KTM Australia press release:

The KTM Australia junior squad which dominated last year’s Australian Junior Championships is back for 2015, with a powerhouse five-rider 2015 squad that includes two current or former World Champions intent on continuing the brand’s reputation for dominance at state, national and even world level.

Coordinated by KTM’s National Brand Manager Tam Paul, the team is headlined by current World 65cc Champion Jett Lawrence, the young Queenslander coming off a phenomenal 2014 season in which he won the Australian and World championships in his class.

Western Australian Caleb Grothues won a World Championship of his own in 2012 and was desperately unlucky not to win another last year. The current Australian 85cc Champion and World 85cc Vice Champion, Grothues will this year compete aboard both 125cc and 250F machines – his first rookie season aboard the four-stroke.

Next is Victorian Mason Semmens, who excelled last year at state level, but had his nationals campaign derailed by a stolen bike and associated issues. Top-level New South Wales junior Rhys Budd will also return, and after gaining a Nationals podium on the 85 last year will also compete aboard in the 125 ranks this year.

Tasmanian Wade Kirkland will be the KTM team’s representative in the Premier 15-year-old age group, and is a multiple state champion who scored a pair of podiums at last year’s Aussies in the 14-year-old age group. Kirkland is already in battle in this year’s MX Nationals series, where he is currently second in the Rising Star Rookies Championships category.

Tam Paul – KTM Australia National Brand Manager: “We are going in with a very strong team again after the domination of last year. We have refined it back to 5 riders, as we are very careful about the calibre of riders representing our factory outfit. Once again we’ve got five proven riders who’ve all had podiums at national and state level – as you would expect for this team – and we are confident we can take plenty of podiums and Championships in 2015.

KTM is committed to the future of motocross in Australia and we are proud to continue to support and foster developing talent. KTM is a manufacturer with a complete model range that spans right from 50cc right through to 450cc with the most competitive motorcycles available – this means that a young rider can ride KTM all through their junior career into seniors and beyond.”

For more information on KTM motorcycles visit www.ktm.com.au or www.facebook.com/ktmaustralia.