IIt is fair to say the Australian Motocross Championship, currently known as the Penrite Australia ProMX, has grown from strength to strength in the post-COVID era..
It was a bit of a bumpy start for Motorcycling Australia and the ProMX after the national body took back over the reigns of hosting Australia’s premier motocross championship after a long and successful stint by Kevin Williams W.E.M company hosting the MX Nationals.
Taking over amid Covid with massive border restrictions certainly made the first few years near impossible. Still, in the past two seasons, the championship has stepped up to another level with the pits full, new class structures, and both live streaming and the addition of free-to-air television coverage via SBS helping to grow the championship even more.
Rocking into the opening round of the 2024 series at Wonthaggi in Victoria, it was apparent that this season will continue to see some massive growth in the sport with the pits absolutely full to the brim.
The venue at Wonthaggi has become home to the opening round and is really one of the best venues to showcase this great sport at the beginning of each year.
The long “PIT STRIP” that runs alongside the start straight makes for the perfect layout to align all the factory race rigs and privateer team trucks in one long pit alley, with a secondary row behind for some of the smaller teams, factory supported riders, and junior supported riders.
With around 21 team trucks showing up to the opening round this year, it was probably one of the most impressive pits I have seen in my years of covering the sport. Then, with the addition of the privateer’s pits that spread from behind the start gates to around the back side of the track, it was even more impressive.
If the pit set-up is impressive in the morning, it is a sight not to be missed during the lunch break as the crowd streams through to get autographs from their favorite riders. However, race fans are not restricted to the pits just during lunch and are free to wander through at any point of the day and watch the teams go to work on the bikes between practice and racing.
THE TEAMS
The support of the manufacturers and some large private teams, which has really stepped up over the past few years, helps make the pits look so good and professional.
Yamaha and Honda both have a very large presence in the pits. The Blu Cru hosts three officially backed teams: CDR Yamaha, which looks after MX1; the in-house Yamalube Yamaha Racing team, which looks after the MX2 class; and the WBR shop-based team, which has Yamaha Australia backing, which looks after the MX3 riders. A host of Junior Yamaha-supported team riders also ride in the MX3 class.
Big Red also has a huge presence, with its two factory trucks lined up side by side. These trucks host riders across MX1, MX2, MX3, and WMX, along with some privateers throughout the pits.
The KTM Group combined also takes up a lot of pit space, with their in-house KTM and GasGas teams both being well represented, along with some support riders. The Husqvarna team is run by Raceline Husqvarna, which has one of the best-looking bikes and pits set up in the paddock in 2024. Between the main raceline team and some supported and junior riders, there was a much more significant presence in the pits than I was expecting from the Husqvarna machines.
It is also great to see Team Green have a growing presence in Australian motocross again. The Empire Kawasaki team is another professional-looking outfit in the paddock, housing Kawasaki’s main MX1 and MX2 riders, while Brett Metcalfe’s Penrite GO24 team has moved over to Kawasaki support for 2024 and has given the green team a doubled-up presence in the pits, with Metcalfe hosting riders across all classes in 2024.
At round 2 in Horsham this weekend, we will try to gain some insight into the other private teams in the pits.
THE TRACK
Not only is the Wonthaggi venue a great place for the opening round, but the track itself is a very good place to start the season.
Made up from mainly deep black sand for the majority of the track, with a more hard pack clay type surface section out of the first turn and through the opening 15% or so of the track, the track lends itself to plenty of room from making moves, different lines and some tricky jumps and roller sections to keep riders on their toes.
Over the past few years, the track has been very deep, which has taken its toll on riders and bikes. It has not been uncommon to see bikes smoking in the early races, especially in the MX2 and MX3 classes.
For 2024, the track, while still having its deep sandy base, was a little dryer on top. With a warm and slightly windy day both the day before racing and the day of racing, the track was probably in the perfect condition for racing, with almost every bike making it through the weekend. Actually, I don’t think I witnessed a single smoking clutch all day on Sunday.
