The 2026 Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship, presented by Monster Energy, has kicked off in spectacular fashion at Townsville, with Quad Lock Honda’s Christian Craig and Honda Racing’s Brodie Connolly taking the opening-round victories in SX1 and SX2 respectively.

A crowd of 16,095 passionate supercross fans packed into the Townsville stadium for the season opener, which followed Friday’s AUSX Street Party in the heart of the city. The street celebration included a Holeshot Challenge featuring a number of riders and supercross personalities, including Australian legend Chad Reed, building plenty of anticipation ahead of Saturday night’s racing.

Clear skies and warm Queensland conditions greeted riders for the opening round, with Craig setting the pace in SX1 qualifying while MXRP Yamaha’s Max Anstie topped the SX2 timesheets.

The heat races provided an early indication of the pace to come, with Stark Factory Racing’s Michael Hicks controlling SX2 Heat 1 from start to finish. Hicks held off a late challenge from Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha’s Lux Turner to take the opening heat win.

SX2 Heat 2 went right down to the wire, with Connolly edging Anstie by just 0.110 seconds at the chequered flag. In SX1, KTM Racing Team’s Luke Clout made his intentions clear in Heat 1, charging to a 4.859-second victory over Hayden Mellross of Wood Motorsport. Craig then backed up his qualifying performance by comfortably winning SX1 Heat 2.

Clout Tops Superpole
The top three finishers from each SX1 heat progressed to the Superpole session, providing one of the most intense moments of the evening.

The single-lap shootout gave riders just one opportunity to put together a perfect lap around Townsville’s technical circuit, with Clout emerging fastest. The KTM rider stopped the clock at 46.649 seconds to claim Superpole honours.

The SX2 finals then delivered plenty of drama, with crashes and incidents playing a significant role in the final results. Connolly survived a chaotic opening final to take the victory despite being involved in a crash himself, while Anstie, Turner and Cameron McAdoo were also caught up in incidents that affected their respective results.

Final 2 was equally dramatic, with Anstie eventually taking the win ahead of Turner and Connolly. The combination of a win and third place gave Connolly a 1-3 scorecard and the overall SX2 victory.

Turner finished runner-up overall with 5-2 results, while Hicks initially appeared to have secured third overall before a post-race penalty dropped him into third. Noah Ferguson finished fourth overall, with McAdoo completing the top five.

Craig Perfect in SX1
Craig proved to be the dominant rider in the premier SX1 category, establishing himself at the front early in Final 1 before going on to a convincing victory.

Cedric Soubeyras of Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki finished second, with Stark Factory Racing’s Jorge Zaragoza completing the podium. Craig repeated the performance in Final 2, controlling the race to secure a perfect 1-1 scorecard and the overall round victory.

Soubeyras backed up his opening second place with third in Final 2 to finish second overall on 2-3 results, while Clout recovered from his fourth-place finish in Final 1 to finish second in the final, giving him third overall on a 4-2 scorecard. Zaragoza and Mellross completed the overall SX1 top five.

Nunn Wins SMX Next
The SMX Next Australia category also provided a glimpse at the next generation of Australian supercross talent, with Yamaha-mounted Jack Nunn taking victory in the single Final.

Nunn held off Monster Energy WBR Yamaha rider Jack Deveson, while Honda-mounted Max Compton completed the podium. The SMX Next field provided plenty of evidence of the depth of emerging talent coming through Australian supercross, with the young riders given the opportunity to compete in front of a major stadium crowd as part of the AUSX championship program.

Auckland Next
The AUSX championship now heads across the Tasman for Round 2, with North Harbour Stadium in Auckland hosting the championship on October 31.

The Auckland round will have additional international appeal, with Monster Energy Supercross champions Ken Roczen and Cole Davies set to attend, adding another major attraction to an already highly anticipated night of racing.

Following Auckland, the championship returns to Australia for rounds at Geelong, Perth and Newcastle, with the season culminating in the Newcastle Grand Final.

2026 Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship

Round 2 – Auckland, NZ North Harbour Stadium – October 31
Round 3 – Geelong, VIC GMHBA Stadium – November 7
Round 4 – Perth, WA HBF Park – November 14
Round 5 – Newcastle, NSW – Grand Final McDonald Jones Stadium – November 28

The Townsville opener was supported by Tourism and Events Queensland through the Australian and Queensland Government Disaster Recovery Fund for North Queensland, and delivered in partnership with Townsville City Council through Townsville Enterprise.

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