The history of the Yamaha Academy of Off Road Riding. Since 1978.
The Yamaha Academy of Off Road Riding was founded by Stephen Gall who was a household name back in the hey day of Motocross back in the seventies, Gall professionalized the sport here in Australia and went on to win numerous Australian Titles a World Supercross Round and the Finke Desert Race twice as well as the prestigious Mr Motocross Title no less than four times!
Gall whom many regard as “the father of modern Australian Motocross” began his Academy training schools at the height of his racing career in 1978 and they were an immediate success with every aspiring rider wanting to know the correct techniques required to win races!
Gall travelled the length and breadth of Australia several times over and many of today’s top riders owe their success to the teachings of Gall and the Yamaha Academy of Off Road riding! Reading the Academy honour roll is like a who’s who of the sport! Names Like Michael Byrne, Matt Mladdin, Jay and Ryan Marmont, Troy Carroll and even the great Chad Reed who all spent time at the Academy during their careers!
In 2003 Gall passed down the Academy to his understudy Lyndon Heffernan who is himself a well accomplished racer who only just recently earned a silver medal in one of the most gruelling International Six Day Enduro events ever held at Lake Taupo NZ in 2006.
However Heffernan is not just a Enduro rider, Heffo actually also won two national Championships himself against the likes of Jeff Leisk and Glen Bell in the prestigious Open Pro Class of ADB Thumpernats Series in the early nineties and won several state titles and the King of the Mountain Flat Track, Heffo also contested GP MX in Europe and raced in the USA in both MX and SX!
Heffo today continues on the Academy tradition by utilizing the best riders and trainers to pass on the skills of dirt bike riding!
2007 saw head Coach Shane Booth leave for the USA as personal trainer to none other than James” Bubba” Stewart, the new age Motocross and Supercross sensation, Boothy learned his trade through Heffo and the Academy and we are proud of him and wish him well training the hottest star in Motocross!
With the sport of Motocross right now enjoying a huge following and a surge in interest Heffo has implemented a new program with the full support of Yamaha named Y-AIM Yamaha Australian Institute of Motocross, which will deliver a Motocross dedicated curriculum focused on the latest riding and training techniques with the help of expert state agents who have been selected on not only their riding ability but their coaching skills!
Shane Metcalfe will handle South Australia and Northern Territory and Chris Urquhart does the duties in Queensland and you can read all about them in the Y-AIM section of this web site.
The Yamaha Academy of Off Road Riding will continue to do 5 day camps and Enduro, trail and Adventure Bike Schools Australia wide with the support of Yamaha and utilize champions riders like Stuart Morgan, Jason Cater and respected coaches Daniel Mc Kenzie and Rod Jenner to pass on off road skills.
Heffo will continue to run the Academy and direct the Y-AIM program and also teach hands on at many Academy and Y-AIM courses.
Heffo will do all the Y-AIM schools in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania and his home state of NSW with the help of his trainee coaches.
You can check them all out on the Development Team page of this web site!
If you are into hard core Motocross or Supercross racing then you should attend a Y-AIM course, and all the information, dates and locations are available under the Y-AIM section of this web site.
If you are after expert tuition for Trail, Enduro or Adventure Bike riding then the Yamaha Academy of Off Road Riding is your place!
The Academy will continue to operate it’s great 5 day camps at Dargle and selected other locations where Y-AIM groups will run alongside the Academy courses and two - day schools across the nation, please see the school calendar for dates and locations.