The three round ‘Rising Stars Rookies’ series that was run in conjunction with the MX Nationals for 2018 was wrapped up over the weekend at a sunny Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. With the first two rounds being held at Appin, NSW and Murray Bridge, South Australia earlier in the year it is fair to say that the Junior 250cc riders struck three of the trickiest, roughest and most technical tracks on the 10 round circuit.
BCP Pro Circuit Honda Junior Development rider Dante Hyam started off the season well with a solid second place at round one in Appin. A roller coaster of a day at round two in Murray Bridge saw Hyam drop back to third place in the title hunt going into round three however just seven points off the lead and well within a chance to take the title if things went his way at the final round in Coolum.
The rough, sandy conditions combined with mid pack starts made the going tough for Hyam at Coolum and a scorecard of 7-6 for the day kept him off the podium. His impressive first two rounds though helped Hyam to hold onto that number three spot in the championship for 2018.
“I really struggled in these conditions today,” said Hyam.
“This type of track has always been my weak link and I know I need to improve in the deep stuff if I’m going to be competitive once I turn senior. I’m really looking forward now to the National Junior Championships in Tasmania on my favourite hard pack type of track.”
“I’m disappointed with today but I’m still happy to be up in the top three for Honda and my team sponsors.”
Hyam’s team-mate Kipp Adams continued his impressive season at Coolum scoring two top ten finishes against the older boys going 10-9 for the day. Adams entered Coolum’s final round running 7th in the ‘Rookies’ Championship and finished the series in a credible 6th place overall. For the MX Nats ‘Rookies’ class they join the older and younger 250cc categories together, however once the points were tallied Adams managed to be second place out of the younger 250cc age bracket against the riders that he will battle with in October for the National Junior MX Titles.
“It has really been a steep learning curve racing these three MX Nats circuits,” said Adams.
“I’ve had a lot of fun and gained some terrific experience against the older riders this series. My bike is going great and I can’t wait to head to Tassy come October.”
The BCP Pro Circuit Honda Junior Development Team will head next to Penguin in Tasmania for their biggest event of the year, the National Junior Motocross Championships which will be held from the 29th September until the 5th October.