Motorcycling Australia press release:

Motorcycling Australia (MA) is pleased to announce that the following riders have been selected to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) World Junior Motocross Training Camp; the final stage of selection to become part of the Australian Team to compete at the 2009 FIM World Junior Motocross Championship to be held in New Zealand.

The riders for the 12-15 years 85cc 2 stroke and 150cc 4 stroke class in no particular order are:

Dale Fear
Hayden Mellross
Dylan Long
Joel Dinsdale
Jarred Jeffcoat
Nicklas Scott
Scott Mann
Jackson Richardson
Charlie Anderson
Jay Wilson
Luke Lee
Luke Clout

The riders for the 15-18 years 125cc 2stroke and 250cc 4 stroke class in no particular order are:

Sam Duncanson
Ross Beaton
Luke Styke
Errol Willis
Tye Simmonds
Matthew Phillips
Kale Makeham
Dylan Gosling
Shaun Redhead
Josh Cachia
Dylan Peterson
Harrison Wooding
Harley Quinlan
Jason Reed

The riders will now attend a three day intensive AIS Training Camp from which the final eight riders for each class will be selected to compete in Taupo, New Zealand on 15-16 August 2009. Two emergencies will also be selected for each class.

Team Coach, Greg Moss, and Team Manager, Mark Willingham both said that selecting riders for the camp was incredibly difficult and believe that even harder decisions are still to be made.

“Due to the great depth of talent in these age groups at the moment, whittling the list down to these 26 riders was an incredibly difficult task,” Willingham said.

“We were lucky enough to be well supported by Kevin Williams and WEM in allowing the qualifiers to take place as part of the National Championship, and for this we are extremely grateful.

“Following the AIS camp we will be faced with an even tougher decision; to select a team to represent Australia on the world stage.”

Moss agreed saying that for most of these riders, this is the biggest thing they’ve participated in so far.

“The AIS is the best place for elite athletes in Australia, and while picking a team was obviously extremely hard to do, for those riders who don’t make the final eight, they will still benefit enormously from being at the camp,” Moss said.

“The selection races for most of these guys has been the biggest race of their lives, and the intensity level will be a lot higher when we get to New Zealand, so I’ll be trying to get the guys as much experience before they get over there.”

The final team selection will be made following the AIS camp and will be announced by MA.

For all the latest news and information relating to the 2009 FIM World Junior Motocross Championship, visit MA’s dedicated event site at www.ma.org.au/2009worldjuniormx.