Camden McLellan
| Camden McLellan | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South African |
| Born | 7 June 2004 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Current team | Monster Energy Triumph Racing |
| Bike number | 8 |
Camden McLellan (born 7 June 2004)[1] is a South African professional Motocross racer. McLellan has competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship since making two wildcard appearances in the 2022 season.
McLellan is currently signed to ride for the Monster Energy Triumph Racing team from the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship onwards, making him part of Triumph's return to the sport of motocross.
In 2018, he became the first South African rider to win a title in the European Motocross Championship, when he won the EMX85 class.
McLellan has represented his country at the Motocross of Nations on four occasions, with the most recent being at the 2024 edition.
Career
[edit]Junior Career
[edit]McLellan grew up racing in the junior ranks throughout his native South Africa. This period saw him win several national championships and join the Red Bull KTM South Africa team.[2] After winning his first title in the 85cc Pro Mini class in 2016, Mclellan travelled to the United States to compete in the Thor Mini O's event.[3] He combined successfully defending the Pro Mini title in 2017 with a part-time racing schedule in Europe.[4] Following this, McLellan competed in the 2017 FIM Motocross Junior World Championship, where he scored five points in the 85 class.
In 2018, McLellan made his full-time move to Europe, by signing for the German Kosak KTM team.[5] This move saw him win the Junior Cup 85 class in Germany and win the EMX85 class of the 2018 European Motocross Championship.[6] By doing this, he beat both Kay de Wolf and Liam Everts to become the first South African to win a European title. Following this, he finished fifth overall at the Junior World Championship in Australia. Staying with the Kosak team, McLellan moved up to compete on a 125cc KTM in the 2019 European Motocross Championship. In his first full season on the 125, he finished eighteenth in the final standings with four top-ten finishes. In Germany, McLellan finished third in the 125 Cup class of the ADAC MX Masters and in the 2019 FIM Motocross Junior World Championship he finished sixth overall with two ninth place finishes.
250 Career
[edit]Following this, McLellan signed for the No Fear Jumbo BT Racing Team on a Husqvarna.[7] After riding the opening round of the EMX125 class of the 2020 European Motocross Championship, Mclellan raced the rest of the season in the EMX250 class, where he finished seventeenth in the final standings. He remained with the team for the 2021 European Motocross Championship and after missing three rounds he finished sixteenth overall in the final EMX250 standings, with a fifth place in the opening race at the German round being his standout result. Following this he represented South Africa for the first time at the 2021 Motocross des Nations.[8] A sixth place in the saturday qualifying race saw him finish ahead of Simon Längenfelder, Mikkel Haarup & Roan van de Moosdijk. For the 2022 season, McLellan moved to the TBS Conversions Racing Team.[9] This move saw the South African finish fourth in the final standings of the EMX250 class in the 2022 European Motocross Championship, picking up two podiums in the last three rounds. Alongside this, he raced in two rounds of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship in the MX2 class, picking up thirteen points at his second appearance in Czech Republic. These results saw McLellan picked to represent South Africa at the 2022 Motocross des Nations, his second consecutive appearance at the event.[10]
McLellan stepped up to the MX2 class in the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship full-time with the JM Honda Racing team.[11] A pre-season shoulder injury led to a dislocation in the practice session at the opening round.[12] He returned at the seventh round and had several notable results in the latter half of the season, including fifth overall at the Swedish round. Following this, McLellan raced at the 2023 Motocross des Nations, where he was part of the South African team that finished thirteenth overall. For the 2024 season, he was signed alongside Mikkel Haarup to ride for the Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team, making him part of Triumph's return to the sport.[13] This would see McLellan become a consistent front-runner in the MX2 class for the first time, picking up his first overall podium with third overall at the round in Sardinia.[14] He missed five rounds in the middle of the season due to a fractured fibula sustained in Portugal and on his return picked up two more third place race finishes to finish ninth in the final standings.[15] For the fourth consecutive year, McLellan represented South Africa by riding in the MX2 class at the 2024 Motocross des Nations.
Honours
[edit]European Motocross Championship
- EMX85: 2018
- Junior Cup 125: 2019
- Junior Cup 85: 2018
South African Motocross Championship
- 85cc Pro Mini: 2016 & 2017
- 65cc: 2015
Career statistics
[edit]Motocross des Nations
[edit]| Year | Location | Nation | Class | Teammates | Team Overall | Individual Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  Mantova
|
 RSA
|
MX2 | David Goosen Tristan Purdon |
20th | 18th |
| 2022 |  Red Bud
|
RSA
|
MX2 | Tristan Purdon Cameron Durow |
18th | 15th |
| 2023 |  Ernée
|
RSA
|
MX2 | Cameron Durow Jesse Wright |
13th | 7th |
| 2024 |  Matterley Basin
|
RSA
|
MX2 | Cameron Durow Tristan Purdon |
18th | 11th |
FIM Motocross World Championship
[edit]By season
[edit]| Season | Class | Number | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Race Wins | Overall Wins | Race Top-3 | Overall Podium | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | MX2 | 122 | KTM | TBS Conversions Racing Team | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 49th |
| 2023 | MX2 | 122 | Honda | JM Honda Racing | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 267 | 13th |
| 2024 | MX2 | 8 | Triumph | Monster Energy Triumph Racing | 28 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 424 | 9th |
| Total | 58 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 704 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team Profile". triumphmotorcycles.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Young Ripper Camden Mc Lellan". lwmag.co.za. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Camden McLellan Mini O's Results". resultsmx.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Young South African makes history claiming European MX title". Brent Lindequeue. goodthingsguy.com. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Rookie Story: Camden McLellan: Talented youngsters in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85". adac-motorsport.de. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Mc Lellan and Rispoli Crowned EMX 85 & 65 Champions". livemotocross.com. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Camden McLellan maakt BT Racing Team compleet!". Steven van Kempen. motocrossmag.be. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "EVERY 2021 MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS TEAM & WHO WON'T BE THERE". motocrossactionmag.com. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Confirmed: Camden Mc Lellan signs with TBS Conversions KTM". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "2022 Motocross of Nations Preview". Cycle News Staff. cyclenews.com. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "Camden Mc Lellan confirms 2023 plans". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "Injury update: Camden Mc Lellan". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "MIKKEL HAARUP AND CAMDEN MCLELLAN JOIN MONSTER ENERGY TRIUMPH RACING FOR 2024". Triumph Racing. mxgp.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Triumph hit podium in deep sands of Sardinia". Team TMX. tmxnews.co.uk. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Camden McLellan injury update". mxvice.com. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.