Respect is earned, not given and James Dunn has earned massive respect this season and the struggles he’s overcome in his career. Everyone knows the two-stroke scene creates massive attention and a lot of people are investing in. James has always been a fan and in fact it’s one piece of the puzzle that has saved him from being a loss from the sport. James’ talent on a bike is unquestioned but he’s struggled to deliver due to major setbacks.
From an early age, James was winning at club level on a 65cc through to winning the British masters, MCF youth elite championship and even indoor races on board a small wheel 85cc. He then moved up to a big wheel and quickly realised he was too big so moved onto an RM125 in 2009 at the age of 14 He had wins in the DEP British two-stroke series and raced some European meetings.
He got badly hurt in 2013 and for a while looked like he might lose a leg. He’d broken his ankle and heel, followed by his knee. The injuries were so bad he had an artery bypass as he couldn’t feel his foot and knew something wasn’t right. The operation saved his leg.
After returning to the British Champioship in 2015, he had a fourth overall at Fatcats and carried that speed into 2016 where he was leading the championship until he knocked himself unconscious. In 2017 he started the season aboard the Revo Husqvarna team and then parted ways.
The talented rider looked lost and he’d decided to hang up his boots on the professional scene. He’d planned to buy a two-stroke and just do some local races for fun until Bob Buchanan, the owner of team GL12, talked him into having fun on his 250 two-stroke. Bob is the reason James is riding as he pushed hard at the right time and wouldn’t take no for a answer it seems – which sounds like two-stroke Bob! James even says Adrain the mechanic and Bob have been so helpful and the team works really well together as that fun factor is there! Its seemed as finally the pieces of the puzzle and been put together and James was keen again.
Recently the icing was put on the cake for all involved as James won the French Emx250 class at the weekend on a 250 two-stroke against four-strokes. 250 smokers were only allowed in the class following a rule change this year. James didn’t make it easy for himself as he’d forgotten to turn the fuel on and this left him down the field in a muddy race. But he came through to take overall all victory and give all involved the spoils they’d deserved.
It’s so great to see a young British lad get back in action, James is still buzzing from the victory and he’s keen to keep riding and training off the back of it. So it seems the rebirth of James Dunn is a story which has just started and we are keen to stand back and watch the journey! Check out his French EMX250 victory below!