It’s been five years since the Australian Motocross Championship last visited the fast and flowy Murray Bridge circuit, but this weekend’s 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, promises fans that it’ll be worth the wait.

Murray Bridge makes its debut under the ProMX banner and, having recently undergone extensive development, the stage is now set for an incredible day’s racing.

The 1.6km track is renowned for being one of the toughest in the country to master – beneath the loamy top layer lies a hard base that can catch out even the savviest of racers – while its combination of wide-open straights, high-speed rollers, sweeping berms and tight sections will test the mettle of Australia’s best.

Located less than an hour from Adelaide’s CBD, you can expect an electric atmosphere as South Australia’s racing fans gather to witness the final home race of one of the state’s most successful-ever racers, Brett Metcalfe.

Headlining the action will be the THOR MX1 and Pirelli MX2 Championships, while the MAXXIS MX3 Championship and EZILIFT MXW Championship will guarantee intense competition from the moment the gates open.

For the current standings in all classes, click here.

Related:
Event program
2025 Penrite ProMX host club expressions of interest

THOR MX1
As we enter the second half of the THOR MX1 Championship, there is still everything to play for, with just one point separating Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster and CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton.

Looking purely at race wins, Webster’s six victories give him the advantage over Beaton (one win) and KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford (two wins), but it was Webster’s surprising pace at the hard-pack Maitland circuit that really raised some alarm bells for Beaton and his team.

Victory at Maitland wasn’t part of their script and, even though the two rivals were tied on points, Beaton was expected to have the upper hand.

Murray Bridge’s soil could also play into Webster’s favour, and Beaton will need to bring his A-game if he’s to end Sunday with the red plate attached to the front of his Yamaha. 

Meanwhile, third-placed Crawford is starting to build confidence after chalking up a second MX1 career moto win last time out. He’s got a healthy points cushion over fourth-placed Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS Racing Team), but still sits 25 points behind Beaton.

Slightly further back, there’s little to separate Gibbs and Empire Kawasaki’s Luke Clout in fifth, but having grown up in South Australia Gibbs has both home-ground advantage and some momentum from a solid Maitland on his side.

Speaking of home-ground advantage, the ever-experienced Metcalfe – leader of the GO24 development program on his Kawasaki machinery – is going to be desperate for a strong showing in what will almost certainly be his final professional race at home. Currently seventh in the standings, Metcalfe will be fueled with motivation this weekend.

Pirelli MX2
For a championship that was already looking like a foregone conclusion before Maitland, the Pirelli MX2 class is now far from an open-and-shut case for super-fast Kiwi Brodie Connolly.

Having built a healthy 38-point advantage over his team-mate Noah Ferguson, the Polyflor Honda Racing rider had a round to forget at Maitland and his difficult weekend – he finished an uncharacteristic seventh overall – sees him enter Murray Bridge with his lead sliced to just 12 points.

In contrast, Connolly’s nearest rivals, Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) and Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) both capitalised on Connolly’s rough outing at round four, with Kingsford taking the three-moto round win and Ferguson runner-up.

Connolly’s primary goals this weekend are to start rebuilding that healthy advantage, reasserting his dominance on the field, and making it very clear that Maitland was a one-off. At the same time, Ferguson and Kingsford will aim to strike while the iron’s hot and continue to heap pressure on the MX2 leader to see if he’ll crack again.

There’s another red rider that they’ll need to keep an eye on this weekend though. Froth Honda Racing’s Alex Larwood might be out of contention after missing Horsham with injury, but the South Australian knows Murray Bridge well, and a strong third-place result at Maitland proves he’s going to be a thorn in the side of the contenders for the second half of the championship.

Keep an eye on the tight battle between the riders placed fourth through to eighth too since Kayden Minear (KTM Racing Team), Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing), Haruki Yokoyama (Honda), Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) and Kaleb Barham (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) are locked in a fight that’s likely to go all the way to the final round.

MAXXIS MX3
Yamaha riders might be holding down the top three positions in this year’s MAXXIS MX3 championship, but these are nervous times for the WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha team.

The cause of their worries comes in the form of Terrafirma Honda Racing rider Jake Cannon, who has won four of the last five motos.

Current leader Koby Hantis limited the points damage at Maitland with a relatively consistent 3-2-4 scorecard to take the runner-up spot, and will be targeting Murray Bridge as an opportunity to extend his lead over his WBR team-mates Kayd Kingsford and Kobe Drew.

But fourth-placed Cannon has little to lose and everything to gain by throwing everything at his rivals this weekend. If he can continue his winning ways, we could see him move into the top three by Sunday night.

EZILIFT MXW
Murray Bridge sees the much-anticipated return of the EZILIFT MXW class and, if the opening round of their four-round championship was anything to go by, the spectators are in for some fast-paced entertainment.

All eyes will be on reigning champion Charli Cannon, who dominated the first round at Wonthaggi with a comfortable double-moto victory. The SCT Logistics Honda Racing rider wants to continue that form this weekend, where another overall win will put her squarely in the box seat to defend her title.

But there are no shortage of rivals who’d love nothing more than to halt Cannon’s dominance. Husqvarna rider Taylor Thompson was consistently second-fastest at Wonthaggi, while teenager Danielle McDonald (JGR Ballards Offroad Yamaha) was a revelation in her MXW debut with a gritty third overall.

Add Madison Healey (GASGAS), the experienced Emma Milesevic (Honda) and former grand prix regular Tahlia O’Hare (KTM) to the mix and you’ve got all the ingredients for a fascinating battle.

Get your tickets to the ProMX round at Murray Bridge here.