Dylan Leary was a surprise addition to the Team Axis Motorsports Kawasaki Maxima line up at round eight of the Monster Energy MX Nationals on Sunday.
Kept pretty well under-wraps until Saturday afternoon when the team rolled out the number 757 machine in preparation for Sunday's Racing, Leary wasted no time showing that making a switch in not only brands but also types of machine would not be a problem for the Tasmanian flyer.
Having starting the season as a privateer aboard a KTM 250 2-Stroke, Leary was given the chance to show what he could do on the Axis team bike by team owner Andrew Hopson for the final three rounds of the season.
"Dylan had spoken to us on several occasions and had expressed interest in becoming involved with the team." said Hopson. "We felt we had the resources with 3 rounds to go to give a polite, well presented young man with great corner speed a chance."
"Opportunities are getting few and far between for struggling privateers in Australian MX. Hopefully this may prove to other young racers that with hard work and determination you can achieve your goals". he added
Leary did not disappoint making an immediate impact by qualifying third fastest and being one of only three riders in the MXD class to break into the 1 min 45 second bracket.
Things continued to go well for Leary when racing got under-way, after finishing in 6th in the opening moto, he was able to lift that result upto 4th in the second shorter moto for the day.
The final race of the day was the highlight for not just Leary but for the team as the chance they took on the rider who currently sits fourth in this years championship payed off with a wire to wire race win.
The final moto win was not quite enough to see Leary on the podium at days end, but his 4th place overall was enough to show he has a promising future with the team.
