American Mitchell Harrison came as a surprise late addition to the 2025 Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship, signing with the powerhouse Monster Energy CDR Yamaha organisation to contest the entire series in SX1. In Conversation, MotoOnline spoke with the 27-year-old Michigan native in the lead-up to the opening rounds in Redcliffe this weekend.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Thanks for taking the time to chat, Mitchell. Let’s start with the Monster Energy CDR Yamaha relationship – when did talks begin there to compete in this year’s AUSX Supercross series?

So I think it was after the first round of the SMX Playoffs – the team owner for PRMX actually asked me about it, and originally I thought it was going to be with Empire Kawasaki because of the Kawasaki connection with my team in the States. Then he said CDR, and I was kind of surprised, but I was like, ‘Yeah, I mean, I’ll do it if you guys think that’s beneficial.’ So then I got in contact with Craig [Dack], and it was kind of weird because he said he wasn’t talking to anyone at PRMX – he said that he heard it from [Aaron] Tanti or somebody at Yamaha who threw my name around, so it was kind of odd how we got hooked up together. But anyway, we came up with a deal, and yeah, I was stoked because I’ve always wanted to come to Australia, and this was the perfect opportunity.

And this is your first time in Australia, right? You haven’t done any racing or been here previously?

Nope, nothing – this is my first time. So far, I’m loving it. The weather is a bit chaotic down in Melbourne, but I’m loving it. Four seasons in a day is what they say. But I’m stoked to race the AUSX Supercross series – I’ve always thought it was a high-profile championship because Australia has always had great riders coming over to the US. Then with the internationals, you had [Justin] Brayton win it for quite a few years, then Dean [Wilson], and [Joey] Savatgy last year. It’s a pretty elite series in my eyes. The Australian talent is super-fast too, like Luke Clout, Aaron Tanti, and Nathan Crawford. I mean, it’s a really good field.

I feel people say the same thing about the teams once they have that exposure to them, too, and especially somewhere like CDR, which is a really solid program. How have you found being part of that team so far?

Yeah, the bike, the resources, the team – everything like that has been great. They give me every ability to make the bike how I want it, and, fortunately, I’m not too picky, so right away I was pretty comfortable on the bike. We still had some long test days, but it’s just like constant little tweaks and trying out different things. It’s a factory bike… I haven’t been on one of those in a while and it’s great. It has a very smooth power curve and I love that. I thought that the Yamaha would be a lot torqueier based on everybody else’s opinion on it, but they have the engine package pretty dialled in.

Image: Russell Colvin.

How does your schedule work while you’re in Australia? Do you stay here, or fly back and forth between rounds?

I’m flying back and forth, but I’ll be here for the first three [rounds], so I get a nice month-long holiday in Australia, and then I will go back and test with my team in the States. And then I’m doing Germany – the Stuttgart Supercross – and Paris. From there, I’m coming back and doing the last two rounds in Australia. It’ll be a busy SMX off-season, but I like it. I enjoy it. This is the first opportunity where I’ve gotten to do all of it – I did Stuttgart last year and I loved it. I enjoy traveling. I mean, might as well do it when you’re young and getting paid for it, right? So I’m always happy to take these opportunities.

What about your season in the US this year? It was pretty good for you in the 450 division. Were you satisfied with the progression from years prior?

Yeah, I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made. There were a lot of good results, and it was a lot better than the previous years. There were still some goals that I wanted to hit, and I didn’t fully hit them, but still, like you said, my name was up there, and I think that really helped with coming over here and racing for Craig Dack. You know, the more you’re up in the mix, the more people notice you. Also racing in the 450 class, it suits my riding style much more – I’ve always liked the 450. I was never aggressive enough to be successful on a 250. The whole 450 class is just more fun, the racing is more fun. In the 250s, you’ve got these chaotic kids that just want to saw your front end off the first chance they get. On the 450, you still get idiots every once in a while, but it’s not nearly as bad as the 250 class.

Is competing in the full season pretty brutal, as opposed to the regional 250 schedule?

Oh, for sure it is – 31 races are quite a bit. When I got to Pro Motocross, it was a lot less stressful for me, I found it was way more relaxing. But yeah, like now, I’m just putting in my laps, but it’s just, like, maintenance. I don’t really need to do a whole lot, I just need to get comfortable on the bike. I’ve already done 31 races this year, so I’m good. I just need to fine-tune a few little things, really.

Lastly, expectation-wise, do you have any targets you’d like to meet in the AUSX championship?

I think with any championship, I take it race by race. I would love to think that I can contend for the title. There are a lot of great riders, so we’ll see how it goes in round one, but I really think that I have a great opportunity to win the whole thing.