Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine issue 517

THE AUSSIE TEAM for the Motocross des Nations (MXoN) has been announced and some so-called dirtbike experts are already handing us the Chamberlain Trophy. With the two fastest 250F riders in the U.S., Hunter and Jett Lawrence, and one of the top 10 450cc riders in Europe, Mitch Evans, representing Team Australia, it looks like our strongest line-up yet. But is it really? In 2022, the annual nation-based teams' event, will be held at the Red Bud track in Michigan, USA, so the Lawrence boys have an advantage as they have already raced there in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship this year. The all-Honda MXstore Team will also have Michael Byrne as Team Manager and Gary Benn as Team Assistant Manager, two of our most experienced team managers. This will…

YAMAHA HAS LIFTED the lid on its MY23 YZ450F boasting more power, better handling and less weight with improvements to ergonomics making it narrower with a slim shroud, shorter front mudguard and extended fork protectors. Yamaha engineers have also updated the Power Tuner app where a rider can tweak the engine until their hearts content. The YZ450F's engine is new with an increased rev limit of 500RPM. The intake and exhaust port shape is new, there are larger diameter titanium valves, a new piston, cylinder and crankshaft assembly along with a change from wet sump to dry sump lubrication and the tri-shaft transmission layout is new. The aluminium frame has been redesigned, the wheels are lighter and the suspension features tool-less fork compression adjustment while the shock has been re-valved. Other details…

THE MY23 YAMAHA WR450F and WR250F remain unchanged from the MY22 versions and it stands to reason. The WR450F continues to win fans and races including the E2 class at the 2022 Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) with Yamaha enduro gun Josh Green at the controls. At the time of writing this, Green also held the E2 class championship points lead in the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). It's a similar story for the class-leading WR250F with Green's Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing teammate, Tasmanian Kyron Bacon experiencing a stand-out year of success aboard the WR250F. Bacon claimed the E1 class and the overall outright victory at the 2022 A4DE along with the up-to 250cc four-stroke title at the 2022 Hattah Desert Race. Bacon also leads the points for the E1 class in the…

HAS THERE EVER been a busier time in the sport of motocross and supercross? Hot on the heels of the newly announced FIM World Supercross Championship comes the unveiling of the World SuperMotocross Championship. This has nothing to do with the FIM MXGP Championship, rather an amalgamation of the US Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and the Monster Energy Supercross Championship that will offer a $10 million purse. The AMA supercross and motocross Championships will still run their own Championships but at the completion of the 2023 season, the top 22 riders in both MX2 and MX1 combined Championship points will qualify to compete in two SuperMotocross Playoff rounds and a World Championship round for the SuperMotocross Championship. With combined points from both the motocross and supercross Championships the currency for qualifying,…

THE FIM WORLD Supercross Championship (WSX) is keeping busy with team rider announcements amid the smoke of the World SuperMotocross Championship announcement. Yamaha's Eli Tomac and Honda's Ken Roczen are two of the heaviest hitters on the planet to be announced as competitors in the upcoming WSX and more recently the old war horse Chad Reed has put his name in the mix. We're not sure if this is a John Farnham-style yet-another final farewell to Reed but it is hard to imagine Reedy giving the likes of Roczen and Tomac any trouble. The good news is Aussie riders such as Wilson Todd (Honda), Aaron Tanti and Luke Clout (Yamaha) are confirmed alongside Brit, Max Anstie (Honda) and Scottish rider Dean Wilson (Husqvarna) along with Josh Hill and Kyle Chisholm…

WIL RUPRECHT IS probably the most understated and underrated top-shelf dirtbike rider Australia has ever produced. Ruprecht is a humble and extremely focused man who is on the verge of becoming a world enduro champion. The Factory TM rider has been slugging away at the EnduroGP World Championship for a few years and this year Ruprecht was in the hunt for the outright EnduroGP title until an unfortunate mechanical issue forced him out of the GP of Hungry. With just one more GP left to run, Ruprecht sits in second place of the EnduroGP points standings, 28-points adrift of newly crowned E1 champion, Andrea Verona (GASGAS). Despite the DNF in Hungary, Ruprecht still leads the E2 championship, 12-ponits ahead of Brit, Nathan Watson (Honda). The final round of the Championship is set…