The 2026 Penrite ProMX Championship is upon us, with a range of newfound storylines surrounding the outdoor series. With the gates set to drop at Wonthaggi’s season-opening round this weekend, this Top 10 feature outlines the narratives to follow on Sunday.

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1. The Webster versus Beaton showdown in MX1:
This is the battle that’s on the forefront of everyone’s minds, with Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster and Monster Energy CDR Yamaha’s Jed Beaton gearing up for another year of intense racing at the head of the MX1 field. Both are incredibly closely matched in all aspects of their riding, with there not being much separation to point to between the pair. Webster has emerged as the champion both in 2024 and 2025, although it was looking like last year’s title belonged to Beaton before a heartbreaking leg injury took him out of the championship between Canberra and Toowoomba rounds, with the number one plate remaining on Webster’s CRF450R. He left Wonthaggi in a hole last year thanks to a second moto DNF, so you’d have to think the game plan will be to avoid such a scenario in 2026.

2. No defending MX2 champion:
We’re without a defending champion in the MX2 category this year, as it appears the Brodie Connolly and Wilson Todd reign is over in the quarter-litre division. Last year’s title winner, Connolly, has headed to the US with Quad Lock Honda, which leaves the MX2 championship wide open to whoever wants to take the reins in the class. It’s looking like a perfect set-up for someone like Noah Ferguson, who has battled with the front-runners on many occasions now – and finished P3 overall last year – to step up and be a champion. At the same time, the Kingsford brothers at Honda Racing, as well as Alex Larwood, will probably say otherwise. Add KTM Racing Team’s Dylan Walsh to the mix, or even the arrival of Reid Taylor at Raceline Husqvarna TDUB Racing Team, and we’re likely going to have an intriguing season ahead. Who is the new alpha male? It’s time to find out.

3. Crawford and Todd stepping up:
It’s not to suggest that KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford or Honda Racing’s Wilson Todd haven’t stepped up, because the former took the MX1 title to the wire last year, while Todd was P3 in points and delivered a victory at Queensland Moto Park’s finale, but more in the case of being genuine challengers to the Beaton/Webster freight train on a constant basis. The premier class has indeed belonged to the number one and 14 over the last two years, and if both Crawford and Todd could position themselves on the level of their competitors, that would make a four-way fight for the championship at the head of the class. That would be interesting to watch unfold, and with where they are in their careers now, it’s getting to a now-or-never time in terms of making a title-run happen. Both are capable and both have the teams around them to deliver, with Wonthaggi set to show the work that’s been done over the off-season. A notable mention to this mix is new KTM Racing Team recruit Zac Watson – can he elevate to title contender? Time will tell.

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4. Yamaha transfer for Ferguson:
More on Ferguson is the high-profile switch from a single season at the KTM Racing Team to now effectively being the leader at Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Racing. That was a neat fit to fill the shoes of Honda Racing-bound Ryder Kingsford, with the Queensland-based team perhaps what Ferguson needed to launch a serious title charge. We’ve seen since he entered the professional ranks that the 23-year-old has speed to burn, although we’re yet to see a full season put together in a way that has him in the hunt at the very end. This is his time, and if he is ready to be a champion, 2026 could be the year he walks away with the number one plate.

5. Kingsford brothers contest MX2:
Both Ryder and Kayd Kingsford are a duo to look out for at both Wonthaggi and throughout the 2026 ProMX Championship, with Kayd having claimed last year’s MX3 title, while Ryder was runner-up in MX2 behind Connolly. They’re both now part of the Yarrive Konsky-led Honda Racing program – with Ryder having been at Yamaha last year – as well as Kayd stepping up to the MX2 division, which gives us plenty to watch for when the gates drop at round one. The brothers are at the forefront of emerging talent in Australia, with dreams of competing on the international circuit, which typically means making light work of the domestic scene to attract interest elsewhere. They’re on their way, with 2026 being a consequential year in their racing story so far.

6. Four-time ProMX champion Ferris returns:
This announcement largely came out of left field, and kudos to the Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki outfit for getting pen to paper and signing the former four-time MX1 class champion, Dean Ferris. The Tyson Cherry-owned team has been making steady strides over the last few years in taking the next step toward the front, including a relocated race shop just outside Melbourne CBD, acquiring experienced technician Brad McAlpine, and having former MX1 champion Luke Clout part of the team for two seasons. These developments have led to the Ferris signing, with 2026 perhaps the moment when the team can be legitimate contenders for the MX1 crown. A lot of this also comes down to where 35-year-old Ferris is both mentally and physically, too, with his 2024 campaign alongside CDR Yamaha – fresh from emphatically claiming the MX1 title in 2023 on a somewhat independent YZ450F – not paying dividends for either party. So again, we’ll see where he’s at once the KX450 rolls out on track this weekend, but either way, it’s pretty cool to have him back in the fold alongside emerging talent Brad West.

7. Cannon and Turner in WMX:
With Charli Cannon targeting a fifth ProMX MXW crown in 2026, the Honda Racing rider will face added opposition this season in the form of double American WMX number one Lachlan ‘Lala’ Turner after she signed for Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha to contest the full season, in addition to the FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup to take centre stage at Wonthaggi. Between Cannon/Turner’s on-track contest in both Australia and the US, it’s a rivalry that’s simmering beneath the surface, and one that is genuinely world-class. And with the teams continuing to stretch their factory-level involvement beyond MX1 and MX2 into MXW and even MX3 once more, the sport is in good hands from a manufacturer and team standpoint across the board.

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8. Walsh arrives for KTM in MX2:
Experienced international Dylan Walsh arrived on the Australian scene for the 2025 AUSX Supercross Championship, taking his KTM Racing Team 450 SX-F to an impressive fourth overall in the SX1 standings. This prompted an extension of the relationship between them into 2026, as the 28-year-old targets a longer-term career in Australia in an effort to be closer to home in New Zealand. He has signed with the team for an MX2 assault this year, eyeing a 450 transfer in the future as his career develops. He indicated that he’s not here to waste time in MX2, explaining that it’s ‘win or bust’ from the get-go, meaning he’ll be one to keep a close eye on in 2026.

9. Tanti enters in-form:
Former MX1 champion Aaron Tanti didn’t experience a positive start to last year’s season, sustaining a back injury in the pre-season, which effectively sidelined him for six months. That created a disrupted campaign for both him and the Monster Energy CDR Yamaha team, although it appears as though the pairing has had no such issues this year, and if pre-season races are your thing, Tanti raced to the win at round one of Queensland’s Sunshine State series in Warwick. Looking at the times, it was an all-out battle between him and Ferris – the pair splitting moto wins with Tanti victorious on a countback – while P3 was 40 seconds adrift in each encounter. It’s fun to look at these things at times, and it suggests that the 29-year-old is in fast form heading to Wonthaggi, and cannot be slept on.

10. Berry Sweet Yamaha and Duffy debut:
It’s always good to see Regan Duffy on the ProMX start line, and 2026 will see him as part of the newly-formed Berry Sweet Yamaha team alongside young Western Australian Sonny Pellicano in the premier MX1 ranks. It’s a unique setup that the program has, with the team leaving a box van on the east coast of Australia while the riders fly back and forth from the west to compete in the eight-round national roster this year. The ultra-talented Duffy will try his hand on the YZ450F platform after injuries derailed his campaign last year while competing for the Raceline Husqvarna TDUB Racing outfit. With the natural ability to run with the very best, we’ll see if the new surroundings can kickstart his racing career once more.