The second round of the 2026 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX) – held in Canberra on April 19 – delivered in spades for the crowd that ventured out to Fairbairn Park in the nation’s capital, as Yamaha’s Jed Beaton (Vic) took a double moto victory in Kawasaki MX1.
With clear skies presenting a great day for racing, the second consecutive round of dominance for Beaton is an illustration of his perfect start to the season where he has asserted himself as the man to beat at the quarter mark of the season.
Kayd Kingsford came away with the most points in Pirelli MX2, having recorded a 1-2 scorecard to retake the championship lead from teammate Alex Larwood, who had a tough start initially but rebounded to grab a win in moto two.
Hayden Draper (Yamaha) had the perfect outing in Maxxis MX3, also recording a double moto victory, to snatch the championship lead from teammate Jack Deveson who had a less-than-ideal weekend that was compounded with mistakes and crashes.
In Fox Racing MX85 Cup, Blake Bohannon remains the ‘king of the kids’ with another double moto victory to extend the overall points lead over his rivals.
Kawasaki MX1
Beaton’s (Vic) fine day out started from qualifying, taking the MX1 Superpole before continuing the momentum in the premiere class for the remainder of the day.
The only potential threat to come forward was from Kyle Webster (Honda, Vic), who was catching in quickly on him late in the final moto to set up a hammer and tong battle to the flag, Beaton using his composure to get the win over his Honda rival by 2.883secs.
“Moto one was all smooth sailing and I was able to take a comfortable victory which was nice, but things got a little more intense late in the second moto,” he said. “It was difficult to see the pit board as the track was super rutted in that area and I thought it was Tanti that was behind me and I was marking him off in some of the switch back turns.
“I was unaware that Kyle (Webster) got past him and was closing in on me until I saw the guys hanging over the fence and then figured something was up.
“I was able to wick it back up again at the end and match Kyle’s pace and go on to win the race and make it a 1-1 day.
“Thanks to the team for a big effort today, the track wasn’t easy as it was so rutted, but the bike was good all day, so hats off to them.”
Aaron Tanti (Yamaha, Qld) also tasted podium success for the first time since 2023, his 3-3 result reinforcing to the ProMX paddock that he still has what it takes to compete at the front.
Wilson Todd (Honda, Qld) and Todd Waters (Honda, Qld) finished fourth and fifth respectively, while Luke Zielinski (Yamaha, Qld) also put in a solid day to finish seventh.
It was a tough round for Zachary Watson (KTM, Qld) and Dean Ferris (Kawasaki, Qld), the former battling the flu but pushed through for sixth overall while the latter had to recover from crashes in both motos to salvage eighth overall.
Nathan Crawford’s (Qld) first weekend aboard Honda machinery saw him record fourth in moto one and then a DNF in moto two.
Kingsford (Honda, NSW) capitalised by troubles for Larwood (Honda, SA) to take his first ever MX2 moto win, followed by a round win later in the day with a second place finish in moto two for the 18-year old to take the championship lead.”I was making a few mistakes (while leading moto two) and I saw Alex (Larwood) coming up behind me and knowing he had a bad first moto, I was pretty well off (my pace) so he got around me and I started to follow his lines which enabled me to ride smoother,” he said.
“I knew second would get it done for me, so I rode my own race from there.”
Larwood struggled to get going early in the day, starting off with dramas in qualifying which carried into moto one.
“I got a pretty bad start and then a rider went down in front of me and because I was so close to him, I ended up clipping his gear shifter with my rear wheel which bent it back meaning I was virtually stuck in second gear for the remainder of the moto,” he explained.
“But then in moto two, I had a point to prove for everyone and I think I performed extremely well.”
Other results in Pirelli MX2 saw KTM teammates Dylan Walsh (Vic) and Byron Dennis (NSW) each claim 38 points for the round while Ryan Alexanderson (Kawasaki, Qld) and Larwood rounded out the top five overall.
Racing at the ACT-based venue for the first time, Draper (NZ) quickly adjusted to the track with a smooth and calculated ride while some rivals faced issues that enabled him to take a double-moto victory and the red plate heading into the next round.”We only really get four laps to learn the track before we get into qualifying, so even though I wasn’t the fastest, I felt like I was the guy who would only get better as I worked out the track,” he said.
“With each lap, I became more comfortable and familiar with the track, and the speed started to come.
“I didn’t panic and wasn’t going to try and overdo it as I knew that would only hurt my lap times.
“I stayed consistent, off the dirt, and ended up with a great result and I’m pumped to get the round win.”
Riley Burgess (KTM, NSW) got second overall with a 2-4 result while Cooper Rowe (Yamaha, NSW) also popped up with third overall, courtesy of third in the final moto which propped up his positioning in the round points.
Hayden Downie (Yamaha, Qld) and Jobe Dunne (Yamaha, Vic) were fourth and fifth respectively in the round points.
Meanwhile, it was a round to forget for Deveson (NSW), who leapt to an early lead in moto one but that’s as good as it got for the recently turned 18-year old.
He began to make mistakes that carried into the second moto where he crashed heavily on the opening lap, then went down a second time before eventually crossing the line in 28th and one lap off the pace.
It was another clinical performance by Bohannon (Yamaha, NSW) who won both motos by a combined 1:16.426secs.Liam Millard (GasGas, NSW) and Koby Binnion (GasGas, Vic) rounded out the top three overall while Brax Pollard (KTM, NSW), Jayce Stocker (KTM, WA) and Maxi Harris (Husqvarna, NSW) also secured podium finishes over the two motos.
Bohannon carries a 25-point lead into the final of the three-round Fox Racing MX85 Cup, which will be held in Toowoomba on May 24.
