The announcement we’ve all been waiting for finally came yesterday afternoon, that CDR Yamaha will officially take over Yamaha Motor Australia’s factory off-road team for the 2013 season. Of course we already knew and had reported this, but it’s the finer details that help paint a clearer picture.

CDR’s off-road program will primarily focus on the Australian Off-Road Championship and Australian 4-Day Enduro, as well as select state events during the season. It’s a major coup for the series, because having the defending five-time MX Nationals champion team in the AORC instantly adds credibility from a corporate standpoint.

We’ve seen over the years the professionalism of the AORC elevate to high quality structures across the board and this seems to be a trend that will continue in 2013. What’s important to note is that while Yamaha’s enduro and motocross teams will obviously be uniformed, so will KTM’s outfits since they have taken their motocross program back in-house.

Daniel Milner will be CDR Yamaha’s E1 contender on a YZ250F.

In a period where sponsorship is incredibly hard to come by, Craig Dack’s addition of an off-road team should boost his chances of landing some major backing if they are in-fact marketing the teams together. On top of that, Yamaha is no doubt tipping in a major budget to have its WR450F showcased.

“Towards the end of last year Ray Howard from Yamaha approached me on considering the off-road program,” Dack said in yesterday’s announcement. “I pretty much said yes to it straight away, because I knew Yamaha had a gap that was going to be left from the successful Ballard program and with only just a short time to the start of the season, it needed to be filled straight away.

“I’m very confident about our technical ability at CDR, but I’m completely aware that we are on a steep learning curve to understand the many areas that we lack experience in within off-road racing. All in all, I’m very excited to take this on and hopefully we can do justice to the great WR-range.”

Stefan Merriman will return to E2 on a WR450F with CDR.

CDR Yamaha Off-Road Racing will benefit from the expertise of Gary Benn in the suspension department, while Jason Childs will be in charge of the motors and electrics. Bryan Fitzgerald, Steven Clarke and Brad McAlpine will complete the team’s structure.

CDR’s transition into professional off-road racing won’t be easy by any means, but the fact that Daniel Milner’s E1 assault will come aboard a YZ250F helps the cause. As we know, the WR450F that Stefan Merriman is racing shares the same frame and chassis for the most part, so you can expect a streamlined approach to racing.

Contesting the E1 and E2 categories in their debut AORC season, CDR has the task of defending two titles won by the Ballards team last year, plus the A4DE Outright. If anyone’s up for the challenge, it’s Dack and his experienced crew down there in Geelong.