Dylan Leary and Ben George will contest in the Australian Supercross Championship for Axis Motorsports in 2012. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Team Axis Motorsports Kawasaki Maxima have confirmed that both Dylan Leary and Ben George will contest for the team in the upcoming 2012 Australian Supercross Championship.

After capping off a stellar Monster Energy MX Nationals MXD season with a third overall in the series, Leary will now turn his focus to carrying that momentum into the supercross series ahead.

George, the younger brother of former-champion Luke George, finished the outdoor season in 13th overall and is confident in his abilities heading into the ASX series.

“I rode Pro Lites last year as a privateer and felt confident mixing it up with those guys,” said George. “I have been prepping my track at home and can’t wait to start riding it.

“I’ve always preferred riding SX and would like to finish the year with a strong result.”

Axis Motorsports’ Andrew Hopson is excited about the upcoming supercross series and will begin testing with his riders immediately.

“Overall I believe we had a positive season,” Hopson said. “This was our first year with Kawasaki. They made great power, got out of the gate well against the 2 Strokes and handled brilliantly.

“I’m actually pretty excited about supercross. There’s alot of talented young riders out there and only 20 gates for each nights main event. Qualifying will be crucial, so we will be testing from now all the way up to round one to ensure we have our guys ready to perform.”

Mitch Norris will no longer remain with the Axis Motorsports squad, moving onto a Pro Lites ride for another team for the supercross series.

“I would also like to personally thank Team Axis Motorsports Kawasaki Maxima for this 2012 MX season,” said Norris. “I was presented with an opportunity to plan a long term deal for my future, so I start riding SX Pro Lites for another team I will announce in due time.”

Along with Leary and George, Norris notched up an impressive Monster Energy MX Nationals showing, finishing up in seventh overall for the year.

The all-new 2012 Australian Supercross Championship will be underway on 13–14 October at Dubbo in New South Wales.