The 2026 Penrite ProMX Championship was shaped by riders who refused to waste opportunities. Across seven rounds, the title fights swung on injuries, crashes, mechanical failures, epic motos and moments of brilliance when the pressure was at its highest. Some championships were built through relentless dominance, while others remained alive because the contenders kept finding ways to fight back.
At the centre of it all was Jed Beaton. After two MX1 runner-up finishes in three years and a 2025 campaign ended by a broken leg, the Monster Energy CDR Yamaha rider returned with a point to prove. What followed was one of the most commanding premier-class seasons in recent Australian motocross history.
BEATON’S REDEMPTION RUN
Beaton set the tone at Wonthaggi when he returned to ProMX competition and crushed both MX1 motos. His winning margins of 49 and 25 seconds immediately established him as the man to beat, while defending champion Kyle Webster battled through a painful foot injury to finish second overall. Four-time champion Dean Ferris also returned strongly with 2-3 results, but Beaton had already delivered an early warning to the paddock.
While the results looked effortless, Beaton admits he wasn’t at full race fitness after returning from his broken leg.
“I was definitely healthy, but probably not the fittest I could have been,” he said. “We hadn’t raced any races, so I was kind of going in there to go, ‘We’ll see how we get out of this one and build from there.’
“To go out and do that is always a nice thing. It’s a nice way to start off a series like that and sort of give yourself a bit of a confidence shot and keep it going into the next couple of rounds.”
Canberra reinforced that message. Beaton claimed Superpole and both motos, although the second race provided the first genuine pressure test of the season when Webster closed rapidly late in the race. Beaton initially thought teammate Aaron Tanti was behind him, only realising Webster was coming when he spotted the Honda pit board being waved frantically from the fence.
“I was actually really relaxed for the most part of that moto because I thought Aaron was behind me,” Beaton explained. “Then I saw Kyle’s pit board and thought, ‘He must be close enough here.’ I took a look back and actually saw him. I thought, ‘Far out, better pick the pace back up for the last couple of laps.’
Importantly, he never panicked. “I didn’t freak out that he was there or try to go over my head to keep him there. It was as good as it could have been.”
Gillman was the first round where Beaton did not stand on the top step overall. Ferris led the opening moto until a mechanical failure four laps from the finish, allowing Webster to take his first victory of 2026 and continue an unbeaten run at the Adelaide circuit dating back to 2024. Beaton responded emphatically in moto two, checking out to end Webster’s Gillman streak and limit the damage to his championship lead.
Surprisingly, Beaton never left South Australia frustrated. “Not really,” he said. “Gillman is a very weird sort of track. Before our race they completely flattened it, so everyone was pretty similar. When a track’s not really rough, it’s hard to make up time because there’s not really that much different you can do.”
He admitted he could already see Ferris’ Kawasaki in trouble during the opening moto.
“I was behind Dean on about the second lap and I seen his bike smoking from the second lap… I just wanted to rebound in the second moto, which I did.”
That result mattered because Webster had begun applying pressure. The defending champion left Gillman only 12 points behind and the championship appeared ready to become a genuine two-rider fight. Toowoomba changed the complexion of the title race almost immediately.
A first-turn crash in the opening Echo Valley moto collected Webster, Ferris and Wilson Todd, leaving Beaton with a golden opportunity. He passed early leader Aaron Tanti and cleared out, while Webster recorded a costly DNF and Ferris was unable to continue racing.
Rather than backing off once the points situation swung in his favour, Beaton kept pushing.
“I was pushing for the first couple of laps to get into the lead and sort of build a comfy gap and manage that,” he said.
When Webster charged back in moto two, Beaton had no intention of handing him a confidence boost.
“I knew probably how bad Kyle wanted to win that second moto just to get a bit of confidence back, and I just tried to make that not happen and keep the momentum on my side.”
Appin was another defining moment. The circuit was wet, heavy and brutally chopped up, but Beaton dominated Superpole, set the fastest lap in both motos and won both races comfortably. While Webster struggled through the day with a shoulder injury suffered during a recent American Pro Motocross appearance, Beaton appeared completely at home in the punishing conditions.
“Definitely my type of conditions,” Beaton smiled. “I like where you have to think about where you’re riding, think about the lines you’re going to pick and make new lines to miss all the bad ones.”
Despite the growing championship lead, his approach never changed. “My goal was to go to every round and just ride to my potential… I achieved that one but didn’t overthink it.”
By the end of Appin, Beaton’s advantage had grown to 54 points. He had won eight of the first 10 motos and completed four clean sweeps in five rounds, with his only overall defeat coming at Gillman. More importantly, he was not simply relying on outright speed; he was repeatedly making the correct decisions in conditions that punished mistakes.
Traralgon demonstrated that better than any other round. Webster led a large portion of moto one and Tanti did the same in moto two, but both crashed while under pressure. Beaton was there to capitalise each time, completing his fifth clean sweep in six rounds and pushing his lead to 64 points.
Beaton admitted he expected Loy Yang Park to become rougher than it did.
