Alongside McKay will be rising star, Bailey Malkiewicz. Malkiewicz, will make his MXD debut this season after winning the Australian Junior Motocross championship in 2017, his final year as a junior competitor. He now makes the big step up to professional racing with the guidance of the Bulk Nutrients Yamaha Team.
Malkiewicz not only impressed with his speed on gruelling outdoor motocross tracks but also showed he has skills on the tight supercross circuits as he did extremely well in the final few events of 2017 and at 16 years of age, is destined to be a major player in Australian motocross if he continues to work hard.
‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm looking forward to a fresh start on a Yamaha, with a new team and also keen on racing a full season of MX Nationals and Supercross. It‰Ûªs exciting to be a part of the Bulk Nutrients Yamaha race team for 2018 and I know that we can put in the work and hopefully achieve some goals and make 2018 a year to remember.
‰ÛÏI have only just jumped on the Yamaha but the bike feels amazing and I can now understand why it has won so many championships in Australia.
‰ÛÏWith the people and the team behind me, I know that we will be able to get it done in 2018 and look forward to working with Yamaha in the future, Bailey said.
There will also be a few changes behind the scenes with the team now more aligned with Yamaha then ever before. Yamalube and GYTR have come on board with a great support package for the team as well as a huge investment by Ficeda Imports with their range of high quality products.
Team principle, Travis Whitten, has juggled his commitments of running a successful Yamaha retail outlet in Echuca in Victoria, as well as grow the race team but loves the challenge and is looking forward reaping the rewards of the hard work he and his team have put in.
"2018 marks an exciting year for the team and some massive shoes to fill. We are confident we have a good group of people and will provide a great environment for the riders to achieve their goals.
‰ÛÏThe team will all work extremely hard to keep such a prestigious program Yamaha has at the top and show case just how good the Yamaha YZ250F is. Our goal is simply race for the championship and also give our riders the tools they need to further their careers and go on to be Yamaha MX2 front runner in years to come,‰Û
