Jack Simpson Takes Opening NGPC Win In Delano California

We caught up with Jack Simpson on Sunday evening following his opening Round win in the MX2 class of the 2023 NGPC series in Delano California. Switching teams over the offseason to the Purvines Racing Yamaha team whilst entering his second full season competing and living in the USA, Jack offers some insight into his goals for the 23’ season.  

Tell us about your team for 2023.

After the 2022 season finished I came home to Australia to spend time with my family and friends along with organising my athlete VISA for the USA. Not long after being home I received a call from Ron the team owner who expressed interest in signing me to the team and it all evolved very quickly. 

I’m thankful for that as we had a lot of balls up in the air with the January start to the NGPC and WORCS seasons on the West Coast and logistically living in another country, the more that is organised in advance the less stress I have to deal with when I land back in California, ready to race.

Ron was great, he offered me a great deal for 23’ and a package I’m confident will make me a Race and Championship contender whenever I am on the track.  

I have also been able to sign a personal gear deal with O’Neal here in America which is exciting and I can’t wait to work with those guys more throughout the season.

How has your transition to Yamaha been? 

With the short turnaround time before I could get back to America to test with the team, we collectively decided it would be best if I got a Yamaha right away in Australia and began testing. Ron funded a bike for me here which was amazing and we bought the bike from WBR Yamaha. 

From there, we hit the ground running with my long time suspension technician Steve Jones from Tunetech and spent the majority of December testing and building a base setting for me to return back to the states with. 

With the tight turn around I basically bolted in my Aussie suspension for Round 1 this weekend and hit the track for practice to see how it felt. I knew we would be close but I’m amazed how well our testing in Australia translated to a good feel on the track and I was extremely comfortable right away. As everyone knows the Motor package with Yamaha is so strong on the 250f and I’ve been loving that side of things being on blue also.

How do you feel about taking the opening NGPC Round win here at Delano?

As you would have seen with the Supercross cancellation at Oakland, it’s basically raining all over California right now. It’s no different here and it wasn’t quite a full mudder but we had very heavy conditions on the natural terrain grass track. Being from Victoria, I’m no stranger to the mud so it gave me a mental edge heading into Round 1. 

I made life easy and pulled the Holeshot and honestly with a clear track I was never really challenged. Young Aussie Gus Reardon was actually in 2nd place behind me for much of the race but he unfortunately had a mechanical near the end which gave me the win by over 5 minutes at the flag across the 1.5 hour Cross Country style race. 

This is my first NGPC win in America and I think it shows the progress I made learning the Championships, tracks and style of racing in my rookie season on the West Coast last year. 

What does the rest of 2023 look like for you?

I’ll be Racing the NGPC and WORCS offroad Championships with the Purvines Racing Yamaha team. Last year I had a very solid base and learned so much, finishing the NGPC Championship in 2nd and the WORCS Championship in 3rd. 

Now heading into 2023 I believe I can win both Championships and be in contention to win races every time I’m out on the track. Taking the opening Round win was obviously a big step in the right direction for the team and I this early on in the season. 

I’m back living with Talon La Fontaine in Yucca Valley. Talon was my team mate at the Monster Energy SLR Honda team last year so it’s business as usual for me with my living and weekly riding situation. We basically hit tracks like Glen Helen on a weekly basis along with a bunch of natural terrain tracks we have access to out in Beaumont and other locations.

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