The Junior Team impressed at round one of the South Australian Motocross Championship.
By Hayden Gregory
With a solid and uninterrupted pre season under their belts the Yamaha Junior Team lined up in South Australia with clear intentions.
Boasting the same lineup as 2015 the team were well represented by Taj Gow Smith who won five of the six races he contested, highlighting his impressive talent.
“I’m stoked to get the win today and my bikes were awesome. It’s good to get some good results at the first round and I’m glad we are finally racing,” said a very happy Gow Smith.
Teammate Alex Larwood was similarly impressive dominating all three of his races to put the other competitors on notice.
“Today was a good day, I’m happy to get the win and win all three races. My last two starts were great and I’m looking forward to the next round,” said young Larwood.
A new format saw Thomas Larwood contest the 125 class on Saturday before stepping up to the 250F on Sunday. In the lighter class, Larwood claimed third overall after a crash while leading moto two took the sting out of his time. On the Sunday he finished fourth marking a very consistent weekend.
“I was very nervous coming into the weekend but I knew if I rode well I could be up front,” Thomas explains. “My starts just weren’t happening this weekend but I’ll be working hard to fix that before the next event. I liked the new format as the track on Sunday was a lot different to Saturday and it was a challenge to ride a much rougher track,” he ends.
SAYJR Team manager Shane Metcalfe was impressed with all of the riders and is confident in their abilities moving forwards.
“I’m very proud of my boys this weekend as a lot of the training we have been working on really showed this weekend. Both Alex and Taj really lifted to another level and deserved their wins. Thomas rode well but bad starts cost him big time so once he gets settled in I’m hoping all three boys can get the win at the next round.
“It was great to see the Junior 250F class race on Sunday with the senior classes, this should give these kids more experience and really help develop their skills to match those of other states,” commented Metcalfe.
The next round is at Renmark on the 4-5th June which will be where the Junior Nationals will be held in September.
