Unit's Junior MX Academy riders Dylan Wilson, Mason Rowe, Haki Waller, Jay Wilson, Sam Martin, Kurt Waterman and Richie Evans chillin' like villians at the go-karts after an intense two days of riding and physical punishment. Photos: Simon Makker
Some of Australia's and New Zealand's best young riders converged on the Gold Coast over the past two days to get their mettle tested at the hands of some of the best names in the motocross business.
The Unit Junior MX Academy riders were part of the first-ever Academy Bootcamp, and were subjected to all sorts of physical and mental challenges at the hands of MotoDevelopment coaches Chris Urquhart and Shane Booth.
NZ's Haki Waller receives orders from Monster Kawasaki's #1 racer Dean Ferris at the beginning of the bootcamp.
There was no mucking about, with Day 1's first session of the two-day camp involving a VO2 Max beep test, and push-up, sit-up, standing jump, 20m sprint and "iron chair" tests to find out exactly who has been training hard and who's been taking things a little easier.
As a true litmus test Monster Energy Kawasaki racer Dean Ferris also took part to showthe boys the level they need to be at if they're to become the best in the sport. For some it was a bit of a wake-up call while others thrived and found themselves barking hard on Ferris's heels in several of the tests.
Jay Wilson leads Sam Martin through the intensive lap session.
After a beach recovery session and a feed at Wahoo's in Burleigh it was time to hit the track with some intense, short, sharp races to get the boys really blowing hard. To cap it off Urky and Boothy lined them up for a 25-lap head-to-head relay that brought out some amazing passes and some reat rivalry between the boys.
It wasn't all fitness and testing though - to keep things mixed up the boys returned from the track to the Unit HQ for a lecture on sponsorships and dealing with the media, with some great advice passed down from both the Unit and MotoDevelopment guys.
After dinner and a quick bash at night golf the lads were pretty wrecked and went back to their hotels for the night for some much-needed shut-eye. They were going to need it.
Gold Coast grom Mason Rowe wasn't exempt from the hard work. Here he gives the paddleboarding a good crack at Currumbin river.
Day 2 started at 5.30am with a gruelling paddleboard session and extreme workout session with legendary Ironman racer Guy Andrews and MX legend Stephen Gall. If the boys thought they were going to cruise into Day 2 they were very, very wrong. After two hours of some hard graft in the hands of one of the Coast's toughest athletes they had a welcome breakfast break before packing their gear into their vehicles and boosting to Urquhart's private track in the mountains behind Nerang.
Aboard a borrowed CRF450 Kurt Waterman impressed with his smooth, super-quick riding style.
With Dean Ferris also there to show the boys what a quick lap-time looks like, the JRMX groms put down their fastest lap around the rolling, jump-littered track, then had to push as hard as they could through a handicapped 20-minute moto.
Even after this the guys were still managing a smile, so they packed up again and drove to Reedy Creek for a three-hour coaching session on line choices, bike skills and a final bike test that guaranteed the boys smiles had transformed into grimaces and they were wel and truly broken.
Cairns junior Richie Evans proved to be the star of the weekend, and picked himself up a custom-painted Tagger Designs helmet for his efforts. This kid is a workhorse!
With the hard work behind them it was time to relax with an evening of tearing up the indoor go-kart circuit in Nerang, then a morning of wakeboarding with Unit founder Paul Everest on the spectacular Gold Coast waterways. After two days of beating up the body it was a welcome reprieve and a chance to relax and let the muscles relax.
All up the first JRMX Academy Bootcamp was a raging success. With the Australian Junior Nationals and Super X just around the corner the boys picked up some valuable skills and now know their strengths and weaknesses, and can plan accordingly.
This is going to be the first of what we hope will be a yearly event, and is definitely going to help further junior careers and help breed the next generation of champions.
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