We caught up with Hayden Melross to have a quick chat about his journey to where he is now.
Did you have an early start in the sport?
I started at about two or three years old on a Pee Wee 50 fitted with training wheels, my dad and two older brothers were all into bikes so it was a natural thing to follow them. I moved up from the Yamaha and the Nippers class onto other faster 50’s and started racing and in 12 months I was competing at a national level and finished second in the Australian Titles. I grew up in Young and the local scene there was pretty active, I started in junior motocross which was my main interest but when I was around 13 years old I dabbled a little in flat track as the bloke who was building my bike wanted me to. I did two years of it but it didn’t excite me as the races were too short with too much time between them.
How successful were you?
I hold six second places in the Australian Junior Motocross Championships and won it twice, and when I moved up to seniors I ran second in the Australian Supercross Championship in my first year then went to the USA to race there from the age of 17. I raced in supercross in the US for three years in the 250 West Division, finishing better each year from 16th then 11th and finally10th overall, with my best single placing being sixth. The depth of talent was much greater in the States, chalk and cheese compared to Australia and I was a privateer racing against people like Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger.
What win holds the best memory for you?
There’s none that really jump to mind but riding the Australasian Supercross Championship in New Zealand 2018 was pretty satisfying as there was no 250 class and I had to ride the 450 class on a 350 Husqvarna and finished second to Chad Reed.
What brands have you ridden?
After starting as a kid on the PW50 I switched to a KTM50 and as the years passed I went to Hondas for about three years, I spent a lot of time on Yamahas in America, but moved on to KTM’s and Husqvarna’s and did a short two year stint during covid with Craig Dack on a Yamaha then went back to KTM and am still on one but I am only racing supercross now.
Do you have your sights set on any other big events?
Not particularly, I’m pretty content just racing when I want to as my family and earthmoving business are my main priorities now and any racing is just for a bit of fun at the end of the year. I still get out sometimes after work or on weekends just for a bit of play riding. Old injuries are also telling me to take it a bit easy these days too.
What do you consider the best bike you’ve raced?
The 2021 YZ450 I rode when I was on Team CDR stands out as it was just the whole package, his bikes have a lot of time put into their setup and preparation and it shows when you ride one.
Finally, what would you regard as being your hardest race?
The Australian 450 Motocross Championship in 2019, I’d stepped up to the 450 class that year and was leading until I tore my ACL and meniscus in the second last round which dropped me back to third behind Todd Waters and Luke Clout with Kirk Gibbs a close fourth. I had to race again the following weekend and needed to score enough points to beat Gibbs for third place and did well enough in the first moto that I didn’t need to ride the second.
Warren Jack
