![AmPro Yamaha Reveals 2025 Off-Road, GNCC Team](http://rxi.iscdn.net/2025/01/300884_amproyamaha202501.jpg)
The following press release is from Yamaha:
AmPro Yamaha Reveals 2025 Off-Road Team
MARIETTA, Ga. – AmPro Yamaha Racing is excited to reveal its pro team for the 2025 off-road racing season, featuring a formidable lineup with a mix of seasoned champions and promising new talent to battle for top honors in the premier off-road series in the east. In the Grand National Cross Country Series, eight-time GNCC XC1 Champion Kailub Russell and 2023 GNCC XC2 and National Enduro Series Pro 2 Champion Liam Draper will lead the campaign in the premier class, with Draper also making a title run aboard the YZ450FX in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Pro 1 Championship. The team is also pleased to announce the addition of Evan Smith, 2024 JDay Off-Road Pro and Pro 125 Champion Brandon Gregoire, and multi-time Australian National Champion Danielle Mcdonald. Smith will head the team’s efforts in the National Enduro Pro 1 Championship as well as race select GNCC XC1 rounds, with Gregoire defending his JDay Off-Road titles and racing select rounds of the GNCC XC2 Championship. McDonald will make her full-time U.S. debut in 2025, racing for top honors in the GNCC WXC Championship.
Russell, the winningest rider in Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) history, makes his highly anticipated return to full-time racing in 2025. With an already storied career, earning an unrivaled eight consecutive XC1 titles and 67 overall victories from 2013 to 2020, the North Carolina rider is looking to add to that tally as he makes his debut with the team aboard the AmPro Yamaha YZ450FX. The 2025 GNCC season kicks off in less than a month’s time at the Big Buck Farm in Union, South Carolina, on February 15-16.
Returning for his third year with the team, Draper looks forward to his first full season in the XC1 class. In 2023, he made a stellar debut with AmPro Yamaha and earned a pair of 250 titles. The New Zealand rider has also enjoyed success aboard the YZ450FX, making an impressive GNCC premier class debut at the end of last season with four consecutive overall podiums in XC1 and finished runner-up in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series Pro 1 Championship. This year, Draper is primed to race for the title in both the GNCC XC1 and U.S. Sprint Enduro Pro 1 Championships. Last weekend, he got his Pro 1 title campaign off to a good start with a runner-up finish at the U.S. Sprint Enduro season opener in Hephzibah, Georgia.
New to the team for 2025 is Smith, who will lead the team’s campaign in the National Enduro (NEPG) Pro 1 Championship and will also race select GNCC XC1 rounds this season. The rider from Georgia showed strength last season, finishing third in the Enduro Pro 1 category and sixth in the GNCC XC1 class. Smith is eager to make his debut aboard the AmPro Yamaha YZ450FX and to get his title campaign underway as the NEPG season kicks off at the Sumter National in South Carolina on February 9.
Hailing from Monson, Massachusetts, Gregoire is another exciting new addition to the team. The 2024 JDay Series Champion in both the Pro and Pro 125cc categories will lead the team’s campaign in the competitive Northeast Off-Road series and looks to defend his titles aboard the AmPro Yamaha YZ250FX and YZ125. Gregoire will also race select rounds in the GNCC XC2 Championship.
McDonald joins the team in 2025 to make her full-time racing debut in the U.S. At a young age, the 17-year-old has enjoyed a lot of success with multiple national titles in Australia, including four Australian Enduro Championships, four Hattah Desert Racing Championships, and an Australian Motocross Championship. She has also excelled in international competition, earning two silver medals from the FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE). Last year, McDonald made her GNCC debut, racing a few rounds with the AmPro Yamaha Racing team, and comes on board full-time in 2025 to race the WXC Championship. Still working on returning to full fitness from a knee injury late last season, the young Australian is eager to get the 2025 season started. An update on her first round of the season will follow at a later date.
