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Aussies Racing Abroad September 2026 | With many Australians showcasing their skills abroad in a range of disciplines both on-track and off-road, our latest column focuses on how they’re faring battling it out with the best in their chosen classes….
Pic: Jack Miller FB
On-Track
Jack Miller – MotoGP
Jack Miller began his September by taking some encouraging steps forward at Misano, displaying improved speed and confidence throughout the weekend.
The Australian kicked things into gear by enjoying an intense battle with teammate Toprak Razgatlıoğlu in the Sprint, as a post-race penalty reshuffled the classification and left him 17th in the final results.
Pic: Jack Miller FB
“Difficult day today, but definitely better than yesterday. We made some headway with a lot of changes overnight, and then we made some more changes before qualifying and after qualifying. The bike was a little different again for the Sprint, and we‘re slowly getting there. We‘ll make another change tonight and try to chase that feeling a little bit more,” Miller reflected.
“We‘re trying to create the load we need and get the weight transfer working better under braking. We‘ve found a way to move the headstock back a little bit, which we haven‘t actually been able to do all year because we were touching the radiator. The boys have made some changes to allow us to do that, so hopefully it can help us find a bit more of what we‘re looking for.”
Hopes of building further into Sunday’s feature race were dashed almost immediately, however, when Miller crashed on just the second lap. This early retirement denied him the opportunity to convert the pace he had shown in warm-up into a meaningful outcome.
“Not a particularly long day for me! I got away to a decent start and made a few good moves on the first lap. I felt like I had good pace and wanted to make up as many positions as possible early, because once everyone gets into single file it becomes very difficult for us to overtake around here. I was fighting with Johann and Fabio, we were all braking very late and I was just a little wider and pushing a bit harder when the front gave up,” Miller lamented.
Pic: Jack Miller FB
Next stop on the MotoGP calendar was the Austrian GP, but Miller’s Saturday at the Red Bull Ring proved a challenging one, as efforts to unlock more performance through overnight setup adjustments failed to pay off. Instead of delivering the expected gains, the changes introduced fresh balance issues that hampered his consistency and comfort aboard his Prima Pramac Yamaha. Unable to find the rhythm he was searching for, Miller fought through a tough Sprint race on his way to 20th.
Sunday offered little relief for Miller, who again found himself battling a package that lacked the pace required to move forward through the field. Persistent setup concerns, coupled with tyre struggles, compromised his race from the outset and prevented him from mounting a legitimate challenge.
Crossing the line in 21st, the #43 capped off what was a difficult weekend, with the Austrian GP emerging as one of the team’s most demanding outings of the campaign.
“It‘s honestly a pretty frustrating one, and I‘m disappointed with how the race went. I was able to hang in there reasonably well in the first part of the race, but from around lap 13 or 14 the tyre performance really started to drop, and I struggled a lot with the rear,” Miller stated.
“It‘s particularly frustrating because we have experienced something similar earlier in the season, so we need to understand why this is happening and what we can do differently. There are things we need to look at from this weekend, and we‘ll go through the data carefully and try to make sure we learn from it.”
Senna Agius – Moto2
Senna Agius produced a standout qualifying performance at Misano, as he sensationally charged to his second pole position of the year. Despite losing one of his quickest laps to a track limits infringement, the Aussie dynamo responded in style with a 1:33.718 to claim P1.
Pic: IntactGP
“I’m really excited to start from pole position tomorrow, because we need to keep scoring points for the championship to stay in the race and keep the pressure on. Today gives us a lot of confidence, because we went into qualifying with a very special strategy, one that was different from usual, and it seems to be working. We need to learn from this and give it even more at the next race weekends,” Agius gleamed.
Agius’ chances of converting pole position into a quality result were rapidly ruined, as a first-corner incident ended his race within moments of the start. Caught up in a crash triggered when Angel Piqueras braked too late and collected both Agius and Daniel Holgado, he was left with nowhere to go, bringing his race to a premature conclusion. Thankfully, all involved escaped unharmed.
Agius then picked himself up and showed solid intent to begin his Austrian Grand Prix to end Friday’s running in 12th to position himself well for a promising qualifying performance. However, Saturday proved a frustrating affair, for he encountered grip conundrums from the moment he left pit lane before crashing during his opening flying lap in qualifying. Although the fall prevented him from challenging further up the order, the #81 escaped unhurt and remained optimistic ahead of race day, lining up 15th on the grid.
