Down in Australia, it's homecoming week for the Lawrence brothers as Jett and Hunter are back for the AUS-X Open at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne to celebrate their 2025 season, which included a 1-2 in the 450 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championship, a 1-2 in the SuperMotocross World Championship, and a second-straight win for Team Australia at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. One thing they won’t be celebrating is last weekend’s Paris Supercross, where the brothers had a rough go—especially Hunter, who crashed hard at one point.

On the other hand, it’s Malcolm Stewart who will be celebrating the Paris SX, as well as the best season of his whole career. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider became the King of Paris with a solid weekend, utilizing his strength in a long whoops section to become the 28th different rider to win the crown in this event, which dates back to 1984. Add this win to his first-ever 450 win in Monster Energy AMA Supercross back in February at his home race in Tampa, then his solid SMX season where he ended up ranked third going into the playoff rounds (though he did crash out there), and the release of his Stewart 27 documentary, as well as his new deal with FXR for riding gear and fishing apparel, and Mookie’s had quite a 2025.

Last weekend may have also been the best weekend of all for the KTM Group. Besides Malcolm’s win in Paris aboard his Husqvarna, there was the debut of Eli Tomac aboard a KTM at the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) race in Vancouver, where Eli delivered a solid win, taking two of three mains over WSX points leader Ken Roczen. Having recently lost Chase Sexton to Kawasaki and two-time 250SX East Champion Tom Vialle to Honda HRC MXGP in Europe, the two weekend wins were badly needed for the Austrian brands, even if they are considered off-season events.

Now it’s the Lawrence brothers’ turn to rebound, though they probably aren’t sweating the bad week in Paris too much. They were on standard CRF450R engines, not their Honda HRC Progressive race motors. Same goes for this weekend. Steve Matthes went down under for this race and next week’s WSX round, so let’s throw it to him first.

And our social media friend Josh Gagnon (@AlwaysBelieve331) has his annual countdown up and running; here are this week's entries, as Anaheim is now 50 days away. Look for Josh's page on Instagram and give him a follow...

Oi Oi Oi! (MATTHES)

Well, it's day one of my ten days in Australia, and so far, it's been great! Other than the locals getting mad at me for asking about Starbucks, we had a live PulpMX + JB & AC Show at the stadium with over 300 people attending. We stuck around for a meet-and-greet afterward, and man, Aussie people were so nice! The Lawrence brothers, some guy named Phil, and Vital MX's Lewis Phillips were all guests, and a good time was had by all. I briefly looked at the track, and it seems like it will be fun. I got here too late with plane issues to watch press day today, but I heard that Justin Brayton was great, Adam Cianciarulo thought he was going to die off the finish line, and Phil Nicoletti said the jumps are big. AC and JB are going to ride again tomorrow for inclusion in the TV show.

Have to thank Adam Bailey and the AUS-X crew for getting my wife and me down here; it's been a dream of mine to hit Australia before I shuffle off, and here I am! I don't think there's any country out there that I'd want to visit more that I haven't yet. The Aussie SX series has been deep this year; it seems like Dean Wilson (450) and Lux Turner (250) have been the class of the field, but now, of course, we throw the Lawrence brothers into the mix. In fact, Nicoletti was already complaining that his bonuses are top three from Yamaha, but for this race, they should start at third place and pay to fifth because of the Honda HRC Progressive guys!

I plan to head over to the Gold Coast for the WSX round next Saturday, and that should be some exciting times as well with Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Haiden Deegan all meeting up with the regular WSX crew one more time.

Here's James Lissimore's best from Vancouver WSX.

And we did a Blair/Matthes Show as I was in Paris and Blair went to Vancouver WSX below.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

This weekend is another off-season test for several of the SMX elite. A week after baguettes and escargot in Paris, the AUS-X event in Melbourne, Australia, comes calling. Featuring the brothers Lawrence and Cooper Webb (among many others), this event saw chaos reign in 2024. Hunter Lawrence grabbed the win, but both Jett and Webb found themselves taking soil samples. The Australia SX Championship coincides with this event, which means that riders like Dean Wilson will be hoping to gain big points amid additional SMX superstars mixed in. It's a big weekend for all involved and a staple of the modern off-season.

For Jett and Hunter, this is an opportunity to get back on track. Paris wasn't especially kind to them, as both hit the ground more often than they'd prefer. Jett seemed to have pace at times, but bad luck and uncharacteristic mistakes were also prevalent. Hunter was not immune from the chaos either, as he crashed in the first turn of the first race and later had a huge get-off that he was lucky to escape uninjured. For two riders who have had so much consistency and predictability, this was a test of their resolve. The question for me was two-fold: was this a side effect of being on production bikes versus their race equipment, and was this simply a bit of rust from taking necessary time off? This weekend will give us more evidence on both fronts.

