Zach Osborne Switches to Yamaha and Off-Highway Racing


After retiring from AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross competitors simply over a 12 months in the past, Zach Osborne has introduced he’ll return to skilled racing, however in a distinct capability. The previous AMA Motocross champ is switching to off-road and becoming a member of the AmPro Yamaha crew. He’ll contest the XC2 250 Professional class in Grand Nationwide Cross Nation (GNCC) aboard a Yamaha YZ250FX in addition to choose US Dash Enduro rounds.

Associated: How To Get the Yamaha YZ250F and YZ250FX To Begin Shortly

Zach Osborne has joined the AmPro Yamaha team to race GNCC and select rounds of the US Sprint Enduro series.

Zach Osborne has joined the AmPro Yamaha crew to race GNCC and choose rounds of the US Dash Enduro collection. (Yamaha/)

“I’m tremendous excited and grateful for this chance,” Osborne stated. “My first dialog with [team owner] Randy [Hawkins] about becoming a member of his crew and the off-road neighborhood dates all the best way again to the top of 2007, so for this to return to fruition at a time once I was in search of a brand new alternative is simply tremendous cool! I’m excited to get the season began in a number of quick months and I hope to make the crew and our sponsors proud. I’ve been again to full-time coaching for about six weeks now and issues are responding nicely heading into the vacations and my January coaching camp!”

A brand new however acquainted face at AmPro Yamaha is Ricky Russell, who final raced for the crew in 2019. The Washington native is filling Steward Baylor’s spot and will probably be on the all-new 2023 Yamaha YZ450F motocrosser as an alternative of the YZ450FX cross-country mannequin seeing because it’s unchanged. Russell will compete within the XC1 Open Professional class in GNCC, NE Pro1 class in AMA Nationwide Enduro, and present up for choose US Dash Enduro rounds.

“I couldn’t be extra excited to be reunited with AmPro Yamaha,” Russell stated. “Randy and all the fellows right here helped me begin my GNCC racing profession, so in a method, it seems like coming house and it’s good to be again. I completed off 2022 with a number of total wins in GNCC and had career-best finishes in NEPG, so I’m very stoked to take that momentum into 2023 on the all-new YZ450F battling for championships!”

Associated: Manufacturing unit Off-Highway Racebikes—Steward Baylor’s 2022 Yamaha YZ450FX

Ricky Russell returns to AmPro Yamaha. The Washington native will race the all-new 2023 Yamaha YZ450F.

Ricky Russell returns to AmPro Yamaha. The Washington native will race the all-new 2023 Yamaha YZ450F. (Yamaha/)

Competing alongside Osborne in XC2 in addition to the NE Pro2 class in AMA Nationwide Enduro is Liam Draper. “I’m tremendous excited to be part of AmPro Yamaha,” he stated. “It’s at all times been my dream to be on a manufacturing unit crew since I first got here to the USA in 2018, and now it’s a actuality! I’m tremendous pleased with the bike and I’m excited to be teammates with Ricky, Zach, and Rachael [Archer]. Randy additionally brings such an unlimited information of the game and I’m excited to be beneath his management!”

Rachael Archer returns to the crew and appears to defend her 2022 GNCC WXC Class title aboard the acquainted YZ250FX. “2022 was epic!” Archer stated. “I used to be capable of push via and get constant podiums and 6 GNCC wins all year long and win the WXC championship! I’ve been engaged on this championship since I used to be 12, so to lastly take the No. 1 plate at 20 years outdated is a fairly large achievement! I couldn’t have carried out it with out the assistance of my superior crew at AmPro Yamaha, and I’m tremendous excited to be chasing one other championship or two once more in 2023 with them!”