His GP ended in frustration, though, with him unable to translate his starting position into a points-scoring result, as disaster struck for the 21-year-old at around the halfway mark due to an electronic issue that halted his afternoon prematurely. The costly DNF saw Agius leave Spielberg empty-handed and slip to fifth in the Moto2 standings.
“It was a weekend where I felt particularly in good shape and was able to improve my performance. After a good start, I was on pace for the top eight, but then a technical problem arose in lap two. I try to stay as positive as ever, and my first instinct is always to never give up. So, I’m assuming that we’ll all move forward as a group now and understand what’s going on. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this bad luck lately. But I won’t let it get me down, and I’ll keep fighting to get back to the top,” concluded Agius.
Joel Kelso – Moto3
Joel Kelso carried his momentum into race day after impressing at Misano, finishing second on Friday before securing a place on the front row with a superb qualifying performance. He backed that up with another measured and competitive ride in the race, in a body of work where he demonstrated consistent pace to bring home seventh and round out the weekend positively.
Pic: Joel Kelso Racing
“Overall, Sunday wasn’t too bad. Of course, we wanted more, but we gave it 100% out there. We fought until the end and finished P7 in the group fighting for P4,” he explained.
“We’re just going to keep working and analysing how we can improve a little bit more. But overall, it’s been a really positive weekend. We’ll keep moving in this direction, find that little bit extra, and our time will come.”
Hitting Austria next, Kelso maximised his opportunities in qualifying by clinching an excellent seventh on the grid despite the circuit presenting a number of challenges for his package. The ideal starting position laid the foundation for what looked set to be an encouraging result on race day.
The Australian spent much of the contest locked in a fierce battle inside the group fighting for fourth, with him showcasing his competitive pace and racecraft. However, a mistake on the final lap proved decisive, dropping him to 11th and denying him the chance to cap off his event with what could have been one of his strongest finishes of the season.
Pic: Joel Kelso Racing
“We tried our best today. Unfortunately, on the last lap we made a small mistake, and that cost us the chance to fight for the top six. But it’s been a positive weekend, and we head to the flyaways with some momentum. We’ll keep pushing forward,” recalled Kelso.
Remy Gardner – World Superbike
Remy Gardner enjoyed a productive opening day at Magny Cours, where he showed promising pace despite having one of his quickest laps deleted for exceeding track limits. The 28-year-old altered his attention on race distance and long-run work across both sessions to ultimately end Friday 14th overall while gathering vital data ahead of the weekend’s key sessions.
Pic: Remy Gardner FB
Gardner proceeded to show tidy speed on the Saturday, but after having a potential top 10 qualifying lap cancelled by yellow flags and then being forced into retirement following early contact in race one, he was left with little reward for his efforts.
The experienced Aussie managed to salvage something from his Magny Cours, as he charged from 13th to eighth in the Superpole race before backing it up with a hard-fought 10th in race two to bank a valuable haul of championship points.
“Overall, it’s been a decent day, and we had some good battles, especially in the Sprint race. We were able to push hard this morning and recover five places, which also promoted us to eighth on the race two grid. We then tried to stay close to the pack, but despite having a good pace, we were missing a little something to stay with the riders ahead. Anyway, we bring home some valuable points and can look ahead to the next chapter with confidence,” admitted Gardner.
Gardner responded in the wake of a Friday spill to secure 11th in Superpole before producing a determined ride in race one at Cremona. He then made an excellent start to run inside the top 10 on the opening lap and fought hard throughout the contest to eventually take the chequered flag in 12th following a spirited display.
“Unfortunately, missing yesterday’s free practice two wasn’t ideal, but overall I think we’ve done a decent job. In Superpole, we all pushed hard, and the starting position was not too bad, although it wasn’t great either – definitely not the worst place to start. Then, in race one, I had a very good getaway, finding myself in a good position, and I tried to defend as much as I could to maintain my place. Unfortunately, I’m still feeling a bit sore from yesterday, so it wasn’t easy to push, but it was a decent result in the end. Let’s stay confident for tomorrow, as we have two more races to improve,” Gardner told the Yamaha website.
Pic: Remy Gardner FB
Sadly, his weekend at Cremona came to a disappointing end, with him ruled unfit to compete on Sunday after experiencing increased discomfort stemming from his FP2 crash. Further medical examinations revealed a fracture to the fifth metacarpal in his left hand, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the round.
