Five Minutes With Dean Ferris

At the first Motodevelopment Y-AIM (Yamaha Australian Institute of Motocross) riding school of 2016 – staged at Conondale in Queensland – Transmoto’s Robbie Warden had the opportunity to catch up with guest coach, Dean Ferris, who has spent the last four years contesting the FIM Motocross World Championship overseas with Yamaha and Husqvarna. In 2016, Ferris will return to racing in Australia under the CDR Yamaha big-rig, and will make his debut on board a YZ450F at the opening round of the 2016 New Zealand Motocross Championship. 

TM: Dean, how did your new deal with Craig Dack fall into place? 
Dean: I got in touch with Dacka early on last year, you know, just incase things didn’t work out for me in Europe, and it turns out they didn’t. When my deal with Husqvarna fell through, I called up Dacka up and that was pretty much it. The deal was as good as done.

How have you been settling back into Australian life after spending the last four years overseas?
I’m seriously loving it, hey. You know, I’ve come back for a couple of weeks every year since I left, but that just wasn’t enough for me. I couldn’t catch up with everyone that I wanted to – I mean, I’ve been back in Australia for three months now and I’m still catching up with people! In that respect, it’s so good, to be able to just relax and catch up with all my friends and family members. I’ve got some young cousins that I really missed growing up, too, so it’s going to be awesome to spend some more time around them. I’m going to miss doing the Grand Prix races, but Australia truly is the best place a man could live. I loved Europe, but there’s no place like home.

How are you adjusting to the 2016-model YZ450F?
It’s probably the best bike I’ve ever ridden, not even kidding. The first lap I took it out for, I felt really comfortable on it, and that never happens the way it did for me. So far, so good, and I’m looking forward to developing the bike with the CDR Yamaha team.

And when will your first race with CDR Yamaha be?
Well, I’m heading over to New Zealand on January 31 to contest the 2016 NZ Motocross Championship with Josh Coppins and his Altherm JCR Yamaha team. I’ll be on board my Australian bike, though, as Dack and Coppins work together through Yamaha. So you could say that the opening round will be my first official race with the squad.

What are you hoping to get out of the 2016 season?
Mate, I’m here to win. I definitely want to lay it down in the MX Nationals, and I believe I can. With the Australian Supercross Championship, that will be a little bit tougher for me. I still believe that I can win that, but some of the other guys like my teammate, Dan Reardon (the 2015 SX1 champ), will be really tough to beat, so I’m just going to have to train hard and find my feet with supercross racing again and see how I go!

Thanks for your time, Dean.
Cheers, Robbie.

SUNSHINE COAST MOTORCYCLE CLUB

Dean Ferris became the Sunshine Coast Motorcycle Club’s (SMCC) first new member for 2016, having signed on at the iconic Green Park circuit over the weekend. Get down to the track this Sunday, January 17, for a motocross practice and sign-up day. Membership fees are among the cheapest in Australia (Families for $40, Seniors for $30 and Juniors for $25). For more information, visit: www.scmcc.info