One other piece of unfortunate news this week was the fact that the ClubMX team has lost its title sponsor, Muc-Off, due to a loss of budget. Team owner Brandon Haas posted the news in a social media video that explains the situation and that the team will carry on while also looking for a new title sponsor. In a classy move, Brandon thanked Muc-Off for the support over the years, rather than go all scorched earth on this unexpected situation, as you can watch here:

This is the weekend of that big clash for Australian motorcycling that we've mentioned before. The final round of the national series and the third round of FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) are both running on top of each other. The AUSX series is vital for the continued growth of supercross and motocross in Australia, but WSX is bringing in hired guns Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, Jason Anderson, Haiden Deegan, and more. AUSX will run in Adelaide, while WSX is racing on the Gold Coast, about 1,000 miles away. To have two of the biggest events on the Australian calendar at the same time doesn't make a lot of sense. It's one thing when the Paris SX is racing on the same weekend as the Vancouver WSX, but they are literally continents apart. The whole conflict has put Motorcycling Australia (MA) in a precarious position, as the federation had to give their blessing to both.

It's hard to be in two places—for two different races—at the same time. But the calendar is obviously limited. It's summertime in Australia, so that probably affects stadium availability. And getting top-name riders to travel to the far side of the world from the U.S. means running from mid-October to mid-December, avoiding the whole SMX schedule here that runs until the end of September. However, moving forward, Tom Burwell, the head of SX Global, says that WSX will likely be starting in August next year, which will put that series in direct competition for talent and attention with the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, which is locked in from late May to late August, and the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) over in Europe. Sure, there are riders like Ken Roczen and Dean Wilson who do not compete in the U.S. motocross series, but the likes of Tomac, Webb, and Deegan will be racing here at home. Steve Matthes is there in Gold Coast, and maybe he can add some context on how it all shakes out next week when he returns.

Meanwhile, down in Florida, the 54th Annual THOR Mini O's continue, with the motocross segment of the event drawing to a close tomorrow. If it's still daylight as you're reading this, pop over to RacerTV.com, and Friday's motos will be winding down. You can watch it live right now, right here:

The Mini O's event dates back to 1972 and have grown into the single biggest and longest motocross event of all, with somewhere around 7,000 entries, lasting from last Saturday's SX practice until tomorrow's MX conclusion. There are not actually 7,000 individual riders, as each participant can enter three or four classes in each discipline. They run from practically dusk until dawn to get all of the motos in. Gatorback Cycle Park has been the longtime host of the event, and riders and their families pack the place for nearly a dozen days. It's come a long way from the event that started out at the old Jacksonville Speedway and began with three disciplines: motocross, flat track, and hare scrambles. Jeff Ward traveled with his parents from California to Florida for that first event, which was sanctioned by the old NMA (National Minicycle Association). Ward was just 10 years old at the time, but his name was already on the motocross map due to his cameo appearance riding a wheelie in the film On Any Sunday.

Now the Mini O's are pretty much mandatory for every top prospect in the sport, as all of the amateur support teams are there. It's also an American motocross tradition, with the holiday tie-in of Thanksgiving adding depth to the event, just as July Fourth does for RedBud.

I've been trying to listen and watch throughout the week, and I feel like I could recite the sponsor list of many of the top kids. The race offers a glimpse of what we'll be seeing next year, so it's pretty much both the last big amateur race of the year as well as the first of a new season. It's also usually where the fast kids make their debuts on new teams or on bigger motorcycles as they get older and progress. For instance, Triumph got its first-ever Mini O's win with their new amateur standout Deacon Denno. He beat new Kawasaki Team Green rider Kade Johnson in the 250 A SX final, continuing his hot streak that started with two titles at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's Ranch back in early August, riding 250 B and Schoolboy 2 on KTMs. The very fast Dutch girl Lotte Van Drunen, a two-time WMX World Champion, is also there. She was supposed to compete last year but ended up getting injured while preparing for the race in Georgia. It was cool watching her battle with the girls from WMX here in the United States of America, though #1 rider Lachlan Turner was absent from the track due to a back injury. And Raycin Kyler, the first girl to win an AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship against the boys, is right in there battling for podiums in the 85cc classes.

