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Photo - Jesse Donnelly, he intends to change his NZ number 2 to a number 1.
Yamaha Press Release.
Speed runs in the family, or so it seems, for Yamaha's Jesse Donnelly.
The Paraparaumu youngster is making waves in the New Zealand junior motocross scene but that probably won't come as much of a surprise to those who know his heritage.
His dad is a former top national bike racer and, although he was among the elite of Kiwi motorcycle racers in the mid 1980s, it was not on the motocross scene but in roadracing.
But whether the track surface is dirt or tarseal matters not one bit to the 15-year-old Jesse - his wheels barely touch the ground anyway.
His Yamaha YZ250F has carried him to more than his fair share of wins this season and, with the national No.2 proudly displayed on his bike there's really only one aim in mind - to change it to No.1 before he moves out of the 15-16 years class and turns senior.
“Jesse's ultimate aim is to make a career in his chosen sport,” said proud father Sean.
In the meantime, Donnelly junior plans to branch out next season and race his Yamaha in selected events across the Tasman.
In addition to motocross, Donnelly will also demonstrate the versatility of both man and machine when he races his YZ250F in the New Zealand Supercross Championships. Jesse has only raced one supercross meeting in the past, in Wellington, but he won his class and this augurs well for the coming season.
Part of Jesse's training regime consists of him trail riding with his father and his dad's vet motocross mates.
Father and son love the ‘male bonding’ sessions and both admit they learn plenty from one another too.
Sean Donnelly was always a title contender during his road racing heyday in the 1980s and was runner-up in the 600cc production class in 1989 but really struck it big when co-riding with John Hepburn to win the prestigious 1995 Mobil Three-hour race at Manfeild.
Sean Donnelly has been racing the Post Classic class for the past few years and, after taking last season off because of work commitments, will return to the tarmac when he races around the streets at the famous Wanganui Cemetery on Boxing Day.