THE CROWD AND SURROUNDS
The picturesque grass surrounding the finish line, where the club has its main canteen, toilet facilities and lap box, made for the perfect location for the trade alley where several displays are to be taken in.
Also, being right next to the finish line, it is a good place to take in some of the racing action, and the whole back section of the track can be walked around, with great views over the whole track.
In years past, I have seen this entire part of the track lined deep with spectators. This year, the crowd was not too bad but looked a little lighter than I have seen in the past, especially with near-perfect conditions. Though with those awesome weather conditions, some of the surrounding beaches in the area would also have been a great option!
It is also hard to tell how many people at the track are part of the general crowd and how many are part of the teams and riders’ extended support. Arriving on Saturday afternoon, the number of people already at the venue was pretty impressive, and it certainly grew by a lot on Sunday.
With the MX1 and MX2 classes being packed at the opening round, close to 60 riders entering the MX3 class and over 20 riders in the WMX class, there were over 160 riders alone at the track, adding in probably an average of 2 additional people for every rider at the track, plus track workers, motorcycling Australia worker and officials, media and others associated with the events, the traveling party of the ProMX quickly fills up local towns like Wonthaggi when they roll in for the weekend.
THE ON-TRACK ACTION
Watching through the viewfinder of a camera, the on-track action was pretty good, with some close, tight battles at the front of the field in most classes.
The MX1 class went pretty much how I thought it would, with Kyle Webster and Jed Beaton battling for the win. While I was expecting them to be a little ahead of the field at Wonthaggi, I was not expecting the speed gap to be quite that big! They were somewhere in the order of three seconds faster than the rest of the field in regular qualifying.
Behind them, Dean Ferris was more than solid; I am sure he would be more than happy to come out of the first round at Wonthaggi in third, knowing at the rest of the rounds he will be in the mix for race wins.
Wilson Todd got his MX1 career off to a great start, and in the opening, moto was in a world of his own in third place, a fair distance behind the lead two but with no pressure from behind. Nathan Crawford was much better than his 5th place result showed. He was flying in the opening moto and came from the back of the field, passing many quality riders to get near the front of the field and then put another hard charge in the second moto to finish the round strong.
Luke Clout will be another rider who will be glad to get away from Wonthaggi with some decent pionts and will look forward to the harder based tracks coming up.
Behind Clout were the three class veterans. Though both Todd Waters and Kirk Gibbs are a little younger than I thought they were, I have just been watching them race for so long! Waters came into the round carrying a bit of an injury picked up prior to the round and put in a great effor, while Gibbs didn’t look as strong as normal in the opening moto, he improved in the second and will certainly be a contender throughout the year. Brett Metcalfe, was solid in his first hit out on the Kawasaki and is also on the comeback trail after a knee injury sustained late last year.
The good thing for us race fans is that there are definitely nine riders in the MX1 class who can contend for race wins or at least podiums in every moto. This should not only make for some great racing from race to race but also a good championship if they can keep each other from getting on a winning roll.
Behind the top nine were some impressive rides from privateers, with Zach Watson leading the charge from Joel Evans.
MX2
The Honda boys lead the way in MX2, with Brodie Connolly edging out Noah Furguson for the overall title. The Yamaha pairing of Ryder Kingsford and Jayce Cosford followed in third and fourth.
Both GasGas Byron Dennis and the third Honda rider Alex Larwood could have easily found themselves in the top four overall, with Dennin finishing third in the opening moto but suffering a DNF in moto 2. It was worse luck for Larwood, who recovered from near last in the first race to finish 5th. However, he suffered a broken leg in the final lap of the first race, putting him out not just for Moto 2 but also round 2 this weekend.
With last year’s top two riders in MX2, Todd and Crawford, moving up, the class has opened up for the next generation of talent in Australia to show the future of the sport. Along with the riders mentioned above, Rhys Budd, Jack Mather, and Kayden Minear showed up at the opening round. The battle will run deep, and with a good mixture of tracks and surfaces throughout the 2024 season, the MX2 class will be a very tight fight between many riders.
