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Empire Kawasaki 2023
By Axel Martin
Empire Motorsport has began the brand new 12 months with a refocusing of route. The group have determined to now not contest MX1, and as a substitute focus their efforts on MX2 with some new younger riders.
Group proprietor Tyson Cherry hopes that by specializing in working within the 250 lessons extra effort could be put into the place it’s wanted, and never unfold skinny like maybe it has been previously.
With the wages of a high 450 rider round $80,000 only for the sign-on, not to mention bonuses, the Empire boss determined to as a substitute diversify into different lessons like WMX and MX3 which ought to see his group on the rostrum frequently and hopefully snag a few championships.
We pulled as much as the Mornington Peninsula Bike membership with pleasure hanging within the air, it’s not day by day you get the chance to hang around with a race group not to mention journey their bikes. I’ve to say it’s spectacular to stroll up to an enormous race truck and see all of the manufacturing unit MX bikes on one facet and the off-road group on the opposite.
We gathered across the group’s six bike line up for the morning press convention, eager to listen to from the riders and mechanics.
Empire has reaffirmed its ties with Kawasaki Australia who’re hungry for some first rate outcomes too, and the significance of the collaboration was simple to see with Shu Yasui (Managing Director) and Rob Walker (Nationwide Gross sales and Advertising and marketing Supervisor) making the journey down from Sydney for the occasion.
As we discovered there’s some fairly critical expertise, guys and ladies who’re going to be giving their all for Empire in MX2 and MX3, while the group for the primary time can even enter into MXW.
Tyson has had loads on his plate organising offers however he has managed to create an excellent group of the most effective up-and-coming Aus ProMX riders.
In his second 12 months with the group, Haruki Yokoyama is again. The Japanese rider and his full-time mechanic (spouse) Huruka got here to Australia a few years in the past to construct himself as much as be a greater and stronger rider. Ending sixth in final 12 months’s championship kind of proved that larger issues are to return.
Jai Constantinou is a 22-year-old Victorian with a burning ardour for racing. Jai got here seventh general within the 2022 ProMX Championship simply behind Haruki, he’s hoping with the ’23 bikes being much more aggressive he can get on to the rostrum. Sadly for Jai although, since these pictures had been taken he crashed on the Vic Champs held at Wonthaggi and broke his leg. Motocross is a brutal sport…
With the group deciding to stay with solely 250s this 12 months it has opened extra choices for various lessons, one in every of these lessons being MXW. Taylah McCutcheon goes to have her work minimize out for her with some tremendous powerful competitors, having to go up towards Charli Cannon who smoked the sector in ’22.
Taylah says she gelled with the bike immediately and is feeling assured going into the brand new season already difficult and beating Emma Milesevic at a preseason occasion. It’s a testomony to how simple these new bikes are to journey that she’s already feasibly faster than final 12 months.
Going from pink to inexperienced is Cambell Williams, undoubtedly a category act. Cambell is eighteen now and in his ultimate 12 months in MX3 earlier than transferring as much as MX2. If all of it goes effectively for Cambell he has what it takes to win.
I wasn’t simply alongside for the introductions although, as soon as they had been over I acquired to journey their race bikes….
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