Image: Foremost Media.

A bike delay has sidelined Cole Davies from press day ahead of the second round of the 2026 Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship in Auckland, with his leased Star Racing YZ250F held up longer than anticipated in the United States.

The 19-year-old New Zealander was without a bike during this morning’s press session, raising questions over the tight turnaround with racing set to get underway inside North Harbour Stadium tomorrow.

It has since been confirmed that Davies’ bike is scheduled to arrive on Saturday morning and is currently aboard an overnight flight from Atlanta, Georgia. Pre-approval from New Zealand customs is expected to expedite its clearance and transfer from the airport to the track.

“[The bike] is not here – but it is going to make it, which is great,” AUSX CEO Adam Bailey told MotoOnline. “It has certainly been a stressful week or so, for everyone involved, and I don’t even really know what has happened.

“Yamaha Australia were good enough to arrange the freight and pick up of the bike from Star, but for some reason it got held up in Atlanta for, like, 10 days. It was all getting air freighted, so there should have been plenty of time, but then the paperwork hasn’t been right, and it has been a week or so of everyone trying to figure that out.

“Long story short, it’s only just been put on a plane overnight, and will arrive here tomorrow morning – so, [it’s] not ideal. It’ll arrive here first thing in the morning, and we have had pre-approval from quarantine to bring it straight to the venue – which can be an additional issue in New Zealand.”

Bikes will need to be thoroughly cleaned to clear Australian customs and biosecurity checks following the Auckland round, with the Geelong AUSX Open scheduled for the following weekend on November 7.

Bailey identified this as a potential hurdle if not managed correctly, confirming he would personally inspect the motorcycles before departure to ensure they meet entry requirements.

“The only thing that can really bring us undone is if bikes try to leave here dirty, and being freighted internationally if there is dirt on the bikes and mud – that will hold things up and be a major issue, so we’ve just got to be all over that,” he continued.

“As we did in Townsville, literally myself [included], we went around and eyeballed every bike, every box, to make sure there were no chunks of dirt or anything that could possibly hold it up, and we will do the same after here.”

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing charges a US$25,000 rental fee for its race bikes in off-season competition, meaning Davies’ two-round AUSX appearance will cost organisers US$50,000 [approximately A$70,000], excluding freight expenses.

It’s understood that Davies is circulating on a bike prepared as a backup plan this afternoon.