Yamaha Motor Australia has added to its event sponsorship portfolio, taking up naming rights of the 2024 Yamaha bLU cRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals.
Contested over six rounds, across three weekends, the Yamaha bLU cRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals promises to be the highest profile dirt track championship in the country, bringing together the best riders in three unique and popular venues.Appin Raceway, North Brisbane and Gunnedah all host a weekend of the championship and provide a variety of tracks and surfaces that will challenge the best riders but also provide some great racing to crown a worthy Australian champion.
The series started in 2022 and continues to grow in popularity with riders across a range of disciplines from road racing to speedway and of course dirt track, and achieving national championship status for 2024 will only help to further raise the profile of the event as well as attract more top line riders.
Yamaha will have two more young guns of Australian racing at each round with regular dirt tracker Cody Lewis joined by road race sensation, Cameron Dunker. Both are Hunter Valley based and still in their teens and nothing would be more satisfying than to see YZ450F’s at the front of the Pro 450 field alongside YZ-F-mounted AFTN regular, Dale Borlase.
Joining them for a cameo appearance will be US based, Yamaha mounted dirt track star, Tom Drane. The 17-year-old from New South Wales now resides in the US and races the US Flat Track Nationals where he is currently inside the top three in the 450cc division. Drane is expected back in Australia to contest a weekend of racing as part of his off- season program.
“The flat track market is growing, and history shows it has been the breeding ground for many of our most famous road races over the years. Riders like Darryl Beattie, Mat Mladin and Troy Herfoss all have a dirt track background and Yamaha Australia wish to keep the pipeline of churning out international riders going by assisting in providing high quality events for riders to hone their skills.
“We have thrown significant support behind this year’s championship and have even offered performance-based bonus money for riders landing on the podium in the Pro class if they are riding a YZ or WR450F,” explains Yamaha’s Scott Bishop.
The championship gets under way at Appin, near Sydney on July 27 before heading to Brisbane on August 31 and the final weekend of racing at Gunnedah on November 16.
bLU cRU Bonus Bucks
Class: Pro Class
Eligible riders: Yamaha YZ450F or WR450F riders
Round: 1st - $1,000 / 2nd - $500 / 3rd - $250
Championship: 1st - $5,000 / 2nd - $2,500 / 3rd - $1,000.