Yamaha Aus Welcomes “Lala” Turner

In a real coup for both Yamaha and Women’s racing, Yamaha Motor Australia and Yamaha Motor USA have aligned to have two-time AMA Women’s Motocross Champion, Lachlan “Lala” Turner, down under to contest the four rounds of the Australian Women’s Motocross Championship coinciding with select Australian ProMX rounds. Turner will also contest the WMX division at the Darwin MXGP in September, as the American is locked in on a two-year deal across both continents that will also see her aim to defend her AMA WMX title for the third year running.

Turner visited Australia last year for the Women’s Oceania Motocross Challenge, representing the United States. Having thoroughly enjoyed her time here, Turner wanted to come back and when the dates allowed her to contest both the AMA and the ProMX championships – both countries got to work and put an arrangement together that will see Lala cross the Pacific Ocean multiple times this year.

Lachlan Turner:
“It’s so cool that I will be able to race in Australia and the US for the next two seasons and promote women’s racing. Thank you to Yamaha for putting this together for me and I’m pumped to get this chance. I already have a great relationship with the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha team from when I was here in March and then again when I was here at Supercross with my brother Lux. I know they will have everything ready for me, and I can’t wait to race in Australia again.”

Turner will be part of the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha team, alongside new recruit Noah Ferguson who will headline MX2 with another international champion – two-time IA2 Japanese champ Soya Nakajima.

After finishing on the podium in 2025, Ferguson has made the switch to Yamaha for 2026 and believes with the new bike and team, he can make another step forward in his riding and compete for this year’s ProMX Championship. Based in Queensland and not far from the team base, Ferguson is determined to make the most of this opportunity with an experienced team behind him.

Noah Ferguson:
“Over the last two years, I could see the investment and improvements the team has made both in themselves and the bike and I knew it was the place I wanted to be. There is a lot of knowledge and experience within the team, and I think their guidance is exactly what I need. I have been on a Yamaha for a while now and I just started out with the stock bike, and it felt really good. It’s an easy bike to ride fast and we are now working our way through a range of testing to get it dialled in and come round one, I think we will be right in the sweet spot.”

“As for me, I need to be more consistent and just close the gap between my best days and my worst. That has been a focus of mine in the off season, as with just a little bit more consistency at every round, I think I have a real shot at winning the MX2 championship in 2026.”

The relationship between Yamaha Japan and Yamaha Motor Australia is a tight one and both have worked together again to provide Nakajima the platform for the next level of racing in his career as a reward for his success at home. Nakajima is no stranger to racing internationally, having competed in the 2025 Motocross of Nations in the US and was even in Australia for the World Junior Motocross Championships in Horsham back in 2018. Nakajima will contest the ProMX championship, and line up at the MXGP of Darwin as part of his 2026 program.

Soya Nakajima:
“I’m excited for this opportunity to race in Australia and with the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team for 2026. Thank you to YMA and YMC for working together on this project for me and I have been following the Australian racing now for some time, so I’m looking forward to racing new tracks, meeting new people and becoming a better rider.”