We have Aussies scattered globally, making us proud fans from OZ. Ed has us covered with his monthly Aussies Racing Abroad International race news for Aussies...
With many Aussies showcasing their skills abroad in a range of disciplines on-track, our latest column focuses on how they’re faring battling it out, this month we have Miller, Agius, Kelso, Roulstone, Gardner, Bayliss, Power, Lawrence, Cannon and Owens.
On-Track
Jack Miller – MotoGP
Jack Miller began his June with a determined showing at the Aragon round. Despite receiving a long-lap penalty following a second-lap incident with Joan Mir, he fought hard to secure 13th in the Sprint race. Then, in Sunday’s main event, the Australian got off to a strong start, jumping from 14th to 10th on the opening lap. However, as the race wore on, tyre degradation took its toll, and he eventually crossed the line in 14th.
“Not the day we wanted, but we’ll take it. At least we finished with a couple of points. At the beginning I felt I had a good speed, after a few laps I also tried to attack Fabio at turn 12, but it was hard to stop, went a little wide, and from that moment my pace dropped. And it was really difficult to get back to the rhythm. I could see the issues he was having, very similar to mine, and when he lost the bike at turn one, I almost did the same. It was not an easy weekend for us, but that is how it goes sometimes,” he reflected.
Read previous Aussie’s Abroad here...
Venturing to Mugello next, Jack Miller embarked on an early charge from 13th to 10th in the Sprint, but his difficulties with the hard tyre saw him slip back to 16th in the punishing heat. Hoping for a stronger result on Sunday, Miller’s exertions were cut short when a clutch issue forced him to retire on lap 10, just when he was hoping to bag some valuable points.
“Right from the start, the clutch basically burnt itself out as soon as I let it go – even though my launch was good. For the first three laps, it was slipping badly. I was short-shifting everywhere, trying to bring it back to life. It recovered somewhat, but every time I hit a bump, it felt like a kick and threw me wide. I got passed by everyone, and after contact with someone on the first lap, I also lost a wing, which had me wheeling all over the place. Then we had a fuel issue that made the bike even more aggressive. At that point, it was basically unrideable. I tried to keep going, but in the end, I had to retire. It was a tough one, but we‘ll reset and look ahead,” lamented Miller.
Senna Agius – Moto2
Although Senna Agius was left frustrated with 13th in qualifying at Aragon, he produced an admirable comeback in the race, powering through the pack to log an impressive fourth. Showing tremendous maturity and discipline, Agius managed his pace well despite battling tyre issues, turning a challenging start into one of his finest performances of the campaign.
An unsatisfactory qualifying at Mugello saw Senna Agius lose his best lap to a yellow flag, leaving him further down the grid than hoped. Starting 17th, he initially fell back amid the early chaos but rebounded from this adversity by putting in a spirited performance. Surging through the field with a host of commanding overtakes and advancing a hefty ten positions, there was much to like about his efforts in Mugello.
“My race began with a really bad start, and then I was pushed wide by another rider. So, I dropped back to P23 or P24 on the first lap. Then I just tried to make up as many positions as possible until the end. My pace wasn’t bad, but the position doesn’t reflect the step we made today. We have to work on qualifying, that was the big problem this weekend, and it cost us a better result today. I can be a little bit satisfied with the pace at Mugello, but we will start again at Assen, where we will try to get back to a normal position,” Agius told the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP squad’s website.
Sitting sixth in the Moto2 standings after nine rounds, he’ll be eager for an improved display at the historic Assen.
Joel Kelso – Moto3
Joel Kelso kicked off June with another commendable body of work at Aragon, where he battled to find his rhythm. Despite that, he earned a hard-fought seventh to underline his resilience. Given his fierce approach and desire to come out swinging, seeing how he fared at Mugello would be fascinating.
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“Difficult weekend for us, we never really found our flow. Seventh is never a result I’m happy with, but this weekend we did a good recovery job. Already looking ahead to Mugello and how I can be best prepared to fight for that win! Let’s keep moving,” he declared.