The team is also excited to announce their AmPro bLU cRU amateur support riders. 2023 GNCC 85 Champion (11-15), Ryder Sigety returns and will race for top honors in the GNCC 150 A class, with Colton McQuarrie also returning to lead the campaign in the GNCC 150 B class. Both riders are excited for the opening 2025 GNCC round in South Carolina as they begin their first full season in the bigger bike classes. Joining the team to defend his GNCC 85cc Big Wheel (11-15) title is Hunter Carey.
In addition to their title campaigns in the off-road racing series in the east, the team will be on hand at select bLU cRU special events to support Yamaha riders honing their off-road skills. Additionally, they will be assisting in the development of the AmPro bLU cRU Amateur Team riders at GNCC, U.S. Sprint, and J-Day offroad events. For information on upcoming off-road bLU cRU events, visit yamahamotorsports.com.
The AmPro Yamaha Racing team would also like to thank its partners for their support: Yamaha, Yamalube, GYTR, Moose Racing, FMF, Scott Goggles, Sunex Tools, Shoei Helmets, Sidi Boots, Cycra, Tramell Tire, 02 Blast, Dunlop Tire, Moose Balls, Factory Connection, Flexx Bars, ODI Grips, DP Brakes, TM Design, Fastway, ProFilter, Seat Concepts, VP Racing Fuels, DID Chain, Work Connection, IMS, Antigravity Batteries, Evans Coolant, X-Trig, Bullet Proof, Spec Bolts, G2, Senge Graphics, Matrix, E-Line, Motion Pro, Vortex, Pro-X, Wiseco, and MotoSport.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS) is proud to continue its substantial bLU cRU Off-Road Racing Contingency program in 2025 for the GNCC, National Enduro, U.S. Sprint Enduro, and the JDay Off-Road Series. From the PW50 to the YZ450FX, the program boasts a robust $1.2 million across all four championships to support bLU cRU riders excelling in competition aboard qualified models from Yamaha’s complete line of off-road motorcycles. Riders who compete aboard any qualified Yamaha YZ motorcycles are invited to register for the 2025 bLU cRU Off-Road Racing Contingency Program. For complete details on how to register, visit www.yamahablucru.com.
Donnie Luce – Amateur MX/ ATV / Off-Road Coordinator for YMUS
“The AmPro Yamaha team is coming into 2025 with a lot of momentum after a successful end to last season as well as a renewed focus on strengthening our team with the addition of Kailub, Evan, and Brandon. We are looking forward to showcasing our 2- and 4-stroke Off-Road models in the premier off-road series in the east.
Randy Hawkins - AmPro Yamaha Racing Team Owner
“With our team of riders and mechanics, the 2025 season is going to be exciting and fun. The team has been working hard, testing, and training this off-season, and it’s all coming together. We’re looking forward to the start of the season and seeing the blue wave.”
Kailub Russell- AmPro Yamaha Racing #557
“I’ve had a very steady offseason building and learning this new YZ450FX. I’m excited to kick off the season with the team. I think the bike and myself should be very capable of running up front and battling to win.”
Liam Draper - AmPro Yamaha Racing #198
“I’m super excited to get the 2025 season started! The pre-season training has been going well. Kailub and I have been hard at it and can’t wait to go racing.”
Evan Smith - AmPro Yamaha Racing #347
“I am very excited to be joining AmPro Yamaha for 2025. To be a part of a strong team with such a decorated past in racing and to have them backing me, I can’t wait to go racing. I have my eyes set on the NEPG title, and with such a great program behind me, I can’t wait to see how the year unfolds.”
Brandon Gregoire - AmPro Yamaha Racing #1 and #913
“I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity that AmPro Yamaha has given me for the upcoming race season. I’m stoked to be teammates with Kailub Russell, widely regarded as the best rider to ever compete in GNCC racing, as well as Liam Draper, one of the top riders of our current era. I’m eager to learn from both of them and apply their insights to my own program. This year, I’m focused on defending both of my JDay Off-Road titles and putting my name on the map as a contender in GNCC racing.”
Danielle Mcdonald - AmPro Yamaha Racing #261
“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the AmPro Yamaha Racing team this year. It has always been a big dream of mine to race full-time in the U.S. and to finally be here feels surreal. I am extremely excited about the upcoming season and can’t wait to start racing!”