“I definitely did because last year it got a lot rougher and more technical than what it did this year,” he said. “It’s nice for the racing and fan side of things, but it’s nicer to have an advantage from a good bike setup or being the fittest rider… when everyone’s sort of the same speed, there’s not much you can do.”
Nathan Crawford’s performance at Traralgon was another important storyline. After a disastrous opening round and a difficult start to the season walking away from a Factory KTM deal, Crawford had worked his way into genuine podium contention aboard Honda machinery. His 4-2 results delivered second overall and underlined how far he had progressed since finishing 13th at Wonthaggi.
By the time the championship reached Conondale, Beaton had already won 11 of the opening 12 motos. His approach changed accordingly, with the title now more important than adding another pair of victories. A calculated 3-3 result was enough to secure the championship with one round remaining, finally delivering the MX1 crown that had escaped him through injury and near misses.
That wasn’t the original plan. “I definitely think in the first one I was just going for a win,” he admitted. “But after that small crash, I knew I was third and didn’t really have anyone pushing behind me. I thought, ‘I’ll just relax here and I don’t need to do anything crazy.'”
The second moto became all about bringing the championship home. “I got off to a decent start and I was in a position where I could wrap it up. I didn’t need to do anything… I was content with finishing and wrapping up the championship.”
The Conondale round also highlighted the depth behind the new champion. Crawford won the opening moto for his first MX1 victory in Honda colours, while Webster defeated Tanti by less than a second in the second. Tanti’s pair of runner-up finishes earned him the overall and left him tied with Webster for second in the championship heading into the QMP finale.
Beaton’s season was built on speed, but it was completed through patience. He dominated when he had the margin to attack and controlled the risk when the championship was within reach. After years of setbacks, that ability to balance aggression with restraint finally delivered his first premier-class ProMX title.
Looking back, Beaton believes everything he endured over the previous three seasons ultimately made him a better racer. “Being so close for a few years… it probably shaped me into who I am today as a racer, and I think for the better. I believe all things happen for a reason, so I’m pretty happy to just get that one ticked off.”
LARWOOD WINS AN MX2 DOGFIGHT
Alex Larwood opened the season with two runaway victories at Wonthaggi, winning both motos by more than 20 seconds and immediately establishing himself as the benchmark. Behind him, rookie Kayd Kingsford, Byron Dennis and Dylan Walsh began what would become a season-long battle for the remaining podium positions.
Canberra delivered the first major swing. Larwood damaged his gear lever after clipping a fallen rider in moto one and was effectively stuck in second gear, allowing Kingsford to take his first MX2 moto victory. Larwood answered by winning moto two, but Kingsford’s 1-2 scorecard gave the 18-year-old his first overall and the championship lead.
Larwood regained control at Gillman with a perfect day in front of his home crowd. Two commanding victories pushed him 10 points clear of Dennis, while Kingsford and Walsh remained firmly in contention.
Toowoomba tightened everything again. Larwood won moto one before crashing early in the second and riding to the finish with a sore shoulder. Noah Ferguson broke through for his first victory of the season in moto two, while Kingsford’s consistent 2-2 results gave him the overall and cut Larwood’s championship advantage to 11 points despite undergoing collarbone surgery only three weeks earlier.
Appin produced one of the most important MX2 races of the year. Ferguson dominated the first moto in brutal mud, but the second became a direct fight between Kingsford and Larwood. Kingsford led early and appeared on course for another victory before Larwood charged from seventh, made the pass and claimed a result that would prove hugely valuable later in the season.
Larwood then continued to extend his lead before claiming the MX2 title at QMP.
THE NEXT GENERATION ARRIVES
The Maxxis MX3 championship became one of the most unpredictable contests of the season. Jack Deveson and Hayden Draper shared the opening wins at Wonthaggi before Draper took control with a perfect Canberra round.
Heath Fisher then dominated Gillman and moved into second in the standings, while privateer Hayden Downie swept Toowoomba. Jackson Fuller became another new winner at Appin, edging Riley Burgess in the opening moto before Downie defeated Fisher by just 0.441 seconds in the second. By Traralgon, Seth Morrow became the sixth different MX3 winner of the year with a clean sweep.
Morrow’s late-season surge continued at Conondale, where he won both motos for the second round in succession.
Girls go at it
The Ezilift MXW season belonged to American Lachlan Turner. She defeated four-time champion Charli Cannon at Wonthaggi and returned at Traralgon to continue a perfect campaign.
Cannon’s title defence was compromised from the beginning by a final-lap mechanical failure at Wonthaggi and later by a shoulder blade injury. Taylah McCutcheon’s consistency placed her second in the standings ahead of the final round, but Turner’s advantage had grown to 34 points.
Remember the name
Blake Bohannon was equally dominant in the Fox Racing MX85 Cup. The Yamaha rider won every moto across Wonthaggi, Canberra and Toowoomba to complete a perfect 150-point campaign.
The kids are alright
The KTM Group MX65 Futures class showcased another wave of emerging talent. Ryder Madafiglio won overall at Gillman and maintained his advantage through the extreme Appin mud, where he and Hudson Francis traded victories.
