Last updated on August 29, 2025
We are excited to announce that two prolific talents from the golden years of the Australian racing scene will be attending VMX Magazine Classic Dirt 18 this coming October: James Deakin and David Armstrong.
James started racing motocross at age fourteen as a junior in 1979. He had a lot of success right off the bat and had his first sponsored ride, with Gaythorne Yamaha for the ’83 season. The very next year he won the Queensland 500cc Motocross Championship. He also won that title the next year and indeed the mid to late ’80s was a triumph for Deakin. He won a spot on the podium at the Mr Motocross series between 1985 and 1987 with similar success at the Australian Motocross Championships. James really hit the heights in ’87 with a win at the Australian Supercross Masters at Sydney Entertainment Centre. In ’88, James won a couple more Supercross Championships and went international, winning the Malaysian Motocross Championship. He switched from Yamaha to Honda in ’89 and kept winning until his early retirement in ’93.
David began his racing career in Victoria and followed in the footsteps of his father, John, who was a successful racer in the ’60s. After a family move to Queensland, David’s racing stepped up a notch. In ’83 he finished second in Australian 500cc Motocross Championships and won the Queensland 250cc and 500cc Motocross Championship. With more wins under his belt in ’84 and ’85, David joined the Honda Australia Team with Craig Dack but switched to Kawasaki in ’87. David also enjoyed a spot on the Australian Motocross des Nations team, competing in the international event as part of Team Australia in 1984, 1986 and 1987. As part of the team in ’86, they reached seventh spot in the des Nations event. David has also had great success in Australian Enduro Championships and at the Finke desert race, winning both events.
