It has been a world tour of sorts for KTM Racing Team’s Byron Dennis since the end of the Australian motocross series, highlighted by an EMX250 podium in the Netherlands and a seventh-place result in MX2 at the weekend’s MXGP of China as a wildcard. In this Five Questions feature, MotoOnline gets the 19-year-old’s take on his recent run of head-turning results in the MXGP paddock, as well as his overseas aspirations for the future.

Image: Supplied.

Alright, Byron – let’s start with China. You went 8-7 in the motos, which was a very respectable ride without a whole lot of experience racing at that level, and you put a fair few good names behind you in the process. How was that experience in Shanghai?

Yeah, for sure. It was a pretty good experience in China. I learned a lot. I felt like I had a solid lead-up, so I knew what I was going into, and being there last year sort of helped a bit, just knowing and being prepared, sort of thing. So, I think that all definitely helped. I feel like I just went out and rode, and tried to be there with the front guys as long as I could, and then wherever I dropped back, it’s where I ended up. So, yeah, I felt like it was a really solid performance out of myself.

You made that transition from being an MX3 champion to racing the MX2 class in Australia, going from a development category to the professional ranks in recent years. You sort of experienced the same transition in going from EMX250 and then on to MX2 in China – what was the biggest difference?

I think there are just more guys that are crazier. The top-15 are all fast, and there are probably every bit of six or seven guys that could win or be right there. The difference between first and 20th in qualifying is, I don’t know, two seconds. So, it’s very tight racing, and that makes the intensity in the opening laps really high. I feel like that’s probably the biggest difference between there and, say, MX3 and MX2 in Australia – just the intensity level.

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Talk to us a bit about your stint in EMX250 with Cat Moto Bauerschmidt KTM, because there were a few strong results there. Every outing that you did, you got better, and also recorded a podium finish in Arnhem, so how was that step at this point of your career?

Yeah, Arnhem was good, for sure. I feel like it was a really good experience, being able to go there with a new team that I don’t really know and experience the whole European lifestyle. You might not be living in the best area, or, you know, it’s not familiar anyway, sort of thing. And being able to go to different countries and different cultures in Europe and race with these guys that are crazy. I felt like I built steadily. The first session I went out and did, I was like, ‘Wow, this is nuts.’ By the time I got to Arnhem, I sort of knew what it was like, and by the time you’re racing, you’re more comfortable. So, I feel like that was probably the biggest thing that I picked up on over there, being comfortable with that kind of racing and intensity.

How did that opportunity come up? You were basically out the door from QMP straight overseas.

Well, it sort of really started when I got, obviously, the opportunity of going to China and Darwin again, like we did last year. I felt like last year I was lacking the lead-up to China and Darwin, and I always wanted a bit more experience or wanted to do more, so to speak. Obviously, knowing that there was a bit going on with the Cat Moto Bauerschmidt KTM guys, myself and Kyle Blunden just reached out, and sort of dipped our toes, met them, and saw if we could make something happen, and it all just worked. It just came together and was easy enough from both sides.

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I think the goal for you was probably always to be over there, but after experiencing Europe and world championship-level racing – not for the first time, but in a way that you could probably see a future in it – I guess the hope moving forward is to try and be there full-time next year. Would you say that’s the goal?

Yeah, for sure. I think that has definitely been the dream the whole time. So, to be able to come here and make a bit of a name, and have the conversations with some teams and stuff about what 2027 could look like, or even further on, sort of thing, that’s definitely the goal and definitely where I want to end up. It’s where I want to be and where I see myself, anyway.