AMPRO Yamaha Announces 2023 Roster | Zach Osborne Set to Race GNCC Championship 1

December 1st , 2022 Travelers Rest, SC - AMPRO Yamaha is excited to announce that the ink is officially dry on our 2023 Rider Contracts. We know that there has been a lot of speculation throughout the industry as to what the future holds for our race team and we’re ready to put that speculation to rest. 

First off, it is officially official, former AMA Pro Motocross Champion Zach Osborne will be joining our program in both the Grand National Cross Country Series XC2 Class and US Sprint Enduro Races aboard the 2023 Yamaha YZ250FX. Zach brings an infectious energy to the team and we are beyond excited to see him evolve his talents into the longer more demanding off-road formats.

“I’m super excited and grateful for this opportunity,” says Osborne. “My first conversation with Randy about joining his team and the off-road community dates all the way back to the end of 2007 so for this to come to fruition in a time where I was looking for a new opportunity is just super cool! I’m excited to get the season started in a few short months and I hope to make the team and our sponsors proud. I’ve been back to full time training for about 6 weeks now and things are responding well headed into the holidays and my January training camp!”

Alongside Zach, we are very excited to welcome back the extremely talented Ricky Russell to the AMPRO family. Ricky will be our front man in the  450 division, piloting the all new 2023 Yamaha YZ450F in the GNCC Series as well as the National Enduro Series and select US Sprint Enduro Rounds.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be reunited with AMPRO Yamaha.” says Russell. “Randy and all the guys here helped me start my GNCC racing career so in a way it just feels good to be back home. I finished off 2022 with a few Overall wins  in GNCC and career best finishes in NEPG so I’m very stoked to take that momentum into 2023 on the all new revamped YZ450F batting for championships!”

Also returning to the AMPRO Yamaha Program is 2022 GNCC WXC National Champion Rachel Archer. Rachel will be piloting the 2023 Yamaha YZ250FX and defending her title in the GNCC series as well as select US Sprint Enduro Rounds.

“2022 was epic,” says Archer. “I was able to push through and get consistent podiums and 6 GNCC wins throughout the year and win the WXC championship! I’ve been working on this championship since I was 12 so to finally take the #1 at 20yrs old is a pretty big achievement! I couldn’t have done it without the help of my awesome team at AMPRO Yamaha, and I’m super excited to be chasing another championship or two again in 2023 with them!”

Last but certainly not least, Liam Draper will be joining our team and competing aboard a 2023 YZ250FX in both the GNCC XC2 Class and the National Enduro Series Pro 2 Class. 

“I’m super excited to be a part of AMPRO Yamaha,” say’s Draper. “It's always been my dream to be on a factory team since I first came to the USA in 2018. Now it’s real! I’m super happy with the bike and I’m excited to be teammates with Ricky, Zach, and Rachel. Randy also brings such vast knowledge for the sport and I’m excited to be under his leadership!”

The team’s primary focus will remain on the Grand National Cross Country Series and the National Enduro Series plus GNCC University & select bLU cRU special events to support Yamaha riders to hone their Off-Road skills. Zach, Ricky, Liam and Rachel will also have a renewed focus on the US Sprint Enduro Series as their schedule permits. Additionally they will be assisting in the development of our AmPro bLU cRU Amateur Team riders at GNCC, US Sprint and JDay offroad events. 

“This is going to be an exciting year for us,” says 7 time National Champion and AMA Hall of Fame Member Randy Hawkins. “It’s time to get back to our roots and really show the world that Yamaha’s race machines are a step above the competitions. We have the riders & Team personnel and we have the right equipment to win multiple championships in 2023.”