A major shake-up to 250SX title contender Max Anstie’s program came midway through the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship season, when he departed the high-profile Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing outfit to join ClubMX Racing Yamaha on a multi-year deal. Four months on from the announcement, Anstie reflects on the transition and outlines his goals for 2027 in this Conversation feature.

Image: Foremost Media.

Max, thanks for taking the time to chat. To begin with, there’s been a major transition for you in your career, moving from Star Racing to ClubMX Yamaha. How have you found that whole transition so far?

Yeah, of course it’s been a big transition – it’s always a weird one doing it during the season. Usually you’d do it now in the off-season, but for me, I like to get the ball rolling quickly. And obviously, the initial plan was the World Supercross (WSX) stuff and to be able to develop and test the bike throughout that. We’ve pivoted to being out here in Australia and making the best of it now, but no, I’ve said this before, ClubMX is an amazing facility. It’s a very, very special place. The training facilities feel like I’m on a football team or in the UFC. It’s quite amazing, the resources that they have, so for me, on that whole side of things, it’s been amazing. On the bike and the team side, we’ve really made some big steps – you know, they’ve started working with Akrapovic. We’ve done a lot of testing with Twisted [Development] and with Mark at REP Suspension. So, yeah, we’re essentially getting all the ducks in a row for next year’s American Supercross series.

Does ClubMX feel a little more collaborative, in a way, than Star? From the outside looking in, it’s a program that seems to have a little less pressure, where at Star, I feel like you’re signing up to be under the microscope at all times…

Yeah, no, for sure. It is, again… from the outside, you can be a fan, or you can be a critic of [Star’s program]. And it’s like, it works at Star, right?. Obviously, their program – they’ve had a lot of success. They’ve got Cole [Davies], they’ve got Haiden [Deegan], they’ve got a lot of these amazing riders. And even for me, it was fantastic. I loved it there. The bike was great. But I do just feel like, and again, Club hasn’t got the credentials of Star yet, you know, but I do see the potential there, and I’m hoping that I can take it to the next level and utilize all the things they have. I’ve been around long enough, and I’m fortunate enough to have been on a lot of different teams and try to find what works for me and what doesn’t. And I feel like I fit in very well with Club and the mentality and the way that they want to go about doing these things and executing. So, yeah, I personally believe we’re going to be firing on all cylinders come next year, and we’ve got a lot of potential to go and do what we set out to do.

Image: Supplied.

Moving onto World Supercross – it’s obviously hugely disappointing with what has happened within the recent weeks. That was a big part of your program, so how does them closing their doors for now influence your program?

I mean, obviously it’s a shame because for me, World Supercross was… I love coming to Australia and racing and doing that, but also a big part was going to race in the United Kingdom, and trying to elevate the sport and showcase what supercross is all about to just the people of the UK, but also the kids, the fans, the next generation was something that I was really looking forward to. But yeah, of course, it’s a bummer that it went that way, but we can’t dwell on it. There’s nothing I can do about it. I would have still made the same decisions that I made at the time because, you know, how it all lined up and how it all looked. If I didn’t take the opportunity to go and do World Supercross and all that, and it all happened like it was supposed to, I would have been kicking myself. But yeah, I think the future now, as in like next year, I’d love to come back and race in Australia. I think, to be perfectly honest, in 2027, I’d like to focus on US Supercross on a 250, and everything else I’d do on a 450. I’d even potentially go back and race Pro Motocross on a 450. I’d race Australia on a 450. So, yeah, we’ll see. I think there are some options there – we’ll figure it out as we go. I did, and I don’t even know if you know this, because I’m guessing they haven’t announced this anywhere yet, but I did get a phone call yesterday from the FIM saying that they’re counting that one race as the 2026 World Supercross Championship. So I’ve got to go to the FIM awards and say, ‘Congratulations, I’m a three-time World Supercross champion’ – undefeated this season [laughs].

You’ll take that! And what about these off-season races for the US schedule – how important are they for your American campaign?

Oh, I think for me, it’s really… I mean, at the end of the day, go look at the history. I’ve won Anaheim 1, and I’ve won Tampa the last two years. And that was trying to do as many off-season races as I could. Even when I was with Yarrive [Konsky], you know, I had the red plate early on in the 250SX championship, and my goal now is to try to finish it out. You know, I’ve had the red plate, I’ve won races, but yeah, I need to execute to the very end. That’s where I’m trying to figure that part out. But I do feel like a lot of the early-season race success comes from being able to do these races. That was a big thing about the move from Star – they told me that I wouldn’t be allowed to do any off-season races right at the end there – it was like, ‘No, you can’t do any of the World Supercross races.’ It wasn’t going to happen no matter what. And for me, the preparation on that side of things, I feel like, is really important, especially at this point in my career. But yeah, as far as my situation went, I had to just lock in just for the US. I had to just sign for a whole other year, just in the US.

Image: Foremost Media.

And the current position now is the $25,000 bike hire fee for off-season events – had that changed at all between seasons?

No, it was still $25,000 per round for World Supercross, which I had to pay them that last year for me to race it. It just meant that I obviously got less money [laughs]. But yeah, for me, it was just right when we were negotiating and figuring stuff out, it went from, ‘Yeah, you can do some of the races’ to ‘No, you’re not allowed to do, to do any of them – no matter what the cost is.’ Obviously we see that Cole’s out here doing a race here and there. It’s a different situation though, isn’t it? You know, if you’ve won a championship, you’ve got a bit more pull, and it’s a bit more like, you know, individual, I guess.

For sure. Then lastly, it sounds like it’s all systems go with ClubMX for next year, targeting a championship – is that the goal for ‘27?

Yeah, that’s the goal! I’ve had a couple goes at it on Star, and I was close. I had some great races. I had the red plate, won some races. I had a couple tries with Yarrive’s set-up – had the red plate and won some races, which was fantastic. But I’m still trying to make the championship work, and I do feel like the potential and the intentions of everyone that I’ve got around me at ClubMX and the facility and all of these things, I think we’ve got the potential to go and get a title. So yeah, I’m locked in 100 percent to do that.