Image: MXN.

The future of Australian motocross racing took to the track at Appin yesterday, with the Yamaha 250cc Junior Cup category showing off their skills as the support class for a packed house in New South Wales.

Youngsters had the chance to show the professional factory teams what they may be working with in the years to come yesterday, going head-to-head across two motos with KTM’s Mason Semmens eventually taking the honours.

After qualifying in first position, Semmens was the man to beat in the feature class on Sunday and when racing got underway the KTM rider proved to his competition that he was at Appin for business.

In race one, Semmens took the Raceline holeshot and led for the entire 15 minutes, crossing the finish line a comfortable 20.561 seconds ahead of KTM’s Regan Duffy and Bailey Malkiewicz (Husqvarna), who finished in second and third places respectively.

Race two was a familiar sight, with Semmens once again putting his number 18 KTM up the front, leading from the gate-drop to the chequered flag for the second time at round two. Second position in race two went to Rhys Budd (Honda), followed by Malkiewicz in P3.

With a flawless scorecard after two motos, Semmens was rewarded with the top step of the podium at Appin, while Budd’s 4-2 results handed him second overall, followed by Husqvarna-mounted Malkiewicz.