After a turbulent end to last year, Reid Taylor made the jump to the US with the Muc-Off FXR ClubMX team for 2025, originally intent on lining up in 250SX East and then later making select appearances in Pro Motocross. Learn more about the 21-year-old’s season, which Taylor outlines in this latest Profiled feature.

Taylor had endured a roller-coaster 2024, showing glimpses of front-running pace throughout ProMX, before featuring on the podium in the AUSX opener at Redcliffe, to then dislocating his thumb in a one-off, 11th-hour switch from Empire Kawasaki to Monster Energy CDR Yamaha during the WSX Australian Grand Prix in Perth. That same injury would resurface shortly after arriving in America, only two weeks into his ClubMX program.

“Obviously, I pretty much got over there, got into it, and then about two weeks in I dislocated my thumb,” Taylor told MotoOnline. “I didn’t even crash – it was more of a lingering thing that had been happening for about a month prior. I thought it was all good, but then it popped out once and I tried to just deal with it – I kept aggravating it, so I had to get it fixed. That was it. I think I came back to Australia about two weeks before round one over there, so yeah, it was a bit of a bummer.”

Image: Octopi Media.

The injury put his Monster Energy Supercross debut on hold, but Taylor remained based out of the high-profile training facility in South Carolina and continued working under the ClubMX structure until fit to finally return to action.

“I was pumped to be able to race Supercross – that’s obviously what I went over there for,” he added. “I was lucky enough that Brandon [Haas] and the guys there let me come back after the injury. I was hoping to do the last three rounds, but it dragged out a bit longer than I thought. They just told me to get on the program and work my way back to full fitness, which was good.

“After about a month, they were happy with how I was riding, and I was right there against the boys. They said, ‘You’re doing it, do you want to jump in for a few outdoors?’ I would have liked to do a few, but by the time I was into it, my visa was running out.”

While Supercross didn’t come to fruition, Taylor was able to eventually make his 250MX debut with the Muc-Off FXR ClubMX team at High Point, before later racing again at Ironman and Unadilla. The results didn’t reflect his true potential, but the experience was an important learning curve, and one that he will be able to build upon moving forward.

Image: Octopi Media.

“I pretty much did about three laps in the first moto before coming together with another rider,” reflected Taylor. “I crashed twice in the same lap and messed my thumb up again, so I didn’t really race the rest of the day. High Point was good and Ironman was good too, but it’s definitely different. The tracks are on another level… I struggled a little bit with bike set-up and things like that, but I guess it just comes with time – the more you ride those tracks, the better you get. It’s definitely a lot different to the Australian tracks.”

If nothing else, the opportunity gave Taylor a glimpse of the elite daily structure in place at ClubMX, which he believes has already made a difference in his approach. He won’t be lining up at this weekend’s Budds Creek National while allowing his thumb further time to recover, instead setting his sights on what’s next in his young career.

“Yeah, it was great for me,” he said. “The year before was really the first time I’d been on a proper program with Ford [Dale]. Going to Club is next-level – everything’s there. You don’t really have to travel, you’ve got the structure, you wake up, go to the gym, then ride, then do gym in the arvo, and go back and recover. It’s good because they’ve done it for so long that they know what works, how much riding to do, what kind of riding to do. It definitely helped me rebuild from the thumb injury.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Now back in Australia, Taylor is resetting for the domestic season and is in the process of finalising a deal to contest the AUSX Supercross Championship, which opens at Redcliffe in October.

“Yeah, so I’m back in Australia now, working on a deal to race the Australian Supercross Championship, as we speak,” Taylor revealed. “The plan is to get to work as soon as possible and come out firing for rounds one and two at Redcliffe.”

While his ClubMX experience didn’t go exactly to plan, Taylor has gained a taste of racing at the highest level and understands more than ever the standards required to compete overseas. With a reset on home soil and a renewed drive, his AUSX campaign could provide the ideal chance to finally put those lessons into practice.