For Cooper Webb, he was steady Eddie in Paris. He really didn't have anything outside of a narrow range on the high or low end. No crashes, no wins, no big moments. Just solid starts, solid pace, and solid results. Would he like more top-end speed to battle Malcolm and Jett? Sure. Was he also happy to not get caught up in the drama throughout the course of the six races? Also, yes. Regardless of what happens in any of these off-season races, we all know that Webb will be more than ready come January and the beginning of his quest for a fourth Monster Energy AMA Supercross title.

Ducati’s Sneaky Intro (Jason Weigandt)

Two different high-profile brands with massive street heritage have recently entered the motocross space, in Triumph and Ducati. Turns out they’ll race 450SX for the first time at the same time in 2026. That’s funny because they both took different routes to this point. For years, Triumph really tried to keep details secret on its program, with only hints for several years before the finished product was revealed. Then the brand focused exclusively on the 250 class for a bit, with a 450 bike only coming online in production form this year, and still not being raced by the factory until ‘26. Ducati, meanwhile, didn’t hold back much, quickly revealing a prototype bike and then racing it in plain sight in the Italian MX Nationals. Ducati doesn’t yet sell a 250 version of its bike, but again, the brand is already racing and developing one in plain sight in Italy. Conversely, Triumph produced a 250 first, but the 450 remained hidden for quite some time. In short, it feels like Triumph has used a measured, careful approach, while Ducati is just throwing all the news out there. Until this week with the Ducati team launch. That one didn't contain much info.

We now have official word that the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati team for 2026 will feature Justin Barcia and Dylan Ferrandis. We got headshots of the two riders wearing team shirts, but that’s it. No photos of bikes, no videos, no official “team intro” event. You’d expect this Ducati team to launch with a bang, but that will have to wait. We hear that an event will happen on January 6, a few days before Anaheim 1, and Troy Lee and his crew are planning a big, splashy intro like only they can. Until then, don’t expect to see much from this new squad. (Ferrandis posted a photo of him on the bike on his social media, but then it was quickly pulled down.)

Also, Matthes is reporting that Barcia has gone down with a broken collarbone, so that will probably ensure you don’t see any videos of him riding over the next few weeks!

While we won’t be seeing or hearing the Ducati supercross bikes until January, one interesting thing to note is the involvement of Team Manager Josh Wisenor and Rick “Ziggy” Zielfelder of Factory Connection. Ziggy is a legend and one of the main men behind the old GEICO Honda team and much, much more. Wisenor was the Team Manager for that team, and both have been deeply involved with the Phoenix Honda team (with Ferrandis) the last few years. Antonio Cairoli has spoken very, very highly of working with Ziggy in developing this bike. From what I’ve heard, Ziggy being involved has really helped set the bike’s suspension on the right path for supercross and cut some of the time needed to make a competitive machine in a short time. Cole Seely also did some supercross riding on the bike over the summer to set it up a bit for Ferrandis and Barcia. Ducati is brand-new to the supercross space, but we’ll see how ready they can be at Anaheim. Remember, Barcia has already made some history at an opener with GasGas. In 2021 in Houston, he won round one, which was the first race GasGas ever competed in. Could he somehow, someway do that again? I'm going to say this is a long shot since Ducati is brand-new to supercross and Barcia's old GasGas was actually a KTM, with years of development already on it.

Meanwhile, we hear Triumph's 450 entry is going to be delayed slightly because Jordon Smith underwent surgery to fix his shoulder injury from the SMX finale, but the bike will be out there on track soon enough. Won't be long until Triumph and Ducati are actually out there in the 450 field of supercross!

Vet Masters Weekend (Keefer)

Like we mentioned in last week's RH, we were in Georgia for Matt Walker's Vet Masters race at Echeconnee MX. With over 500 entries, the weekend was full of fun with a well-run program, great track, and for the lucky few that won, awesome trophies were awarded. Green jackets (ala The Masters) were slid on to each winning rider on the podium to celebrate each class win. With Vintage, Two-Stroke, Warrior, Women, and even 70-year-old classes, the Vet Masters really encompassed what racing is all about. I managed to win one class and even got a photo with THE Big Bore Barry. Old journeyman pro racers like Jeff Gibson, ClubMX owner Brandon Haas, Michael Willard, Derrick Fisher, John Grewe, Luke Vonlinger, and even FMIP's own Randy Richardson attended the inaugural event. If you haven't been to Echeconnee before, you're missing out. The sand track gets rough and is challenging, yet safe, for all skill types. If you're looking to go to a bucket list-type Vet race, the Vet Masters will be happening again around the same time next year, and you will not want to miss it. Head to Keeferinctesting.com on Monday morning to listen to the RMATVMC Keefer Tested Podcast where we break down the whole weekend, and if you weren't there, it will feel like you were.

