Three out of Four Ain’t bad For GYTR YJR

The Queensland Yamaha Junior Racing riders of Jack Kukas and Levi Rogers added another three more state championship trophies to the teams’ mantle-piece after a successful final round of the series was held at the Tivoli Circuit over the weekend.

Both riders entered the final round in high spirits after showing good recent form and were confident of a good final showing for the last state based event of the year. And that it turned out to be the case with Kukas claiming the 15 years 125 and 250cc championship victories while Rogers chimed in with an impressive performance to win the 13-14 years 125cc class.

Kukas stamped his authority in the 15 years’ group taking the round win on both the 125 and 250 cc divisions. Such was his dominance, Kukas won all six motos at the final round and finished up with 11 out of 12 race wins for the championship.

As a bonus, Kukas also picks up the Queensland number 1 junior plate for 2017 being the highest point scoring junior racer in the Queensland championships.

“The last few weeks have been really good for me and I feel my riding has taken a step forward recently so I’m really happy with how things are going,” Kukas explains. “My starts were awesome all weekend and I was up the front on every start which makes my life much easier on the track.

“It was my goal at the start of the year to win both Queensland MX championship as well as both Sunshine State Series MX classes and I have done that so that’s pretty cool.

“Thank you to the team sponsors at Yamaha Junior Racing and to the Townsville and Tivoli clubs for hosting the rounds and putting on great days,” Kukas ends.

Levi Rogers produced one of his best performances’ to date on his way to claiming the 13-14 years 125cc round and championship win on the weekend. Rogers was the leader after the opening round but on a track that hasn’t always been his favourite and under considerable pressure from his rivals, Rogers stepped up and simply dominated.

He won all three races contested on his YZ125 at Tivoli and each was a charge forward from outside the top three. He made swift, aggressive passes early and then fended off any challenges from his rivals to take a well-earned victory, his first state championship to boot.

He also claimed a fourth place in the 13-14 years 250cc after crashes in race one and two at the final round cost him any chance of a better result. Rogers proved he had the pace, just some concentration lapses led to some small falls which proved costly in the championship hunt.

“I have been working really hard this year on my riding and fitness so it’s awesome to see it turning into results,” Rogers said. “To win on the 125 is a bit of a surprise as I don’t spend a lot of time riding it but I was able to get to the front and stay there so that was cool.

“Going into the last race, I knew I didn’t have to win it but when I got to the front, I just wanted to win all three races so I had a great race with Noah and I managed to hang on.

“I would have loved to have finished better on the 250 but I some mistakes that I need to learn from.

“It’s been a great year so far and I can’t thank my family for all the time and effort they put in to my racing. We live eight hours from Brisbane and it’s a huge effort every time we come down. Also thanks to the GYTR Yamaha Junior racing team, our sponsors and everyone who helped me out,” Rogers said.

The focus for the Queensland duo now shifts to the Australian Junior Motocross Championship to be held at Horsham, starting September 30.

To follow Yamaha Junior Racing on social media; www.facebook.com/YamahaJuniorRacingAus or on Instagram @yamaha_junior_racing_aus

For a full list of results in the Queensland Championship: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1448408

QLD MX Championships – Tivoli
15 years 125cc
1st Jack Kukas – 105 (GYTR YJR)
2nd Jayce Cosford – 94
3rd Riley Ward – 92

13-14 years 125cc
1st Levi Rogers – 105 (GYTR YJR)
2nd Tye Jones – 94
3rd Jai Walker – 86

15 years 250cc
1st Jack Kukas – 105 (GYTR YJR)
2nd Navrin Grothues – 92
3rd Josh Zorbas – 87

13-14 years 250cc
1st Jai Walker – 102
2nd Jake Cuka – 94
3rd Tye Jones – 91
4th Levi Rogers – 84 (GYTR YJR)

QLD Championship Standings – Final
15 years 125c
1st Jack Kukas – 210 (Yamaha YZ125)
2nd Jayce Cosford – 184 (Yamaha YZ125)
3rd Riley Ward – 176

13-14 years 125cc
1st Levi Rogers – 205 (Yamaha YZ125)
2nd Tye Jones – 182
3rd Noah Ferguson – 181

15 years 250cc
1st Jack Kukas – 207 (Yamaha YZ250F)
2nd Josh Zorbas – 184
3rd Navrin Grothues – 178

13-14 years 250cc
1st Tye Jones – 193
2nd Jai Walker – 190 (Yamaha YZ250F)
3rd Jake Cuka – 182 (Yamaha YZ250F)
4th Levi Rogers – 173 (Yamaha YZ250F)