Sixteen-Year-Old female motocross sensation, Charli Cannon, will join Rhys Budd and Alex Larwood on the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team and contest the Women’s division during the 2022 Pro MX Championship.
Budd and Larwood will handle the MX2 duties while Cannon will add an extra dimension to the team.
Yamaha Motor Australia has a long history of supporting women in racing, ranging from several riders in the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), including world champion, Jess Gardiner, to a wide range of female motocross and road riders over the past 20 years.
The Sunshine Coast based Cannon, a four-time national junior girls champion on 85 and 125cc machinery, graduated to the senior division late in the 2021 season and is determined to keep her climb up the ladder at a rapid rate as she pits herself against the best female riders in the country for the three round championship scheduled for Wonthaggi, Gilman and Coolum throughout the year.
She will also contest selected rounds of the MX3 championship (14-17 year old) at the Pro MX and race against many of her male rivals during her junior days.
Cannon, will have the exact same machinery available to her as her male teammates as she moves into the expanded Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team. Her number 7 YZ250F will be tailored to her needs but the same parts, components and development will be invested in Charli, as it is in Rhys and Alex.
“I was so excited to get this offer from the Yamalube Yamaha Team and have a major team support me in racing,” Cannon begins. “Mike and Nash have gone above and beyond to support me and I’m really looking forward to getting the season underway.
“Having the support of the team has taken a weight off the shoulders of my family but I also understand the responsibility that comes with it. The hard work begins now as Yamaha and the Yamalube team have invested in me, and I want to reward them for it.
“My bike is awesome, and my pre-season is going well. We have some local races to contest in the coming weeks before the opening round of the Pro MX Women’s class starts at Wonthaggi in late March,” she said.
Team manager, Mike Ward, is elated to have Charli on board and explains she has the work ethic and determination to make it in the rough and tumble world of motocross.
“It was a simple decision to bring Charli into the team. She has been a Yamaha supported rider for some time now with excellent results and we have seen first-hand the effort she puts into racing. With a dedicated women’s class at the Pro MX, we felt she was the right person to have on the team and look forward to working with her not just at the Women’s rounds but also the MX3 and state races she contests.
“I also want to thank the team sponsors who have jumped on board to support Charli. Everyone has been so enthusiastic about having a female factory rider on the team and we are positive Charli will make the most of this opportunity.
“And if Alex and Rhys aren’t carefully, they might get a hurry up from Charli in the future,” Ward laughs.
The year gets underway for all three riders on the Yamalube Yamaha Team in the coming weeks with Alex Larwood racing in Victoria this weekend while Rhys and Charli will line up at Hervey Bay on February 19/20 in Queensland for the opening round of the Sunshine State MX Series.
Fast Facts with Charli Cannon
Name: Charli Cannon
Age: 16
Lives: Coolum, Sunshine Coast.
Number: 7
Bike: YZ250F
Team: Yamalube Yamaha Racing
Career Highlights: 4 x Australia Junior Girls champion/ Multi QLD girls Champion/ MQ female sportsperson of the year.
