“Honestly it’s a dream,” said Max Anstie. “I’ve waited a long time to be up here and go up those steps up to the podium. My very first year in supercross, 2010, I was just 16 years old and I nearly got a podium then. I grew up watching supercross. It was amazing. The next year I went to Europe and I… didn’t come back. I got into MXGP over there and I had success. I’m lucky my family supports this, because it’s a big move. Now, to be here and on this 250, it’s a great feeling to be here and be competitive. Every day I wake up trying to figure out how can I get through whoops, or how can I get through that on-off better. I love it. Outdoors for me, in Europe, I love it too, but it got to the point where I knew exactly how those tracks were going to be at every single one. I’ve ridden those tracks so many times. I’ve really enjoyed being here in America.”
Anstie is now the been-there-seen-it 29-year-old veteran of the scene. He moved to America at a young age and competed at Loretta Lynn’s and all the big American races and had a shot with Star Yamaha in that team’s early days. He showed great promise at first, but the deal lasted just one year, and he found himself in Europe, quickly, regrouping in the GPs. He’s won races and battled the best, perhaps highlighted most with his 1-1 moto scores on home soil at the Motocross of Nations at Matterly Basin. Eventually, he had run of out GP options, though, and America was always there, at the back of his mind.
He got a few shots at it with the HEP Twisted Tea Suzuki team, and then last year held promise with Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, until the team folded.
“I was actually with Hunter’s old man [Lawrence father, Darrin]. I was with Dazzy at the 83 compound, and the team that I was on folded up,” explains Anstie. “I sat there thinking, Man, I don’t know what to do. I was waiting on a [fill-in] Kawi ride for outdoors, waiting for Husky, none of that came through.”
He did have an option. Australian team owner Yarrive Konsky and team manager Martin Davalos was offering a ride, but it was in the 250 class. Anstie could race FIM World Supercross, Australian Supercross, and AMA Supercross in the U.S. on a 250.
“Yarrive and Martin kept calling me, and they’re like “Right, we want you to ride a 250.” At first, I was like “Man, I’m a 450 guy. I haven’t ridden a 250 in ages.” Then a lot of those 450 deals fell through, and I was between even going back to Europe to fill in for Jeffrey [Herlings] over there. I thought, let me see it. I called Marty and said I would ride the bike. It’s a three-hour drive for me. I told Marty “Honestly I have no idea with a 250 if it’s a good bike or a bad bike.” I haven’t ridden one properly, the last time was 2016 Motocross of Nations at Maggiora, and I remember parking the bike and saying, “Yeah that’s it, you’ll never ride a 250 again.” I didn’t really achieve what I wanted to do in that class. I won some races, but I was always racing Jeffrey [Herlings]. So, this was a decision I really had to think about, but I’m so glad that I did. Racing has been fun and getting those bonus checks has been good. I’ve been taking Yarrive and shaking him upside down! And he gets very emotional! He’s brilliant. He’s so passionate, it’s fantastic. Being up here is a lot more fun than finishing 12th or 14th in the 450 class, and you think you’re riding well but everyone in front of you has won a title.”
Anstie finally feels like he’s getting building blocks in supercross. Before Houston, he had not competed in a 250 supercross race in America since 2010.
“Although I’ve had great success in GPs, gosh, I wake up every day now feeling like an 18-year-old kid. Loving life, thinking of how I can go faster on a supercross track. In a weird way, I felt like I was doing the wrong sport for a whole lot of years. Doing outdoors was cool, but I feel like this gave me a whole new lease on life. In my last year in the GPs, if I wasn’t top five, people were like, “Oh what’s the problem? What’s wrong?” Nothing was wrong! It’s just that class was gnarly, I’m racing Cairoli, Herlings, Gajser. Always my dream was to race supercross, and I got that chance, but it was in the 450 class. It’s gnarly. So, when Martin Davalos and Yarrive gave me a call, it got me thinking. You’ve got to tick the boxes. Everyone of those guys in the 450 class has completed those steps, which is the 250 class. I’m lucky, there is no age limit. Of course, I’ve raced a lot but it’s one of those where it’s awesome and I’m happy where it’s all worked out.”
Anstie himself wasn’t expecting too much coming into Houston. Then his number went to the top of the board in 250 qualifying. In both sessions!
“It was one of those things where I had no idea where we were going to fit in when we got here. I’ve ridden with the Star guys a few times and they normally smoke me [laughs] so I came here thinking “Top ten will be nice.” Then we went fastest in practice! I’m not joking, I came over the finish line and I looked at the board hoping I would be fifth or fourth. So, I looked at the board and didn’t see my name. Then I looked at the top of the board and saw my name, and I said “No! That’s got to be wrong!” Then I thought maybe it was a fluke in the first one, but no, I done it twice! I felt a little bit like [Team Manager] Martin Davalos. He’s been up there a few times! He’s been our crew chief, team manager and tester. All I ever saw was old videos of him being fastest in timed training! I don’t even think I’ve ever done it, not even in a GP. So, no, it was pretty awesome. To be honest, my day could have been over after that!”
In the main event, Anstie rode up into second, and was more than happy to stay there and finally take his first supercross podium. He finished fourth once, back at San Diego, 13 years ago.
“I’ve been around the block a few times. Not in supercross, I’m relatively new to supercross, I’ve only done a handful of 450 rounds. I just wanted to stay solid, and I didn’t want to do anything too silly. I got into second behind Hunter. He had a bit of a gap and I just wanted to stay solid and manage my race. Started thinking about halfway “Man this is pretty good, I’m in second!” Then I started thinking, “I better not mess this up now!”
Eli Tomac won the 450 race in Houston and Hunter Lawrence won the 250s. Haiden Deegan finished fourth in his professional supercross debut, and Jordon Smith grabbed his first podium in nearly four years. These are great races and great stories, but no one, no one was as happy in Houston as Anstie, one of the brightest personalities in the pits.
“I feel like an 18-year-old kid again,” said Anstie. “I’m bloody glad I did this, it’s been great fun.”
