Back to Penrite ProMX business as gates drop on 2026 championship

Published On: March 19, 2026Categories: News

It’s been seven months in the making, but Australia’s top motocross riders will once again reunite for round one of the 2026 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX) in Wonthaggi on March 21-22.

After a pre-season with a host of major talking points, it’s now show time at the regional Victorian venue which continues its proud status as the ProMX season opener for a sixth consecutive year.

And the 1.8km, 18-turn track on will be a hive of activity as just one of two rounds in the 2026 ProMX Championship to feature consecutive days of non-stop action.

Wonthaggi will host the Kawasaki MX1, Pirelli MX2, Maxxis MX3 and Ezilift championship openers, as well as the Fox Racing MX85 Cup and the FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup with Australia taking on New Zealand and the United States of America. All the ProMX classes will be held over two motos.

On-track action begins at 9am on Saturday and 8:15am on Sunday.

Round one of the ProMX Championship is supported by the Victorian Government via its Significant Sporting Events Program and the Bass Coast Shire Council.

PURCHASE TICKETS TO PROMX WONTHAGGI

Kawasaki MX1
All the elements are in place for another exhilarating season of Kawasaki MX1 competition, with Honda dynamo and Motocross of Nations champion Kyle Webster again leading the charge as he shoots for a championship three-peat.

At the same round in 2025, Webster shared victories with Jed Beaton (Yamaha), kickstarting a fierce rivalry that lasted until round six before Beaton’s campaign ended in brutal circumstances after he was injured in a practice crash.

Beaton eventually finished fourth in MX1 behind Webster, Nathan Crawford (KTM) and Wilson Todd (Honda), but he’s now fully fit to try and wrest an elusive maiden title to add to his 2016 MX2 success.

Other former champions on the MX1 starting gates in Wonthaggi will be Beaton’s teammate Aaron Tanti – who missed a large chunk of 2025 with a broken neck – the returning veteran Dean Ferris (Kawasaki) and Todd Waters (Husqvarna).

Wonthaggi’s 37-rider field will also include reigning No. 5 Zachary Watson, who joins KTM’s factory team alongside Crawford, Cody O’Loan (Beta), Bryce Ognenis (Yamaha), Regan Duffy (Yamaha), Brad West (Kawasaki) and Liam Jackson (Honda), as well as a new generation of young guns eager to show their skills in the premier category.

Pirelli MX2
The intriguing intersection of incumbents and rapid rookies will again form the backbone of the Pirelli MX2 class in 2026, where a new champion will be crowned with the departure of American-bound Brodie Connolly.

Based on the 2025 form guide, Ryder Kingsford (Honda), Noah Ferguson (Yamaha), Alex Larwood (Honda), Byron Dennis (KTM), Jayce Cosford (KTM) and Seth Burchell (Yamaha) will be front-runners in Wonthaggi – while highly credentialled MX3 alumni such as Kayd Kingsford (Honda), Jet Alsop (Honda), Ky Woods (Yamaha) and Kayden Strode (Honda) will be keen to announce themselves as contenders from the get-go.

Koby Hantis (Yamaha) is another talented rider moving up from MX3, while a real darkhorse could be Japan’s Souya Nakajima (Yamaha) who is coming off back-to-back IA2 (250cc) championship successes in his home country. He also competed in the 2025 Motocross of Nations in and was in Australia for the FIM Junior World Motocross Championship in 2018.

Nakajima’s countryman Haruki Yokoyama (Kawasaki) also returns in 2026, and is capable of claiming some major scalps when he’s fit and firing.

Noah Ferguson has switched camps in 2026

Maxxis MX3
With the top three riders from the 2025 Pirelli MX3 championship moving on, who’s going to fill the vacuum at the sharp end of the 14-U18 development class in 2026?

Seth Shackleton (KTM), Jack Deveson (Yamaha), Jackson Fuller (KTM) and Riley Burgess will certainly be putting their hands up in Wonthaggi, as will Cooper Bowman (Husqvarna), New Zealander Hayden Draper (Yamaha), Ollie Birkitt (KTM), Joshua McCloskey (Yamaha) and Kyle Harvey (KTM).

And that’s just the thin end of the talent wedge in a class designed to equip riders with the skills and knowledge needed to make a smooth transition into the MX1 and MX2 classes.

Seth Schackleton will be aiming to claim the Maxxis MX3 crown in 2026

Ezilift MXW
Could Charli Cannon’s stranglehold on the Ezilift MXW class be threatened in 2026? After four peerless campaigns in a row, this year is shaping as the Honda-riding Queenslander’s toughest test yet with reigning American champion Lachlan Turner (Yamaha) joining the championship full-time.

At the very least, Cannon’s absolute dominance will probably end, but the mercurial 20-year-old still starts as the championship favourite with her heady mix of speed, consistency and competitive instincts.

Nine of last year’s MXW top 10 will line up in Wonthaggi, with Cannon joined by Taylah McCutcheon (Kawasaki), Taylor Thompson (KTM), Karaitiana Horne (Kawasaki), Madi Simpson (Yamaha), Darci Whalley (Honda), Mia Tongue (Honda), Leah Rimbas (KTM) and Emily Lambert (GASGAS). The MXW motos will also be strengthened by FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup riders from New Zealand and the United States of America.

Can Charli Cannon (#1) make it five consecutive Ezilift MXW Championship in 2026?

Fox Racing MX85
The first of three rounds in 2026, with Blake Bohannon (Yamaha) out to make it back-to-back titles in a massive field which also features winners and podium finishers from recent KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championships.

In the battle of the 85cc two-stroke 12-U16 riders, other names to watch are Connor Feather (Husqvarna), Mason Ezergailis (KTM), Archie Black (KTM) and Kye Sproule (Yamaha).