Yamaha Motor Australia press release:
Yamaha Junior Racing’s Jake Williams scored two Queensland Motocross Championship victories over the weekend, winning the 15 years 250cc and also the 13-15 years 125cc as the final round of the series concluded at Hervey Bay.
Williams, from Roma, was in good form the entire weekend and enjoyed racing the sandy Hervey Bay circuit and took out both championships in impressive fashion.
He simply dominated the entire weekend, taking the perfect three from three race wins on his YZ250F making it a clean sweep of all six races in this years’ championship on his 250. He matched those results on his YZ125 in the 13-15 years 125cc class with another three wins to win the 125 championship in a perfect weekend for the YJR rider.
“At the start of the year it was my goal to win the state championships for YJR so it’s awesome I was able to achieve that,” Williams explains. “I don’t know if I’m a great sand rider but I always seem to do well at Hervey Bay and my starts were much better this weekend, making my job so much easier.
“It’s good to be riding well heading into the Australian Junior Nationals starting at the end of the month and the bikes I raced over the weekend will be the ones I use at Renmark in a few weeks and I’m so happy with how they run.
“Thank you to MQ and the promoting clubs for this years’ series as well as Yamaha Junior Racing for their support. It’s a great team to be a part of,” Williams ends.
In contrast, it was a tough weekend for team mate, Levi Rogers. Rogers is starting to show a real turn of speed but unfortunately crashes put an end at any chance of good results. The 13 year old Blackwater rider is adapting well to the larger 125cc machine and after his recent growth spurt, the Hervey Bay event was his last on the YZ85.
While he didn’t get the results he wanted, the improvement in his riding is evident and his speed on the 125 had the established class leaders looking over their shoulder as the young charger continued to climb his way into the top four before crashes slowed his momentum.
“I crashed too much over the weekend and each time I crashed, I tried to ride faster and faster. I was fourth in the first 125 race and I could see the second placed rider so in the other races I really wanted to get behind Jake and make it a team 1-2 but I overrode and fell.
“I learned a lot about using my head and thinking my way through a race over the weekend so hopefully that will help me at the junior nationals,” Rogers said.
It was also a big weekend for Yamaha supported riders in the senior divisions with a sea of Yamaha blue at the front of the MX2 (250cc) division. Richie Evans claimed the MX2 crown with a perfect three from three on his YZ250F and won the championship by a comfortable margin over fellow Yamaha rider, Luke Weaver in second place. Ryan Eden, riding a YZ250, was fourth making it a Yamaha 1-2-4 in the MX2 class.
Weaver doubled timed it in the weekend and cashed in on his efforts with another second in the MX1 (450cc) championship. The championship came down to the final race but Weaver was unable to match Zak Small in the final moto and was forced to settle for second place.
With the major motocross events now completed for the year in Queensland, the YJR crew will now focus on the Australian Junior Motocross Championships in Renmark starting on September 24 will the senior riders can take a well-earned rest.
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