CDR Racing and Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Australia enjoyed a double celebration with the 50th anniversary of the YZ range and the 30th anniversary of Craig Dack Racing.
Former, riders, team members and media came together under the CDR Yamaha Team awning to commemorate the occasion.
As part of the celebrations, Stephen Gall discussed his career with Yamaha spanning four decades and bought along his 1974 YZ250A to display alongside the 2024 YZ250. Gall spoke of his time at Yamaha racing and his favourite bikes during his career.
Craig Dack then joined the chat and made mention of his successful working relationship with long term sponsors, Yamaha Motor Australia, Dunlop, Pro Circuit as well as FOX who presented the team riders with the special edition apparel to mark the occasion.
Craig Dack
“I would like to thank everyone involved in making this a special day for me. It’s nice to get the recognition for the past 30 years and so good to see so many people here to be a part of it. It’s been a rewarding 30 years and I still get a lot of satisfaction from what I do every day and enjoy being surrounded and working with a group of dedicated, determined, and focused people. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of the CDR journey and look forward to continuing the very successful journey we started all the way back in 1993.”
The race bikes were revealed today in their 50th anniversary of the YZ range livery with the riders also sporting retro colour schemes on their kit.
Matt Ferry – Yamaha Sales Manager
“On behalf of Yamaha Motor Australia and our senior management, congratulations on your tremendous milestone of 30years operating Craig Dack Racing. You are an integral part of our racing activities in Australia and always represent Yamaha at the highest level. 30 years in this sport running a race team is no easy achievement and is testament to your ongoing will to always win.”
Where did it all Begin?
in 1992 Craig Dack was nearing the end of a spectacular career that saw him crowned with Four Mr Motocross Championships and multiple Australian motocross and supercross winner. He often arranged his own sponsors and partners during his racing career and when Yamaha needed someone to take the reins of their motocross team, Dack thrust his name forward.
“I had long looked after my own racing and in the last couple of years, Phillip Morris, with the cigarette sponsorship were major players in supporting myself and Yamaha. They were supporting and encouraging of my move into race team management and ownership when my racing days ended and through a few meetings with Yamaha, it was decided for me to manage the race team from 1993,” Dack explained.
T Willinson, Peter Melton, J Collins, Craig Dack, Ross McWatters
The move was done and Dack hasn’t turned a wheel in anger since his last race of 1992 and has been at the helm of CDR ever since. The team has morphed throughout the 30 years to the changing racing business land scape. From team management to team ownership, from semi-professional riders to full time racers, from part time mechanics to a small army of dedicated people desperate for success, racing has certainly changed in that time.
“I’m proud to have such a long-term association with a lot of the companies I dealt with in my racing days. Yamaha, Fox, and Dunlop, have been in the trenches with CDR since the beginning and we have had plenty of long-term partners that have worked with us over the years. Monster Energy have proved to be a very loyal and dedicated supporter in recent times, and I enjoy working with passionate people who strive for success, so our business ideals align,” Dack continues.
CDR have ventured into the off-road world with considerable success and now are taking the team to the Global Supercross stage.
From a small Pantech style truck to a 32 tonne semi-trailer and talking to major international companies and competing all over the world, the CDR team continues to grow but the DNA of the team remains the same. Offer the best products, with the best technical support and the best environment to achieve the best results and over 40 championships later, it’s proved a winning formula.
“I still get to work just as excited and motivated today as I did back when we first started. There are always issues and challenges to face and goals to achieve and I still feel lucky to be able to do what I do and be surrounded by people who share the same vision as me,” Dack ends.
Who’s who of Australian Motocross
30 years in the business means a lot of riders have passed through the CDR Yamaha doors over the time. Many have gone onto achieve higher acclaim at a worlds level, most of racked up championship success and several have extended their already successful careers with CDR guidance.
