MARIETTA, Ga. – November 22, 2024 – AmPro Yamaha Racing is happy to announce a two-year contract extension with Liam Draper. With a pair of national off-road titles aboard the YZ250FX, the New Zealand rider looks to continue his successful tenure with the team in 2025 as he makes a full-time premier class title run aboard the YZ450FX in the Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) XC1 Championship and U.S. Sprint Enduro Series Pro 1 Championship. 

Entering his third season with AmPro Yamaha Racing, Draper looks to add more titles and victories to his resume. 2023 marked a stellar debut with the team, which saw him earn three wins and nine podiums in the GNCC XC2 class and five wins and seven podiums in the National Enduro Series Pro 2 class en route to both championships. Although his XC2 title defense this season was marked with adversity and saw him sidelined with an injury, Draper came back swinging. As racing resumed at the Buckwheat 100 GNCC, he enjoyed a successful transition to XC1 and made an impressive run of four consecutive overall podiums aboard the YZ450FX. Draper also showed strength in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series with a runner-up finish in the Pro 1 Championship.

Donnie Luce – Amateur MX/ ATV / Off-Road Coordinator for YMUS
“Since joining the AmPro Yamaha Team, Liam’s progression and race results have continued to make an upward trend. We look forward to seeing this continue during his first full season in XC1 on the YZ450FX, especially after he wrapped up his 2024 season with four consecutive overall podiums in GNCC. We look forward to another great season with him and the team representing the bLU cRU.”

Randy Hawkins - AmPro Yamaha Racing Team Owner
“Liam’s a very serious guy and wants to win, but he has also been enjoyable to work with and gives 100%. From his two titles aboard our 250 in 2023 to this year with our 450, whatever we ask of him he works to achieve and has delivered. We’re looking forward to having him continue with our program for the next two years and to give him the tools at AmPro Yamaha to keep building on that success in 2025.”

Liam Draper - AmPro Yamaha Racing 
“I’m super excited to renew my deal with AmPro Yamaha Racing and looking forward to the future with this team that gave me my first championship here. I’m also excited to be moving up to the 450 full-time. After my success last year on the 250, my first four XC1 races have gone well. I haven’t been off the podium, so I’m looking to keep that going and happy to continue the relationship with the team in 2025 and beyond.”

About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company's ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars (sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company), Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States. 

YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama. YMUS subsidiaries YMMC, based in Georgia, and YJBM based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine and divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders (Wisconsin) and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. (Indiana), and Skeeter Boats (Texas) with its division G3 Boats (Missouri).  

Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha Financial Services), an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., offers financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide.  Yamaha Financial Services provides retail and commercial financing for the diverse line of Yamaha brand motor products based out of Cypress, CA and Marietta, GA.