There are too many fast kids at the Mini O's who are on their way to a professional career to list here, but we did a feature in the souvenir yearbook we produced for the event about some of the current professionals that have Mini O's results on their resume that you can check out here.

Also, we teamed up with Yamaha to produce a coloring book insert to give the kids something to do between motos. If you’ve got moto kids in your household, you can print these out and give them something fun to color.

Racer X Mini O’s Coloring Book Pages

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 under 45 days away. Look for Josh's page on Instagram and give him a follow...

Here’s Weege with more on the situation down under…

Why Two in Australia? (Jason Weigandt)

So, we're talking quite a bit here about the double dip in Australia this weekend, the Webb/Tomac/Deegan/Roczen field, and more in WSX while the Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship wraps up in the same country. That's two big events: one with a list of superstar big hitters and another crowning Australia's actual supercross champion, run in conjunction with one of Australia's biggest races, the Australia Supercar Championship finale. Is it good for two races to run at the same time? It seems like it's not. MotoOnline (an Australian media source) did a great job wrapping this all up, and we sourced them in this story I wrote on Wednesday. You can also watch this video recap of the whole situation that I put together. There's a funny story in between all of this. The Australian Series has a crown jewel race in the AUS-X Open, which took place last weekend. Deegan almost raced that event instead of WSX this weekend. He was darned close!

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

This holiday weekend has two focal points globally. On the amateur scene, the Mini O’s have been raging all week, as DC mentioned. Based in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida, this weeklong event is a staple among amateur elites. It’s also one of the only events that features multiple disciplines throughout the week, challenging riders to adapt mid-week to stay atop the field.

On the pro side, there are two big events, both in Australia, as mentioned. The final round of the Australian SX series fires off in Adelaide while the WSX crew will rendezvous on the Gold Coast. For the domestic series, Dean Wilson is in a good position to win another crown. He’s been the class of the field this year, and while he needs to close the deal, it feels a bit inevitable for the 15.

The WSX race is going to be a bit more interesting, I believe. Haiden Deegan makes his second appearance on the 450 and will want to show he’s improved since Argentina. If Instagram is any evidence, he looks to have taken a step in confidence and pace. He will have his hands full with the likes of Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, and his own teammate, Cooper Webb. This will be a real test (weather permitting) as to whether Haiden is ready to make the jump to 450SX at Anaheim or if he wants to bide his time for a later SMX debut. In any case, all eyes will be down under as the 2026 storylines continue to take shape.

Happy Thanksgiving at Home (Keefer)

I am actually thankful that I get to be home this year for Thanksgiving. The last two years, I have been in Spain testing, but this year I get to be home with the family and enjoy some food like most of you will be doing. I am looking forward to watching Eli Tomac square up against others like Cooper Webb this weekend in Oz, and who could forget Deegan and too! I feel like he should be better than when we saw him last, so maybe he can get a start this weekend and cause a ruckus with Tomac? Some of these off-season races have been great to watch, even though it's a little tricky to do so at times. I tweeted out the other day how people need to relax on Tomac after his Vancouver win. This was not meant as a dig towards Tomac at all, but more of a, "Hey, let's relax a bit on crowning riders before A1…" I know it's the off-season, and with so many different podcasts and shows out there, that speculation is all part of the game. What I am trying to say is that if Tomac goes into A1 and wins, it won’t surprise any of us. If he comes into A1 and gets a fifth or a sixth, some of these media types will think he's washed up or it's the KTM. Sometimes it's NONE of that! Sometimes, just sometimes, riders need more time to get used to a machine and its quirks under race conditions—and with everyone there together, I would add. Vancouver showed us promise that things are going in the right direction for #3. Tomac, as well as KTM, are going to have to chew off a big bite to get in front of the likes of the Lawrences, Chase Sexton, and even his old teammates Webb and Deegan. But this weekend will give us another peek at how #3's off-season training/testing is going. Regardless, if Tomac wins or gets a third this weekend, let's all just remember this is an off-season race, just like the Paris SX, just like AUS-X Open, just like Vancouver. Not A1.

