NOWRA’S Dante Hyam continues to prove why he is one of the top riders for his age in the world, claiming the 13-15 years 250cc Australian junior motocross title.
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Following a sensational 2016 season, in which Hyam won a gold medal for the Australian team while competing at the Junior World Titles, as well as placing fifth overall in the world on the 85cc, the Nowra Anglican College student has continued his sensational form on the Horsham track at the Australian Junior Motocross championships recently.
“I had a good preparation leading into the event, feeling fit and mentally prepared,” Hyam said.
“We had done a couple of days testing to get the suspension perfect and making sure that I was feeling comfortable on the bike.
“When practice started I was very happy with the way everything went and was super excited for it all to get underway.”
In qualifying he first on the 250cc (13-15 years) by 2.8 seconds/lap and in second on the 125cc (13-15 years) by 0.1 seconds.
“In the first 125cc, I struggled in the heats qualifying 18th due a crash in one for the heats,” he said.
“In the 250cc finals I got off to a great start in the first final getting, hitting the lead by the end of the first lap. But a mistake cost me putting me back to 10th before recovery into third.
He then went on to win the next three finals on the 250cc.
“Going into the last race, I had a comfortable 12 point lead and knew that I just had to consolidate and that's just what I did, finishing the final race in second place, giving me the Australian title,” he said.
Hyam, 15, edged out Western Australian’s form rider Regan Duffy and world number two Meico Vettick from Estonia, to win the crown, saying he was over the moon.
In the 125cc, with only three finals, there was no room for error.
He managed a sixth, second and second for third overall with only four points separating the top three riders.
The Aussie title has been seven years in the making.
“I was relieved to know that I had had finally achieved my goal,” he said “seven years of hard work, sweat and tears.
“I was also very excited because I knew it it would provide lots of opportunities for me in the motocross industry here in Australia.”
Hyam, who acknowledged all the wonderful support of his sponsors, already has his eyes set on the future – which he hopes will include some exciting news.
“We are now hoping to do some training for the last round of the Australian Supercross,” he said.
“We won’t be doing the first three rounds because it was too close to the Aussie titles and want to be properly prepared for the event because it is high risk and I didn’t want to injure myself. I hope to also be able to announce some exciting news very soon about plans next year.”