Yamaha Racing gears up for penultimate Supercross

8 March 2007. 

Yamaha Racing has set its sights firmly on the lead of the Pro Open Australian Supercross Championship with the penultimate round to be staged this weekend at Rosedale Speedway in Victoria.

The three factory-backed outfits will go into the event as strong contenders for round podiums, with any number of riders from the CDR/Nokia/Yamaha, Serco Yamaha and Team Seven M2R Motorsport teams capable of taking the fight to the top step of the podium.

However it will be CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd, who currently sits in second place, out to make amends for 2006 and take maximum points from the round to ensure he gives himself the best possible chance for championship victory.

With 25 points on offer for the round win in both Pro Open and Pro Lite classes, all of Yamaha’s riders are looking to make substantial gains on the leaderboard and set themselves up for a strong finish to the four-round series.

Yamaha Racing Pro Open SupercrossAfter finishing runner-up in 2006, CDR/Nokia/Yamaha rider Cheyne Boyd has the 2007 Pro Open Australian Supercross Championship firmly in his sights. The Victorian rider heads to Rosedale for the penultimate round of the championship this weekend in second place, only two points behind the current championship leader. Boyd and teammate Ford Dale who are part of a three-man Yamaha Factory Pro Open outfit will represent the leading manufacturer at the third round of the series while team member Matt Moss remains sidelined with a broken wrist. Both riders have set themselves stringent goals to achieve this weekend with Boyd going as far as re-building his practice track to best represent the courses they are competing on. 

The 24-year old from Rosebud in Victoria will also put into play some of the training advice bestowed on him by his good friend and mentor, 2004 AMA Supercross Champion Chad Reed. Boyd paid a special visit to Reed’s Californian test track in 2006 and trained intensively with the Australian over a four week period. 
 
As he prepared for a comprehensive team test day at his home track Boyd said his approach to this year’s championship was like no other.
 
“This is without a doubt the best prepared I have ever been for a championship season,” Boyd said. “I warmed up to the season with a series of Stadium X events which ensured I was race fit for this years short Supercross season.”
 
“The whole team, riders, mechanics and even Team Owner Craig Dack are coming to train with me at my home test track today which is just fantastic and I think we will all benefit as I have re-built the track so it best represents the ones we are competing on this year.”

 
“I don’t think there is anything else we could have done to prepare me for this weekends Rosedale event, I have one goal and that is to go out and make sure I finish in front of Daniel (Reardon) to put me in the best possible position ahead of the final round,” Boyd commented.
 
For eighteen-year-old Ford Dale this weekend is about moving forward, the teenager and Team Owner Craig Dack have taken a strategic approach to this year’s series which sees the duo set achievable goals each weekend that will ensure the youngster betters his results round-by-round.
 
Dale finished the opening round of the series in 10th spot, was seventh at Round Two at Avalon a fortnight ago and will aim for a top six finish at Rosedale this weekend. “Each week Craig Dack and I get together and set some achievable goals which are aimed at helping me with consistency,” Dale said.  “While I am always trying for the best possible result it is important to make sure I am riding consistently and regularly finishing well inside the top ten. “We have achieved this at the first two rounds I now need to step up and try for a top six result,” Dale added.

Sitting in 8th place in  the championship, Shane Metcalfe is striving to take his riding to a new level this weekend, and is aiming to make inroads on the top 5 championship contenders. The Team Seven M2R Motorsport rider said he had found extra confidence in himself and the YZ450F in recent practice sessions and felt ready to round out the championship on a high note after injuries had hampered his run early.“It just felt good to be back to 100% again this week,” explained Metcalfe.“I was really disappointed with Avalon but the technical track, which I know is normally one of my strong points, took it’s toll on my body more than I anticipated.”

“I have been training hard over the past week and feel confident of getting some good results this weekend at Rosedale."

Yamaha Racing Pro Lite Supercross

Heading Yamaha Racing’s Pro Lite charge this weekend is Serco Yamaha’s Daniel McCoy, who, like Cheyne Boyd, also sits just a few points shy of the outright lead. At the previous round, McCoy made light work of his adversaries and took a comfortable win aboard his YZ250F.

With this momentum, a flawless racecraft and the incentive to inherit the series lead buoying him, he will no doubt be a contender as the gates drop at the Saturday evening event.“I’m only 4 points off the lead at the halfway point of the series and I feel the best is yet to come,” said McCoy. “I’ve been training incredibly hard for this and I hope to repay the Serco Yamaha team for all their hard work with another round win.”

Riding alongside McCoy at Serco is Jake Moss who was unfortunate to fall just shy of a round podium at Avalon.Sitting outside the top 10 in the points standings, he has concentrated all efforts on regaining his fast-finishing form from 2006 and has spent most of the break on the bike.“I’ve put in a lot of practice time this week, going over the basics and making sure I have all aspects of my game working well,” said Moss “I need to make sure I get off to a good clean start and from then I am confident of challenging the guys at the front.”

“The YZ250F hasn’t missed a beat this week and has been very reliable.”

At Team Seven M2R Motorsports, Kirk Gibbs is looking forward to getting back on the bike after his promising progress at Avalon, which should have resulted in a top 5 finish if not for a nasty fall.
He is fully recovered from the incident and out to prove a point in the Pro Lites competition this weekend. “I was both happy and annoyed with Avalon but it has shown me I can and do belong at the pointy end,” said Gibbs. “Thanks to M2R/Yamaha and the efforts of the crew at Team Seven Motorsports, who have given me awesome support, I am really pumped to do well this weekend at Rosedale,” he said.