Despite dealing with a tricky headwind in qualifying at Mugello, the Australian ace managed a solid ninth on the grid to make the most of a difficult session. On race day, he was in the mix early on, but a run-in with Guido Pini disrupted his momentum, limiting his chances of pushing further up the order. Ninth was therefore the best he could salvage under the circumstances.
Jacob Roulstone – Moto3
Jacob Roulstone began his Aragon in style with a wonderful sixth in qualifying, setting himself up for a productive race. Unfortunately, his encouraging run was cut short by a technical issue beyond his control, forcing him to retire on lap five while running near the front.
Heading to Mugello for the subsequent stop on the calendar, his speed and skill were clear for all to see, with him marauding to fifth in qualifying. Although he led for the first time in a Moto3 race, luck wasn’t on his side, for he had to avoid two crashes around him, which dropped him way back. To his credit, he valiantly kept pushing to clinch a respectable 13th. He’ll extract the positives and hope to carry his momentum into Assen next weekend.
“To be honest, I think I would have more luck winning the lottery than in that race! I got caught up with two incidents, which I had to avoid, so I lost a lot of positions. I am very disappointed, of course, because I had once again taken a good start, and I was up there with the front group in the first laps. Anyway, we have a lot of positives to take away from this weekend – the pace has been there and the confidence is back, so I just need to keep trying. Luckily, we already have another round coming next week in Assen, so I am just already focused on that one, and hopefully we can finally get a strong finish,” stated a dejected Roulstone.
Remy Gardner – World Superbike
While Remy Gardner experienced a turbulent day on Friday at Misano, with two spills scuppering his progress, it was notable how he pulled it all together to bank fifth. Despite a strong qualifying to grab sixth, Gardner annoyingly crashed out of race one while showing excellent speed, with grip issues serving as the catalyst for his misstep. The Australian was keen to make amends and stamp his mark in the Superpole race but failed to translate his pace into a podium, with him ultimately settling for P8.
“Unfortunately the feeling was not too great, but we were still able to battle in the sprint race, trying our best to secure a good result and a decent starting grid position for race two. At the end, we managed to finish eighth, which wasn’t great, but not too bad either. We then tried to improve the performance in the afternoon, but the feeling was not amazing overall, to be honest. It was enough to try to fight with those around, but unfortunately I was hit by another rider, and I couldn’t do anything, and the race was over. Not the way I wanted to finish the weekend, but that’s racing. Let’s try to move on and stay positive for the next rounds,” asserted Gardner.
Oli Bayliss – World Supersport
Oli Bayliss endured a rough opening to round six at Misano, sliding from P12 to P18 in race one, as he toiled with the bike throughout the bout, before crossing the line 19th. Although improvement was evident in race two, as he moved from P13 to 11th, a red flag halted his progress to end the race early.
“A step in the right direction today. Made good progress but didn’t have the pace to go in the first couple of laps. After that we kept a nice pace until the red flag,” insisted Bayliss.
His racing for June wasn’t done there, for Bayliss made an impressive BSB debut at Snetterton, enjoying a fantastic weekend and marking the occasion nicely by securing second in the second race aboard the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing steed in place of the injured Max Wadsworth.
“Really happy with my weekend here in Snetterton for the BSB Championship. First of all, I need to thank Dave and the whole Macadam Triumph Factory team for getting me here in the first place and for getting these results, which is a great confidence boost. We finished fourth yesterday and second in the last race, so we’re really happy with that, especially with Luke getting the win too. I had a really great weekend, and we’ll see what happens in the future. Big thank you to the team and all my sponsors,” he commented.
Luke Power – World Supersport
Luke Power experienced a forgettable Misano, with a fall in Friday’s free practice leaving him 28th. He then proceeded to qualify 30th following a crash. Even though he retired in the first race, there was much to like about his race two, where he propelled himself to 18th before a crash cut his race short on lap nine.
