Wade Hunter will join Sam Martin on the GYTR Yamaha squad for the remainder of the 2012 outdoor season. Image: Dan McCallum.

Pirelli MXD class contender Wade Hunter will be a permanent fixture on the GYTR Yamaha team for the remainder of the Monster Energy MX Nationals season, filling the injured Shaun Redhead’s position on the team.

After Redhead was forced to withdraw at the last minute, Hunter was pulled from his Ward Racing Developments team to join the GYTR squad just before the Horsham round.

Qualifying first in the MXD class, while teammate Sam Martin sat in second, Hunter impressed on debut with the team. But the young North Queensland native was unable to carry his early round speed into the motos.

“I was stoked at getting P1 in qualifying and was confident I could get the job done in the races,” said Hunter. “In Moto one I was right there in third and catching the front two when I started to push a bit too hard and made a lot of mistakes.

“Moto two was a bit of a crash fest as I charged my way to a good spot after I fell in the first turn, only to fall off again later in the moto.

“Moto three just didn’t work out. But, I’m thankful to the GYTR Yamaha team for this opportunity and look forward to the final three rounds with them and hopefully giving them a good reward.”

Currently sitting ninth overall in the MXD class standings after seven rounds of racing, the next stop for Hunter and his new team will be round eight at Appin in New South Wales on 29 July.