Just past the halfway point of this year’s Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship, certain narratives are emerging that will influence how the final two events unfold for the 2025 season. Plenty of racing is left to contest, with this Top 10 feature outlining the key topics to follow come both Melbourne’s AUSX Open and the Adelaide Grand Final.

Image: Foremost Media.

1. The Lawrence factor in Melbourne:
Though this is the AUSX Supercross Championship, the high-profile AUSX Open international event comprises the fourth round of this year’s domestic series, which typically attracts an array of world-class talent. With untimely injuries ruling out the previously announced Cole Davies and Julien Beaumer, the SX2 division is relatively safe from a competitive standpoint aside from the addition of last year’s champion Shane McElrath. The same, however, cannot be said for SX1, as Jett and Hunter Lawrence – two of the very best Supercross riders there are – will be on the line. As a result, they must be factored in as to how the results will shake out at round four.

2. Clout targets SX1 victory:
Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki’s Luke Clout was rather vocal after enduring a horror Redcliffe 2 – which all but ruled him out of SX1 title contention – since targeting race victories and strong results over the remaining rounds. He’s going all out with nothing to lose, wanting to show that if it weren’t for the Queensland chaos, he’d be right in the thick of the championship fight. It’s a big ask – particularly when factoring in the above point plus Dean Wilson’s current form – but we have a feeling none of this is of particular interest or care to the ever-confident New South Welshman.

3. The showdown in SX3:
We had fireworks last time out in the SX3 class! Both Kayd Kingsford and American Ryder Malinsoki came to blows on the race track, which boiled over in the direct aftermath once the riders reached the podium. There doesn’t appear to be any love lost between these two, and although Kingsford holds a lofty 18-point advantage atop the series standings, we know how young minds work and how egos can sometimes overthrow rational thought. Will that create additional fireworks for the remaining rounds? Time will tell.

Image: Foremost Media.

4. Wilson eyes second SX1 title:
Honda Racing’s Dean Wilson has been a man on a mission in this year’s SX1 championship, and something that will be interesting to watch is how he fares against both Jett and Hunter at the AUSX Open. That depends on what form you think Wilson is in currently, but it seems like this is the fastest and most confident the Scotsman has been in a while, as he is yet to drop a single race in the 2025 AUSX season. In short, he has been the rider to beat so far, and will test his skillset against two of the world’s best inside Marvel Stadium on November 22.

5. Turner the benchmark in SX2:
As Wilson has been the class of the SX1 field, so too has Lux Turner been in the SX2 division. He’s looking for a first professional title down under this year, and has so far been a surprise talent in the quarter-litre class. Interestingly, the Turner family – Lachlan in the US and Lux in Australia – has been a bit of a thorn in the side of Honda Racing team owner Yarrive Konsky, with Charli Cannon falling short of the WMX championship to ‘LaLa’ in the US this year, and Lux looking to bring an SX2 number one plate back to the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha camp. Could he have predicted this just one year ago? Probably not. And yet here we are, with Lux inching away from the rest of the SX2 contenders.

6. Mellross holds SX1 series podium:
Privateer sensation Hayden Mellross is currently P3 in the SX1 standings, which is a remarkable achievement, but he does have some heavy hitters right on his tail wanting to rip the placement away from him. They include Clout – who has 96 points to Hayden’s 99 – and Mitchell Harrison, who is two points in arrears of Clout. Each of these trio seems to have a point to prove, and P3 in the SX1 standings reads a lot better than fifth. Hayden started strong, Clout is on the comeback trail, and Harrison has been reasonably steady, with each strategy set to unfold over the final two rounds, and we’ll see which one pays dividends.

Image: Foremost Media.

7. SX2 veterans aim for rebound:
It hasn’t been a great AUSX season so far for SX2 veterans Wilson Todd and Rhys Budd. They each have shown glimpses – and are plenty capable in their own right – although after three rounds are listed in P6 and P8, respectively. They’re sort of the team captains for each of their outfits – Todd the experienced rider in Honda Racing’s SX2 fold, and Budd initially the sole representative of the Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki team. They’ve since drafted in Cole Thompson as some insurance, but you’d have to think that each team probably would’ve expected a little more from them at this stage in the season. The flashes of speed have been there, but we’ll see if they can bring it all together in both Melbourne and Adelaide.

8. The unique challenge of remaining rounds:
The final two rounds are quite different, with the AUSX Open inside Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium featuring a full-sized, US-spec supercross track, with all the showmanship that goes along with it. This is the crown jewel event of the Australian calendar – both indoors and out – and there is a certain buzz across the weekend that is a signature of the event. Adelaide is different, as it runs alongside the Supercars Grand Final at the Adelaide street circuit, situated as an attraction inside Adelaide Parklands. It’s a tighter circuit, and outdoors, making starts crucial and weather a possible factor. If there was anything essential to highlight, it would be the importance of the gate drop. In Melbourne, there is space and options to make up time, whereas in Adelaide, a start has a major influence on how the race unfolds, with the possibility for an increase in aggressive moves by necessity.

9. Young generation on the rise:
We are starting to see the younger generation of supercross racers emerge, and that’s a cool thing. Tiger Wood and Jake Cannon are listed in fourth and seventh in SX2, with the teenage pair representative of the stars of tomorrow who are emerging through the ranks. They have been solid, both notching overall podium results as well as a level of race smarts and consistency that you enjoy seeing from young riders. The cherry on top of the season would be a race victory somewhere – it’s a lofty target, although with their skillset, it does seem like a possibility.

10. Tanti wants more:
Monster Energy CDR Yamaha’s Aaron Tanti has been impressive so far, returning from a serious pre-season spinal injury sustained in January, which kept him sidelined for the best part of six months. The 2022 SX1 third-placed rider has indicated that he wants more, and namely, the ability to finish each of the two races in a consistent manner, with the opening finals having been problematic so far for him this year. A sequence of P3 results in the second finals indicates that he has front-running speed, although it’s about putting the pieces together to extract the best end result. At the same time, though, he was off for a long time, so overall, we think that Tanti has been plenty impressive to this point in the campaign.