Despite strong interest from overseas, Ferris has returned to CDR Yamaha for the third year running. Team owner, Craig Dack, is excited to again have Ferris back on his YZ450F.

“Working with Dean over the past two seasons has been a gratifying experience for everyone here at CDR Yamaha. His professionalism, dedication and pure determination rubs off on the entire team and we feel he is the perfect fit for what CDR Yamaha strives for.

“He has grown into his role as the number one rider in Australia and has become an extremely good ambassador for the sport. He is giving of his time with the race fans and happy to work with young kids who look up to him. He has become a true professional in every sense of the word and we are humbled that he will continue with CDR Yamaha and together we can chase even more championship success,” Dack said.

For Ferris, weighing up his options wasn’t easy as he still has an inner urge to race internationally at the highest level, especially after a one-off appearance in the U.S bought a top two moto finish to prove he is more than capable of mixing it up with anyone in the world.

But with a tight racing economy, his options were limited. Ferris elected to stay put knowing he had the best bike, the best team and the best sponsors in Australia and success is what drives him.

“My decision didn’t include other teams in Australia,” Ferris begins. “If the right opportunity presented itself in the U.S, then I would have looked into it but if I was staying in Australia, then it was always going to be CDR Yamaha.

“The last two years have been the best of my career and I have formed some great relationships with everyone on the team. So personally, I have some great friends here at CDR and professionally, I know the team will provide me with exactly what I need to win races and championships.

“I’m excited to stay with CDR Yamaha and look forward to 2018. The new YZ450F is amazing and we have barely scratched the surface of the bike. Knowing that I have a heap of hard working people behind me also inspires me to keep working hard and secure more championships for both myself and the CDR Yamaha team,” Ferris signs off.

Dean Ferris currently sits second in the 2017 Australian Supercross championship after two rounds and is the current MX Nationals, MX1 champion.