Image: Jeff Crow.

Mitch Evans and Jordan Hill will have been confirmed as the two riders selected to spearhead the rebranded Yamalube Yamaha Racing outfit for the 2016 season.

Yamaha Motor Australia’s motocross development team, formerly known as GYTR Yamaha, has taken on the Yamalube lubricants branding to continue raising the profile of their products through the strong racing program already in place.

“The team have done a great job of promoting the GYTR range of products over the past few seasons and have no doubt assisted in boosting the profile and sales of our GYTR parts and other genuine Yamaha performance products,” said Yamaha’s parts marketing manager Greg Haring.

“We are now in a position with Yamalube to increase support to the team and we offer a full range of oils, lubricants and cleaners designed by Yamaha for your Yamaha’s performance and durability. Yamalube products are available throughout the Yamaha dealership network Australia-wide.

“We will continue to support the team with GYTR products, as well as Yamaha Genuine spares and accessories, and work closely with the team in bringing new or updated products to the market in Australia as they continue to provide us with invaluable feedback through testing and racing.”

Following a challenging, yet rewarding 2015 season which included taking out the Australian Supercross Championship SXD title, Evans looks forward to his second year with the team in the MXD and SXD classes.

“2015 was a real learning curve for me in many ways but it was made so much easier by having the right team behind me,” said Evans. “Everyone here works hard and strives for success so it was easy to re-sign with them again this year and hopefully continue to improve my racing.

“The bikes we have are amazing, the knowledge around the team is first class and the support from Yamaha and our team sponsors makes for a great environment. There are no excuses at this team and that’s exactly how I want it. I look forward to working closely with the team again and aiming to bring them more success in 2016.”

After joining the team for the 2015 Australian Supercross Championship after Wilson Todd elected to go under the knife for knee surgery, Hill put on some impressive performances, which was enough to earn himself a fulltime position for 2016.

“It’s the goal of every junior rider to ride for this team and I’m stoked that I got the opportunity at the end of last season to race supercross with them,” said Hill. “During the MX Nationals last season, my dad and I we were so busy just trying to get to the races that things were overlooked and our results weren’t what they should have been.

“Now with the support of the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team, my focus is now on racing, fitness and how I can improve as a rider. It’s a huge relief not to have the week to week stress of racing as a privateer and I know that I’m in good hands with the team we have here.

“Working with them during supercross was awesome and it showed in my results, so I’m excited about the 2016 MX Nationals and will do all I can to succeed, both for myself and the team.”

The first official outing for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team in 2016 will be at the opening round of the MX Nationals in Horsham on 3 April. The MXD class will compete at nine of the 10 rounds of the championship before swapping focus to the Australian Supercross Championship later in the season.