Your weekly racing update from Yamaha Motor Australia
Dunker and Fyffe Dominate Albury AFTNThe Frankos Race Shop Yamaha duo of Cameron Dunker and Jed Fyffe have dominated proceedings at rounds three and four of the Australian Flat Track Nationals at Diamond Park, Albury.
Dunker, fresh from a stint racing in the US, only returned to Australia 24 hours before racing started on Saturday and showed no effects of jetlag as he went to win the Pro450cc class on both days and establish a handy lead in the championship after four rounds.
Dunker won all but one race on Saturday and did the same again on Sunday and now holds an 82-point lead over Max Whale as the series nears the halfway point.
“I have been riding a bit of everything lately, so I thought it would take me a bit of time to get back used riding a dirt bike and be up to speed. But Franko did a great job, and I felt instantly comfortable on the bike and able to put in good laps right away.
“It was a big effort from the team, and they did a great job,” Dunker ends.
His teammate, Jed Fyffe, wasn’t going to be overshadowed in the results department as he took control of the 250cc class. Fyffe’s results basically mirrored that of Dunker and his domination in the series so far sees him carry a 150-point lead into round five next month.
Mounted on a Yamaha YZ250F and on his local track, Fyffe cleaned house on the week and was a cut above his rivals in a scintillating display of dirt track racing.
The next round of the series moves to Griffith in New South Wales on October 10.
Minear makes Rookie of the Year
Australia’s Kayden Minear has finished sixth in his debut Pro Motocross season in the 250cc class and claimed the prestigious, “Rookie of the Year,” title. Minear, now in his second full season in the US with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Team, wrapped up the series with another top 10 result at the Ironman round on the weekend.
It’s been a solid year for Minear who has shown plenty of speed and resilience during the year as he learns the ropes of racing in the US and the busy schedule that comes along with it. His season was highlighted with three moto podiums and several near misses for round podiums, but it’s been his consistency that has rewarded him as he has been a player on every track and on every surface.
It was Minear’s teammate, New Zealand’s Cole Davies, that claimed the 250cc championship. He entered the year considered a supercross specialist but after a few rounds that was laid to rest as he started racking up the race and round victories.
He had a comfortable lead coming into the final round at Ironman and then when his nearest rival, Levi Kitchen, was unable to finish the opening moto on the weekend, the path was clear for Davies to ride to victory. He coasted across the finish line in third place and took the championship with a race to spare.
The Yamaha 250cc dominance continued in the WMX division when Lachlan Turner nailed her third championship after an event weekend at Ironman. Lala had to deal with her own demons and while didn’t race at her usual high level, she did enough to win the championship with a six-point margin over Charli Cannon.
It’s already been a remarkable year for Turner, who now has an Australian ProMX Championship as well as an AMA WMX championship in the same year. She is due back in Australia in the coming weeks where a tantalising race is forming as she gets to challenge herself against the best Women MXGP riders from Europe.
Turner will take on the likes of WMX GP leaders, Kiara Fontanesi and Daniela Guillen who are currently fighting out for the World Championship. Then add in reigning world champ, Lotte Van Drunen and four-time world champ, Courtney Duncan, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest race in WMX in some time. And it’s happening in Australia.
The weekend Ahead
This weekend sees the final two rounds of the Yamaha Australia Enduro Championship at Coonalpyn, in South Australia. The weekend will see a three-hour Cross-Country race on Saturday, then followed by the intense sprint format on Sunday to finish the season.
Yamaha is in a very strong possible across a range of classes and a good weekend will see multiple championships for the BLU CRU.
ShopYamaha Off Road team star, Wil Ruprecht, has a 19-point lead coming into the final weekend of racing. With over four hours of racing across the two days, Ruprecht knows there is still plenty of work to be done and has no intention of letting up. He has won eight of the ten rounds so far and will need to stay at a high level to lock down the premier class championship.
He also leads a for more comfortable lead in the E2 (450cc) division. He is 48 points clear and needs little more to finish on Saturday to secure the E2 title.
The E1 class (250cc) is a Yamaha strong hold with the BLU CRU running 1-2 into the final weekend. South Australia’s, Cooper Sheidow has a 29-point lead in the class over fellow Yamaha rider, Jeremy Carpentier. A class win on Saturday will see Sheidow claim the title with a round to spare while Carpentier will be doing all he can to keep the championship alive.
Jess Gardiner is on track to win another Australian Championship as she has an 18-point advantage over Madi Simpson, also racing a Yamaha. Gardiner will have to be at her best as Simpson has lurked all season long while Rachael Archer is due back to put a cat among the pigeons.
Its tight at the top of the EJ class (Under 19) with the first three riders separated by 6 points. Yamaha Junior Racing’s, Marcus Nowland, sits in third and needs a breakout weekend to make up the points to secure the EJ championship. It will be all or nothing for Nowland and he is happy to lay it all on the line this weekend to secure his first national senior championship.
in the Junior divisions, Harley Hutton has been the man to beat in the J4 (15 years) class. Hutton is 34 points clear of the rider in second place and has the chance to wrap up the championship at the end of racing on Saturday afternoon. Hutton has found form in 2026, and his pace has been impressive as he has become more comfortable on the YZ250F.
Lorna Lock also has a big trophy in her sights and well within reach as she has been the dominant rider in the Junior Girls category. Lock, like Hutton, just needs to finish in the points on Saturday to win the class.
Action gets under way at 8am on Saturday.