- 1993: Lee Hogan and Ben Perese
- 1994: Kim Ashkenazi and Troy Dorron
- 1995: Kim Ashkenazi and Shaun Kalos
- 1996: Lee Hogan and Danny Ham
- 1997: Craig Anderson and Danny Ham
- 1998: Craig Anderson and Darryl Hurley
- 1999: Craig Anderson and Shane Metcalfe
- 2000: Chad Reed / Daryl Hurley / Cheyne Boyd / Lee Hogan
- 2001: Darryl King / Cheyne Boyd
- 2002: Darryl King / Cheyne Boyd / Troy Carroll
- 2003: Darryl King / Cameron Taylor / Troy Carroll
- 2004: Darryl King / Cameron Taylor / Troy Carroll / Daniel McCoy
- 2005: Darryl King / Cheyne Boyd
- 2006: Cheyne Boyd / Matt Moss
- 2007: Cheyne Boyd / Matt Moss / Ford Dale
- 2008: Jay Marmont / Cheyne Boyd
- 2009: Jay Marmont / Cheyne Boyd
- 2010: Jay Marmont / Cheyne Boyd
- 2011: Jay Marmont / Josh Coppins / Jake Moss
- 2012: Josh Coppins / Lawson Bopping
- 2013: Billy Mackenzie / Lawson Bopping
- 2014: Billy Mackenzie / Jacob Wright
- 2015: Daniel Reardon / Kade Mosig
- 2016: Dean Ferris / Kade Mosig
- 2017: Dean Ferris / Dylan Long
- 2018: Dean Ferris / Dylan Long
- 2019: Kirk Gibbs/ Luke Clout / Daniel Reardon
- 2020: Kirk Gibbs / Hayden Mellross
- 2021: Luke Clout / Hayden Mellross
- 2022: Aaron Tanti / Luke Clout
- 2023: Aaron Tanti / Luke Clout
CDR MX / SX Championship Honour Roll
- 1993: Lee Hogan – YZ250 MX
- 1994: Kim Ashkenazi – YZ250 MX
- 1998: Darryl Hurley – YZ400F Thumpers
- 1998: Craig Anderson – YZ00F Thumpers
- 1999: Darryl Hurley – YZ400F Thumpers
- 2001: Darryl King – YZ250 MX
- 2001: Darryl King – YZ425F Thumpers
- 2001: Troy Carroll – YZ250F Thumpers
- 2001: Troy Carroll – YZ125 SX
- 2002: Troy Carroll – YZ250F Thumpers
- 2002: Troy Carroll – YZ125 SX
- 2003: Darryl King – YZ450F MX
- 2003: Troy Carroll – YZ250F SX
- 2003: Troy Carroll – YZ250F MX
- 2003: Troy Carroll – YZ250F Thumpers
- 2004: Darryl King – YZ450F MX
- 2004: Troy Carroll – YZ250 SX
- 2004: Cameron Taylor – YZ250F SX
- 2005: Troy Carroll – YZ250 SX
- 2008: Jay Marmont – YZ450F MX
- 2009: Jay Marmont – YZ450F MX
- 2010: Jay Marmont – YZ450F MX
- 2011: Jay Marmont – YZ450F MX
- 2012: Josh Coppins – YZ450F MX
- 2015: Daniel Reardon – YZ450F SX
- 2016: Dean Ferris – YZ450F MX
- 2017: Dean Ferris – YZ450F MX
- 2018: Dean Ferris – YZ450F MX
- 2021: Luke Clout – YZ450F MX
- 2022: Aaron Tanti – YZ450F MX
CDR AORC Honour Roll
- 2013: Daniel Milner 250cc AORC
- 2013: Daniel Milner Outright AORC
- 2013: Daniel Milner A4DE
- 2014: Daniel Milner 450cc AORC
- 2014: Daniel Milner Outright AORC
- 2014: Daniel Milner A4DE
- 2014 : Chris Hollis Enduro X
- 2015: Daniel Milner 450cc AORC
- 2015: Daniel Milner Outright