“Well, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride today. Following my crash in FP2, I was feeling okay and ready to race, so I lined up for race one yesterday after also taking part in the Superpole session. Unfortunately, things got worse during the race, and I started to feel more pain in my left hand, which didn’t improve afterwards. I then underwent further assessment by the medical team, and this morning I was diagnosed with a fracture of the fifth metacarpal and declared unfit to race. I’m sorry about the situation, but now I need to fully focus on my recovery, as we’ll be back on track in two weeks. I’m confident I’ll be able to compete in Estoril, so let’s stay positive and see how the hand progresses. I’m looking forward to making a quick recovery and getting back on the bike,” Gardner expressed.
Oli Bayliss – World Supersport/British Supersport
Oli Bayliss marked his return to action at Assen in style, rejoining the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing Team after missing Cadwell Park and enjoying a round to remember at the Cathedral of Speed. Bayliss capped off his birthday celebrations in perfect fashion by claiming his second British Supersport victory to prevail in another fiercely contested race to continue his impressive crusade and leave the Dutch venue with maximum momentum.
Pic: Oli Bayliss FB
“I’m happy with that one, especially after yesterday’s Sprint race win too! It was a really good battle with a lot of fast guys. It’s always good to come out on top, especially here in Assen – I’ve always had good speed here but never really the luck, so I’m happy to finally overcome this place! Thanks to the team, all my sponsors and Triumph Motorcycles for this weekend,” Bayliss insisted.
Off-Track
Jett Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Jett Lawrence’s SuperMotocross campaign was cut short after Honda confirmed the superstar would miss the entire playoff series to undergo surgery on his troublesome right ankle. Despite managing the injury during the AMA Pro Motocross season and still winning four rounds en route to second in the standings, ongoing pain and a setback at Ironman prompted the decision to address the issue surgically, with Lawrence now focused on recovery and a full return to racing.
Pic: Honda Racing
“I’ve made the decision with my team to sit out the SMX series to get my ankle back to 100% for the longevity of my career. I suffered through the summer and did everything I could to win the outdoor championship, but my ankle hasn’t felt right since the start of the season, and it’s even worse now after Ironman. I want to do everything I can to get back to being me. The most important thing is that I get back to being pain-free as I work towards next year. I appreciate the patience of my team, family and fans as I do everything I can to make that happen,” asserted the 23-year-old.
Hunter Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Having wrapped up the AMA Pro Motocross title, Hunter Lawrence turned his attention to the season-ending SuperMotocross Championship. While the unique nature of the series has never been his favourite format, the Aussie flyer still showcased his trademark class and consistency.
Pic: Honda Racing
Although he was unable to claim an overall victory, Lawrence delivered many polished performances, as he finished third and second overall in the final two rounds after opening the series with a 15th. His admirable rebound ultimately secured him third in the SuperMotocross standings.
Kayden Minear – AMA Pro Motocross
Talented youngster Kayden Minear showed decent speed on his SuperMotocross playoff debut, blasting from 16th to eighth in moto one before a crash, and subsequent technical gremlins in moto two, limited him to 15th overall even though he was running as high as fourth earlier in the bout.
Pic: Kayden Minear FB
“Round one of the SMX Playoffs was an exciting one with very hard conditions after the skies opened,” said Minear. “In the first moto, I charged from the back and got into the top 10. In the second moto, I got off to a really good start and unfortunately went down on the first lap and got stuck under the bike. I got back up and going, and the bike unfortunately had a problem, and I couldn’t finish the race.”
Minear really breathed life into his rookie SMX campaign in Los Angeles by powering to fifth overall courtesy of a pair of spirited rides, with this result elevating him to fourth in the 250SMX standings heading into the finale.
Despite suffering a knee injury in a qualifying crash at the SMX finale in Ridgedale, Minear battled through the pain to finish 13th overall and grab 10th in the SMX standings, showing commendable determination to cap off a great season.
Jake Cannon – EMX250
Jake Cannon signed off his EMX250 term in impressive fashion at the Turkish finale by securing second overall with a pair of runner-up finishes. The young hotshot was one of the elite performers, matching the frontrunners and crossing the line second in both motos to end his season in superb fashion. His strong outing in Turkey reinforced his status as one of the category’s premier riders and ensured he finished the championship on a high note.
Pic: BUD Racing
“I’m really happy to finish the season like this, with two second-place finishes in the races. It’s my best result from these two years. Now it’s time to focus on the World Supercross Championship,” Cannon commented.
Read our previous Aussies Racing Abroad columns here…
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