“Overall, it was a disappointing weekend. I was quite confident and hopeful of a good result coming into Misano, but sometimes you get weekends like we had. A couple of technical problems and a couple of crashes were not ideal, but in the second race we found a bit of pace and a bit of confidence, which we will take. We had a good round in Phillip Island and a decent round in Most where we showed some speed, so we need to keep the momentum going as we head to Donington. I am looking forward to a smooth weekend in the UK, where we can build from FP1 and everything comes together, and we can show our potential. I am not happy with Misano, but I am motivated for the rest of the season,” explained Power.
Off-Track
Jett Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Jett Lawrence has been unstoppable in the first four rounds of the 2025 AMA Pro Motocross season on his way to reigning supreme to win the overall at each event. In what’s been a phenomenal return from his nasty ACL injury that sidelined him during AMA Supercross, the outrageously talented Aussie has looked a cut above his adversaries, consistently outpacing the field and holding the edge. Firmly established as the title favourite, watch for more as the series resumes at Southwick this weekend.
Here’s what he had to say about his latest victory at High Point: “Another win in the books, but I really had to work for this one! The first moto was decent – I made a few mistakes but was able to capitalise. Then in the second one, it started pouring out of nowhere, and the track soaked up every bit of water – it got slippery really fast. I didn’t get the best start, but I managed to fight through and finished third for the overall win. I’m super-pumped on that, and now I’m looking forward to the break.”
Hunter Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Hunter Lawrence has opened his Pro Motocross crusade with solid 3-5-5-2 results, demonstrating his consistency, racecraft and all-round skills. Returning from a shoulder injury, the elder Lawrence brother is steadily gaining form and confidence. With each round, he’s edging closer to the front and is expected to be a serious contender for wins in the coming weeks.
Having been just one point short of his first 450 overall outdoors win, all eyes will be on the sands of Southwick to see if he can triumph there.
“High Point was a good day – another step forward and definitely better than Thunder Valley. We actually had the overall in our hands, but Jett made his way through a few more guys, and we lost it by just one point – so a little bittersweet, but still a lot of positives to take away. I’m happy heading into the break, and we’ll keep on working,” said the #96 following the recent round.
Jake Cannon – EMX250
Jake Cannon registered his maiden podium finish in the fiercely competitive EMX250 with a brilliant performance in Great Britain. Setting the tone with some handy jumps of the gate, Cannon went 3-3 to claim third overall at the iconic Matterley Basin circuit. It was a breakthrough result for the young Australian, who’s mixed the highs with the lows this crusade.
“I’m very happy with how everything went all day. It started well with P4 in free practice, then sixth in timed practice to give me a good gate pick for the races. That is what has been missing; it’s been my anchor. I took a top-five start, rode to the conditions and got through to second behind my teammate. I had a really nice battle with Reisulis; unfortunately he got me near the end. I always knew I could do it, but it was all in my head. Anyway, it was a nice birthday present for the boss to put us both on the podium today,” recalled Cannon.
Liam Owens – EMX250
June has been a standout month for Liam Owens, who’s rewarded his efforts with quality results. On top of making his MX2 World Championship debut, he crucially delivered a superb fifth overall in EMX250 Latvia, which he backed up by claiming a terrific seventh overall at Matterley Basin in the UK. With momentum building, Owens is clearly heading in a promising direction, as he keeps illustrating his undeniable talent on his Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna machine.
“So yeah, this weekend was nothing to jump and skip about, but it was also not horrible. Riding and speed were there; starts were not, but I did love the jumps. Race one: P7, I came from 16th to 7th. Race two: P7, started just outside the top 10, and my speed was good, but I didn’t make passes happen and ran out of tear-offs. Disappointed in myself, and I will be looking to bounce further up the ladder in the coming rounds,” shared Owens.
“We have a three-week break from racing now after 11 weekends in a row of racing. We will take a breather and then keep on keeping on. Thanks to the whole team for pushing to be their best selves, and see you in Finland.”
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