The GOAT is in Another HOF (DC)

Earlier this week, Ricky Carmichael was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, which has honored Florida's finest and most accomplished sportsmen and women for more than 60 years. Already an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer as well as a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Havana, Florida-born Carmichael is the first SMX athlete to be inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. We could run through all of his records and titles and all of the reasons why this is a well-deserved honor, but we will simplify it with two stats from Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship: 150 wins and 15 major titles.

Ricky is in with some very good company. Among the Florida HOF members are NBA legends like Artis Gilmore and Vince Carter (who has a statue at the Daytona high school just east of the Daytona International Speedway), golfer Paul Azinger, the great left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton, seventies tennis superstar Chris Evert, the boxer Roy Jones Jr., NFL all-stars like Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith, and the entire 1972 Miami Dolphins football team—the one that went undefeated and won the Super Bowl.

Ricky is the second Carmichael to go into the hall, but he's not related to the first: Harold Carmichael (Class of 2004) was a legendary wide receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles back in the 1970s and early '80s. He was also 6' 8" tall, so he's definitely the tallest Carmichael in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame!

Congratulations to the GOAT on this well-deserved honor!

And speaking of Ricky Carmichael, he is the latest guest to sit down with Ben Giese and his RIDE BYND one-on-one podcast series. It's a great watch/listen for this coming weekend:

This Week's Winners (DC)

Despite being a busy off-season weekend as far as racing goes, there wasn't much in the way of win ads in this week's Cycle News. However, there was a somewhat historic one as KTM celebrated their first race together with Eli Tomac, which resulted in a win at the second round of WSX in Vancouver, where Eli rode as a wild card. There was also the Dirty 100 MotoPlayground Race known as The Clash that took place at the Georgia Practice Facility (GPF), with Dunlop-supported wins by some of their featured prospects, including Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Caden Dudney, amateur Gavyn Wlzien, and AMA 65cc National Champion Raycin Kyler.

While not really a win ad, there was a spread featuring 250SX West and Pro Motocross Champion Haiden Deegan for his new signature POD knee braces.

Kyler Continues to Krush It (Mitch Kendra)

And speaking of Kyler, she moved up to the 85cc class now and is continuing her winning ways! Kyler's account (which is ran by her parents) posted:

Hey, Watch It!

Fastest KTM Rider Challenge: Carson vs Mani vs Chucky (4 Bikes, 1 Winner) | KTM

Jorge Prado's Journey back to KTM is the theme of his latest video:

The Lawrence brothers did not have the best weekend in Paris but they did get to work on their French with help from Tom Journet in their This is Lawrence video:

Haiden Deegan gets three new tracks to ride at The Farm and more time on the 450:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week 

"Ja'Marr Chase suspension: Bengals star fined $500K by NFL for spitting on Steelers' Jalen Ramsey" - CBS Sports

"Solid Spinzone: Ja'Marr Chase Is Appealing His Suspension For Spitting On Jalen Ramsey, Arguing 'I Would Have Spit On His Face, Not His Jersey'"—Barstool Sports

"Pennsylvania is looking to legalize flying cars with new legislation"—Supercar Blondie

“'I was like, I'm probably going to get eaten by a bear' | Bear chases boy into Family Dollar”—WGAL

“Eagle drops cat through windshield along North Carolina highway”—Google Mail

Random Notes

We will close out this week with this note from Steve Matthes on a friend and former rider he worked with back in the day…

Birdie (Matthes)

Sad news to report as Ryan Huffman, Danny Ulven, and others hit me up to let me know that former privateer Ty Birdwell passed away on Wednesday. Not sure of the details, but Birdwell was a talented rider from the PNW who I wrenched for in 1997 and part of 1998. I became good friends with Ty, as one often did back in the box van days, and he and his family took me in whenever I was back in Oregon. Ty had a couple of national numbers as well, #88 and #89. I lived with him in SoCal in the off-season, and he taught me a lot about being on the pro circuit. I wouldn't be where I am today without his help in those early years, that's for sure.

I caught up with Ty years ago to do a podcast about his career and our time together. Check out that podcast here.

RIP Birdie, you were a really good dude. Sorry about getting all that leftover wax on the box van that one time.