up second place in a huge effort on board his YZ125.
Burchell also managed a fourth-place finish in the 15 years 250cc division. He started the week a fraction off the pace on the 250 but came home with a set sail to just miss the podium by two points.
Kobe Drew climbed on the podium in the 15 years class with a third-place finish after a week of spirited racing. Drew put in five strong motos to finish with 3-4-3-3-3 results to take home third place in his last junior nationals before turning senior.
He also just missed the podium in the 15 years 125cc class, finishing fourth by the end of the event. Drew started the week in a blaze of glory, winning the first moto in wet and slopy conditions but then couldn’t maintain the same results in the dry and finished with 1-4-4-5-5 to claim fourth overall.
In the Girls division, JGR Yamaha rider Danielle McDonald finished in second place on her YZ125. McDonald splits her time between off road and motocross and showed her versatility with some string performances during the week. She was able to claim a couple of moto wins during the week, but a heavy fall slowed her progress. With her knee strapped, and in some pain, she was able to finish the week and bring home second place in the Girls Lites division.
There was also several riders, who despite not making the podium, achieved some great results throughout the week. Angus Pearce from Tasmania battled the heat and the effects of a huge crash to produce some of his best rides in the final day of competition. Patrick Martin with two top ten results in the 15 years 125 and 250cc classes. Kayd Kingsford was top sixth in the 13-14 years 125cc class with consistent rides all week while Jobe Dunne battled hard all week in the 12-13 years 85cc class.
“The Australian Junior Motocross Championships is always a huge event and it was highly anticipated after the last couple of years not being on the calendar,” begins Yamaha’s Motorsport Manager, Scott Bishop. “It’s a massive commitment by riders and families to attend and many have travelled from as far at Perth, Tasmania and even New Zealand to attend.
“Congratulations to not only Jake and Heath for their class victories but all the GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing riders for their efforts during the week. I would also like to pass on my thanks to the companies that support YJR and junior motocross as we continue to unearth some amazing talent here in Australia.
“It was great to be back at the AJMX and see so many enthusiastic people excited to be at the races. This event, while a national championship, also allows riders and families from all areas to mix and develop friendships and sometimes that is just as important as the results, as friends are formed for life at events like this,” Bishop ends.
2022 AJMX Results
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2022 AJMX Results
2022 AJMX Results
9-11 years 85cc
1st Heath Davy – 75 (Yamaha YZ85)
2nd Seth Thomas – 62
3rd Bodie Court – 60
10-12 years 65cc
1st Seth Thomas -116
2nd Deegan Fort – 98 (Yamaha YZ65)
3rd Heath Davy – 97 (Yamaha YZ65)
13-14 years 125cc
1st Jake Cannon – 67 (Yamaha YZ125)
2nd Jet Alsop – 64
3rd Liam Owens – 61
13-14 years 250cc
1st Jet Alsop – 117
2nd Liam Owens – 113
3rd Jake Cannon – 99 (Yamaha YZ250F)
15 years 125cc
1st Kayden Minear – 120
2nd Seth Burchell – 108 (Yamaha YZ125)
3rd Byron Dennis - 100
15 years 250cc
1st Kayden Minear – 119
2nd Byron Dennis – 109
3rd Kobe Drew – 98 (Yamaha YZ250F)
Girls Lites
1st Madi Simpson – 117
2nd Danielle McDonald – 114 (Yamaha YZ125)
3rd Darci Whalley - 102