Breaking down a mixture of defining moments from 2025.
Penrite ProMX 2025 featured another thrilling year of Australian motocross competition, with a collection of highlights across the board punctuating the eight-round campaign. With the series now in the books, MotoOnline looks back at the Top 10 moments from throughout the season.
1. Webster clinches back-to-back MX1 titles:
Looking back, the consensus according to us here at MotoOnline was that this year’s MX1 title would go to Monster Energy CDR Yamaha’s Jed Beaton. There was a strong rationale behind the reasoning, too, given the Victorian-based rider had come up short during the previous two years, with last year seeing a tie breaker between he and championship winner Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda). Add in the fact that Webster conceded 22 points due to a second moto DNF at Wonthaggi, and things were trending nicely towards a Beaton championship until they weren’t, which we’ll touch on more in a moment. At the end of the day, the number one plate will remain with the red camp and Webster, who pieced together a phenomenal season of racing. The most impressive moment has to be Warwick, and it’s a substantially defining piece of the storyline in the quest for the title. Battered and bruised, Webster lined up and pushed through two broken bones in his back to claim a 3-1 scorecard and second overall, which proved pivotal in this year’s title narrative. In short, we never should have doubted the defending champion, as he delivered MX1 championship number two for 2025.
2. Practice incident ends red plate holder Beaton’s MX1 title chance:
This was a tough blow. Fresh off the back of a dominant 1-1 result at Canberra’s sixth round, it looked as though Beaton had put the final nail in the coffin of the championship, extending his series lead to 29 points entering the penultimate round in Toowoomba. Chatter began that the battle was pretty much over, although if there were ever a case for the saying, ‘It’s not over until it’s over,’ this would be it. A practice incident was followed by rumours that the red plate holder had sustained a broken femur, and sure enough, an official Yamaha press release confirmed the news later that afternoon. It was a devastating moment, because up until that point it had been a pretty faultless run for the number 14, who had finally uncorked his full potential in Canberra and shown exactly why he was an MX2 world championship front-runner for several years. For now, we’ll need to wait until the commencement of next year’s schedule to see if Beaton can seal the deal.
3. Connolly earns two for two in MX2
What most people were right about was Polyflor Honda’s Brodie Connolly and his chance at a second successive title in the MX2 division. It wasn’t all smooth sailing at the beginning, though, with the number one being skittled by a flying YZ 250F in Wonthaggi, before a penalty thanks to an off-track excursion erased his overall win at round two in Appin. Gillman was a bit funky for the Kiwi sensation too, before he really clicked into gear at Traralgon and never looked back. A solid haul of moto wins meant that he notched the title with one round to spare in Toowoomba, and proved that he was indeed a class above the category for this year. He’s remained adamant that he doesn’t want to go for championship number three in MX2 next year, instead vocalising a desire to head Stateside on a full-time basis and give the AMA championships a good nudge. It doesn’t seem long ago that he was a 19-year-old rookie in Australia, leading laps during moto one at Wonthaggi in 2023, but two years on, he’s a two-time champion.
4. Return to the MX1 class winners circle for Wilson Todd
The woes of Honda Racing’s Wilson Todd were mounting after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to injury, and they continued into 2025 thanks to an incident during a state title round in Gillman. While downbeat, the Queenslander displayed immense resolve, with both he and the team targeting P3 in the series standings and a return to form by season’s end. Well, they would get their wish, with Todd claiming a well-earned MX1 overall victory at Queensland Moto Park (QMP) while also overtaking the absent Beaton in the championship standings for third overall. Any questions regarding an MX2 return should now be put to bed, however, with this result a firm indication that he belongs in the MX1 championship picture from here on out.
5. Clout, Waters, and Gibbs’ monumental start straight clash at QMP
Probably one of the wildest scenes of the 2025 season was when Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki’s Luke Clout launched his Kawasaki KX 450 into the stratosphere, with himself, Kirk Gibbs (KTM Racing Team), and Todd Waters (Raceline Huisqvarna TDub Racing) having enough time to stand up from the fall, scratch their heads, and look around before the motorcycle returned to clobber Clout. Thankfully, all riders are relatively OK, because that was one of the more gnarly start straight incidents of all time.
6. Gibbs finishes career
It was almost a fairytale ending for Gibbs, who captured the Top 10 Shootout fastest lap time at QMP, which was his last ever ProMX race in his over two-decade-long professional career. Things would take a turn for the worst when he was involved in the start straight melee in moto one, however, at least he could lay claim to being the fastest rider on the track during his final outing in qualifying. It must be tough to hang up the boots when performances like that are still up one’s sleeve, although with such a decorated career in the books, the 36-year-old can sleep easy knowing he is one of Australia’s top motocross racers.
7. Ferguson catches fire late in the season
KTM Racing Team’s Noah Ferguson was a rider many tipped to be an MX2 championship antagonist when it came to this year’s showdown, with the number 29 expected to take it to the Connolly at each round, and make things tough, if not claim the whole thing for himself. Early-season inconsistency created a deficit that was never really surmountable despite a solid back half of the season, which involved a valiant fight in Toowoomba and then an overall win thanks to a 1-3 finish at the final round. It’ll be interesting to see how things unfold for Noah next year, especially if both Connolly and Ryder Kingsford (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha) vacate the class. Can he make the transition from fast but inconsistent to a champion? Time will tell, although if one thing is for certain, he has some serious speed to burn.
8. Midseason team switch for Budd
This was a weird one, and not all too common at that. Class front-runner Budd had begun the season with the Todd Waters-run Raceline Husqvarna TDub Racing outfit, only to vacate the seat after two rounds in favour of a Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki ride in the MX2 division, which started from round four in Traralgon onwards. On either team, it wasn’t a stellar year for the former overall round winner in the division, although injuries and setbacks did plague him throughout the championship. We’re interested to see where the form reaches during the Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX), and what 2026 looks like for the 24-year-old.
9. Dominant Canberra round for Beaton
Bringing Beaton up again, it would be wrong not to acknowledge just how good he was in Canberra. It was almost night and day, which says a lot because he’s been pretty damn fast up until that point, but just an extra level of aggression was unlocked for the 27-year-old, as he blasted his way to the front with authority in both motos and sent a clear message that he was ‘the man’ in the division, and that was that. Sunshine, rain, thunder, lightning – it didn’t matter, Beaton arrived with a clear agenda that day, and it was pretty evident that it was executed to perfection.
10. Crawford comes up 15 points short
Another rider who can hold his head high after this season is KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford. We wanted to see him step convincingly into that lead role with the orange outfit, and in all honesty, he did. Things looked a little dismal around the Traralgon mark, although some soul searching between the fourth and fifth round produced a marked improvement for the number 199, who was much better over the second half of the season. He reduced the gap at the front to 11 points after moto one at QMP after delivering a clutch victory, although he couldn’t find the flow in race two, and ultimately claimed a well-earned P2 for the overall series championship.