The 2009 MRRDA season will start this weekend at Oran Park with some new classes and a more open approach to Junior Road Racing. Previously we have run the 13-15 year olds on Honda CBR150’s only.  In 2009 we are opening this up to include the Yamaha R15 when it becomes available later in the year.  We are also including an 80cc 2 stroke class with the Metrakit and Moriwaki machinery to make sure that we can cover all Junior classes.  Both these classes are recognized by MA with National Cup status for 2009 with the expectation of being National Championships in 2010.

Red Bull and Draggin Jeans are right behind the series again in 2009 with some awesome prizes.  We are again working with Red Bull to try and secure a spot in the final trials for the Red Bull Rookies cup and hope to have some good news on this front soon.  This will see the MAC points system that recognizes off track presentation as well as on track performance back in play for 2009 to help us select the top riders from the 2 classes.

To continue the Junior focus we will have the Nippers class for 11 and 12 year olds on up to 70cc 2 stroke bikes at rounds 2, 3 and 4.  This will see predominantly Metrakit bikes but we do encourage young riders with appropriate capacity dirt bikes to put on some road tyres and come and have a go.

The 125GP and 250GP mono classes are back again with some great support from the Reece Bancell Memorial Association.  With a number of previous MRRDA Juniors bolstering these classes and a $3500 cash prize up for grabs, we should see some great racing here.  The other new class for 2009 is Superstock 600 with an age limit of 21 years old.  Again with a number of the previous MRRDA Juniors in amongst this lot we are able to continue the MRRDA coaching program for these larger capacity bikes.

Finally we have the mainstay Formula 400’s.  This year will see the introduction of the Stock and Pro rules.  The stock is there for those who want to keep costs down and the bikes stock, while the Pro is there for those who like to “tinker” and want more open rules.  The rules have been put together from riders reps from around the country and will provide a more level playing field for riders and their desired level of machinery.  The state of Origin clash that sees New South Wales and Victoria go head to head with a cameo role by Queensland is expected to be as fierce as ever.

Thanks to the California Superbike School we will have coaches on hand throughout the weekend to help all our competitors with their riding.  This is an important part of the MRRDA ethos as we are here to help grow and develop riders and the sport.

Included in the prize packs for 2009 will be over $7000 worth of training program’s from Racefit. Winners of the Junior classes, 125GP, 250GP mono and Superstock 600 classes can expect to win an awesome training program with 2nd and 3rd place getters also expecting to “get fit”.

To encourage people to get involved with the series, the sport and these rising stars of road racing, we have introduced the MRRDA membership program.  Through the Membership you can help us to help these young stars, get discounts that more than pay for your membership from Membership Partners and get a heap of benefits that include access to the MRRDA members only website, access to an extensive gallery, access to diaries from Broc Parkes and Chris Vermeulen, a members cap and updates emailed directly to you from the series and the riders.

As the season opener Oran Park has in the past seen some awesome races with young riders carrying out moves that the seniors wouldn’t even dream off.  They then go on to wow us with their quick learning and close racing.  To encourage Spectators to come and see this for themselves, we are providing FREE entry across the weekend.  Come and meet these young superstars before they start careers overseas like Josh Hook is just about to embark on having started road racing at this very venue last year.

The MRRDA is a not for profit association with officials and committee members giving up their time for free to ensure that the sport has a strong nursery for growth well into the future.  All monies raised go back into the sport.