It came as a shock late last year when four-time national MX1 champion Dean Ferris announced his return for 2026, signing with Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki to lead its ProMX campaign onboard the KX450. At this stage of Ferris’ decorated career, attention now turns to the motivation behind his comeback as he embarks on another new chapter at Wonthaggi today.

The 35-year-old Ferris has a well-documented history with ‘retirement’, having seemingly called time on his racing career on two previous occasions before stepping away again midway through 2024 following a tough reunion with the Monster Energy CDR Yamaha program.

His race-winning potential has never waned, however, with a recent Sunshine State Queensland motocross round underlining that point as he and Aaron Tanti (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha) traded victories and proved inseparable at Warwick.

All this considered, Ferris had initially planned to contest select events in 2026, before the Victorian-based team and Ferris ultimately agreed on him instead gearing up for a full-time return to the national motocross circuit.

Image: Foremost Media.

“I took a year away from the sport, and was actually pretty content,” Ferris told MotoOnline. “And then for the return back – I got a bike and started to do a bit of riding, and I wanted to do some bucket list events.

“I started to call around and Kawasaki – this Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki team – was first on my list, actually, and that eventuated into a full-time ride. Honestly, at the start, I tried to resist it, coming back to ProMX, but everything just felt right. I thought about it for a few weeks, everything felt good, so I signed the deal and started to prepare for 2026.”

Having achieved the majority of his success aboard the YZ450F – including three consecutive MX1 titles between 2016-2018 with the Craig Dack-led CDR organisation, plus a spectacular fourth with a largely privateer Yamaha effort in 2023 – Ferris will switch to the KX450 in 2026, a prospect that he admits is an exciting one. He previously rode for Team Green locally in 2011 before taking on an international career.

Also reuniting with highly-regarded technician Brad McAlpine, who himself transitioned from a long tenure at CDR to the official Empire Kawasaki team at the end of 2023, also played a significant role in the signing, with McAlpine instrumental in Ferris’ three-title run under Dack. Plus, a familiar face in former Ferris mechanic Aiden Meltzer is also back for 2026.

Image: Foremost Media.

“Surprisingly, [the bike] has been really good for me,” he continued. “The first thing I needed to test was whether I was going to like the bike, so I got one straight away, I liked it immediately, and so from there the transition has been quite good.

“Brad built me a race engine and I liked it, and then it didn’t take long to get the suspension where I wanted it, either. I’ve had a solid bike for the whole pre-season, so I’d say that I have transitioned quite well.”

As for expectations, the sport tends to move quickly, with the narrative in recent seasons centred on Kyle Webster (Honda Racing) and Jed Beaton (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha). That has especially been the case over the past two years, as both riders have established themselves at the front of the MX1 field.

Ferris, meanwhile, during his title defence struggled to match that level in 2024, after edging out Beaton for the championship the year prior when the latter was part of the Honda Racing team. Even since then, the complexion of the class has evolved further, with Webster and Beaton now fully established.

Image: Foremost Media.

Add Tanti, Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team), and Wilson Todd (Honda Racing) into the equation, and even a podium finish is far from guaranteed. Despite that depth of competition, Ferris maintains that his primary objective is to perform to his own capabilities, with the results to follow from there.

“We only need to wait a day or two, and we’ll find out [how I stack up],” he suggested. “For me, I just want to ride to my ability, I want to feel good on the bike, and there’s not a lot more to it than that, really.

“I’m going to be at the pointy-end, but where exactly I stand, I’m not sure. I haven’t been racing now for nearly two years, so you never know what elements I’ll be facing with nerves and things like that. I just want to make sure I put my best foot forward.”

Ferris qualified sixth in the MX1 division ahead of this morning’s Pole Shootout, recording a 1m48.539s lap-time around the loamy Wonthaggi layout. While that is a ways off from Beaton’s early 1m42.740s benchmark, his ability to build as the series develops has almost become trademark over time.

Whenever the former champion and grand prix winner returns to line-up, it signals serious intent, while time to tell whether a fifth title is within reach for the already legendary racer. And for Tyson Cherry’s Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki team, it’s yet another evolution in its bid to challenge for the MX1 crown.