After victories for two overseas riders (Australia’s Blake Bohannon and America’s Tayce Morgan) in the YZ65 and YZ85 races on Saturday, it was the turn of home rider Jamie Keith to take the spoils in the YZ125 SuperFinale at Matterley Basin on Sunday.
In 2024 the Yamaha YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale opened up to riders from across the globe, allowing new talents to be discovered and making for some exciting racing around the tough Matterley Basin track. This was particularly evident in the YZ125 SuperFinale when New Zealand’s Levi Townley went head-to-head with Britain’s Keith, a battle that went right down to the chequered flag.
Light rain in the morning made the already churned up track tougher to manage for the young riders, but the 35 contenders were keen and ready to show their skills in front of the huge Motocross of Nations crowd. British rider Ollie Bubb grabbed the holeshot to the delight of the home crowd before Townley moved to the lead on the mid-way point of the opening lap, a position he looked set to hold in the early part of the race. Meanwhile, Latvia’s Jekubs Kubulins – one of the main contenders at last year’s SuperFinale – was up into second. Keith quickly charged through, putting space between himself and the chasing Kubulins, Tyla Van de Poel (NED) and Ollie Bubb (GBR). Van de Poel would eventually drop back to 28th, leaving Emile De Baere (BEL) to move ahead of Bubb.
Talented Townley had managed to stretch the lead to over two and a half seconds, but Keith began closing with around seven minutes plus two laps left. Setting his sights on victory, the young Brit was roared on by the home crowd to overtake Townley with a brilliant move, and as the clock ticked down it looked as though he had the win wrapped up. However, a final thrilling fight back by the New Zealander made the last two laps incredibly tight between the pair. Keith held on for an emotional home victory while Townley and Kubulins completed the final podium of the 2024 SuperFinale.
In terms of the other British riders Jaden Anderson was 24th and Robbie Scott was 30th.
The top three European finishers plus two wildcards in each class of the YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale will receive an invite to the bLU cRU Masterclass that will take place on the 12th and 13th November. There, one YZ125 rider will win a place in a Yamaha-supported EMX125 team for 2025, while the top-performing YZ65 and YZ85 youngsters will earn added support from Yamaha Motor Europe for next season.
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Jamie Keith, YZ125 SuperFinale Winner: “I’m absolutely buzzing and I don’t really know what to say, that was the craziest race I’ve ridden in my entire life – it was nonstop! The crowd were incredible, they were cheering me on and I had no choice but to win for them. I’m over the moon.”
YZ125 Race Result
Report by Infront Moto Racing – Feature Image by Dave Rich – Other Images by Infront Moto Racing