MX3
It is fair to say that the restructuring of the MX3 class to a 14- 18-year age group has been one of the best things that has happened to the sport in the country.
Not only is it the most popular class, with 60 riders entering the opening round and 70 entering round two this weekend at Horsham, but it is also helping to fast-track exceptional young talent while also giving a class for those who develop a little later to get their feet wet in the pro championship.
It also provides a great stepping stone for riders to move into MX2 and then MX1, as shown by the strong rider numbers in both those classes.
The opening round showed we are in for another year of new names popping up and new future stars stepping up to make their names known.
It was an all-WBR Yamaha sweep at the opening round, with Koby Hantis taking the win and pushing his name into the spotlight along with Kobe Drew and Kayd Kingsford, the younger brother of MX2 third-place Ryder.
While it was all Yamaha at round one, expect to see more of a mix throughout the coming rounds. The likes of Jet Alsop and Seth Shackleton are sure to be pushing up front, and then there are new names that pushed up front at Wonthaggi, like Deacon Paice and Kayden Strode, who both impressed at the opening round.
Unfortunately for Ky Woods, who will also run up the podium this year, he will be sidelined for round two after a practice crash.
Also, watch out for Jake Cannon at round two. He came into the season opener off the back of a huge recovery from a big Supercross crash last year, then had to watch the opening race of the year from the fence line after his bike was late to the start grid.
He looked solid in the second moto and will only continue to get faster as he gets back to 100%
MXW
While Charlie Cannon raced to her Honda for two clear wins, the winning margin was much closer than I thought it would be. The racing behind her was very close, with a great mixture of riders showing they had stepped things up for the 2024 season.
Taylor Thompson’s consistency helped her to second place overall, while third-place Danielle McDonald, who won her first senior AORC round just the week prior, showed she will be one to watch in her first year of senior racing. She showed plenty of pace, mixed in with a few crashes.
Madison Healey, Emma Milesevic, and Tahlia O’Hare will be podium threats every round. At the same time, Karaitiana Horne showed glimpses of some great speed at Wonthaggi, along with Madi Simpson, who also impressed, winning her class at the AORC opener the weekend before and being right up on pace with the front of the J3 class.
IN REVIEW
Overall, the opening rounds of the 2024 ProMX were one of the best rounds of national racing I have attended.
From the overall look of the venue, the vast pits with very professional-looking teams for as far as the eye can see, great on-track racing, a very good racing schedule that ran to the minute, matched with a track that was prepped perfectly, and an excellent day for racing, there was not much that was not spot on for the opening round.
Add that to the live stream, live timing, and free-to-air television that we will take a closer look at later in the year when we can’t make it to some rounds ourselves, and things are looking good for the year ahead.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT HORSHAM
Round 2 heads to Horsham in Victoria, with the venue returning to the national circuit for the first time in seven years.
I am looking forward to the national series returning to Horsham. The club has always put a lot of effort into its facilities, and the well-presented track will present some challenges.
The track itself is very different from the opening round at Wonthaggi. Horsham will likely offer a soft and sloppy clay-based track early in the day that will turn into a deep rutted hard-pack track by the end of the day. This should provide plenty of line choices and some great racing. If it gets windy and the sun stays out, a little blue groove could be added to the mix.
There is every chance it will produce some different winners and results across the MX1, MX2, and MX3 classes, though I think the front runners from Wonthaggi will be keen to show they can get the job done, no matter what track they are at or the type of surface they are racing on.
The WMX class will take a break this weekend, with the MX85 class stepping in for both this weekend and round 3 at Gillman in a few weeks.
The 85 class will also help M.A. select riders for the Junior World Championships later this year. While the World Juniors is for 12 – 14-year-olds, the 85 class at the ProMX will allow 12—to 16-year-old riders to compete, giving the 85 riders a chance to experience ProMX racing before they step up to the MX3 class in the coming years.
