Inspired by the structure of Yamaha Motor Europe’s bLU cRU project that works to nurture, develop and guide young riders from grassroots level to the very pinnacle of the sport, the Hutten Metaal Team are delighted to welcome Kooiker as a replacement for Raivo Dankers, who was released from his contract by mutual consent.
Kooiker joined the Yamaha Family in 2018 and enjoyed immediate success onboard his YZ85 with an impressive second-place finish in the second race at the 2018 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in Australia, where he finished fourth overall in the final classification.
At 13-years-of-age, the motivated youngster stepped up to the highly competitive EMX125 championship, where he qualified for the main event at every round that he attended. While the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 teams’ primary focus is on the EMX250 Championship with their top riders Thibault Benistant and Gianluca Facchetti, they are committed to assisting Kooiker with his transition from a GYTR kitted YZ125 to a GYTR kitted YZ250F during the 2020 season.
Kooiker suffered a minor injury while training in Spain and will miss the opening round of the EMX125 Championship, which takes place in Winchester, England, but is expected to be fit enough to resume his training schedule at the end of April.