Peace and Love... -KK

2026 MXGP Calendar (DC)

The 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) calendar has been updated with a new date and venue for the opening round. The MXGP of Argentina will take place on March 7-8 at the new circuit in Bariloche, which is a lakeside track in the Patagonia region. Additionally, the MXGP of Great Britain is returning to the Foxhill circuit, which was the site of the 1998 Motocross of Nations. Foxhill hosts the annual Vet Motocross des Nations but hasn’t been on the GP calendar since 2000, when James Dobb won the 125 GP. There are still a couple of TBAs on the calendar, but here’s how it looks 90 percent complete:

2026 Racer X Calendar (DC)

Around this time every year, we pull together the following year's Racer X calendar for our readers. It's a gift that comes with every paid subscription to the magazine during the promotional window. We always try to come up with a cool theme, whether it's 12 months of some of our favorite opening spreads from magazine features, Dream On-style pictures of epic riding spots, or a gallery of riders that correspond with the month of the year (like January is the first month, so #1s could include Cooper Webb, Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan, etc., and then #2 could be Ryan Villopoto, Jeff Stanton, Webb again, and so on).

For this year, we thought we would ask 12 photographers to send us their favorite photos from 2025, and landing on the cover was the cool moment at RedBud when Jo Shimoda and Jalek Swoll almost collided coming out of the first turn, which was a photo from Align Media and the choice of our editors.

Earlier this week, my friend and contributing photographer Dave Zielinski spotted a promo for the calendar and sent a short email with a photo attached of practically the exact same moment from RedBud, with the note "Close to making the 26 calendar." Damn close!

This Week's Winners (DC)

Not a lot of racing last weekend, at least not within the SMX ranks. The Lawrence brothers were back home down under for the AUS-X Open, and as expected, Jett came away the winner—his first-ever win in Australia as a professional. But Honda did not celebrate with a win ad, as they had plenty going on in off-road, including the SLR Honda Monster Energy team's big victory in the 58th Annual Baja 1000. The trio of David Kamo, Carter Klein, and Taylor Lynn took the overall win and were celebrated not only by Honda but also by Maxima, Nitro Mousse, and Pro Filter. However, this week's Cycle News cover went to Johnny Walker, who clinched the AMA EnduroCross Championship for 2025 with a dominant win in Everett, Washington. This marked the first off-road title in AMA racing for Triumph Factory Racing. And just a couple of days later, Deacon Denno would give Triumph their first win ever in the 54-year history of the THOR Mini O's. Also, although he did not win the Paris SX, Fly Racing ran a shot of Cooper Webb wearing his #1 for the first time in their gear as they rolled out their 2026 line. Webb is the first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion that Fly has ever had.

Hey, Watch It!

Weege caught up with Jorge Prado for an update on his switch back to Red Bull KTM:

Carson Brown: I'm Finding the Best Backyard Moto Tracks Ever!

The Deegans are down under for WSX on the Gold Coast:

Matt Burkeen is doing his thing at the Mini O’s, and he spotted Triumph Factory rider Mikkel Haarup racing in the Pro Sport class with the kids to get some off-season gate drops:

Dean Wilson racing the Lawrence brothers at the AUSX Open:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week 

"Wool of gay sheep passes woke test for New York fashion debut"—Telegraph UK

“Car towed twice in 15 days before anyone noticed a dead body in the back seat”—ksdk.com

"AI-generated Christmas mural in London blasted as a ‘Lovecraftian horror’ removed after backlash"—The Independent

"76ers guard Tyrese Maxey takes his handles to the National Dog Show"—Yahoo Sports

Random Notes

Here's an early gift idea for the adventure rider in your life: Olivier de Vaulx new coffee table book Adventure Riding in Canada & Alaska. De Vaulx is a French journalist and photographer who moved to America several years ago to cover SMX. He has since ventured more into the off-road and adventure riding well (just like our man Simon Cudby).  His first book was called Adventure Riding in the American West, a stunning collection of photos for the back country of the southwestern United States. For this second book, he headed north and west to gather a stunning collection of photos of the things he saw along the way. The book costs $55 ($45 for pre-orders) and is available on his website: www.devaulxphotography.com

This time around Olivier decided to include more wildlife photos. “Carrying a camera with a long-range telephoto on a motorcycle was challenging, but I could capture every detail of the wild animals,” he explains. Black bear,  grizzly, bald eagle, lynx, beaver, moose, caribou, etc., all the emblematic species of North America, are proudly featured.