It was a big day of racing at Wonthaggi to open the 2025 Penrite ProMX Championship and there were a lot of storylines to take away from the weekend. We’ve compiled the direct takes from riders in this first Reaction feature of the year.

MX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Jed Beaton (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha) – First overall:
I didn’t see what happened to Kyle [Webster], but the team told me it was a pretty good crash and I hope he is ok. I enjoy racing with him, and we both knew we were locked into a battle to the end. But happy to grab the win and get the season started on a positive note. I won Superpole, and then even though I was second in race one, I was able to stay in the fight and race Kyle all the way to the end, so I took some positives from that. Then I pulled a holey in the last one and I think it took me a lap to settle down as they have been pretty rare for me. I was able to put in some solid laps, weather the storm a little, then bring it home. Thanks to the team for a great weekend and looking forward to getting after it at Appin in a few weeks’ time.

Maximus Purvis (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha) – Fourth overall:
I’m a bit weary now. [The] first moto was great and I was trying to conserve as much energy as possible as I knew this track was so demanding and the final moto was going to be tough. I got a terrible start and tried to be patient and pace myself as I moved forward, but those mistakes took it out of me, and I was just in survival mode for the rest of the race. Fortunately, I didn’t do any more damage to myself, so after a few days off, hopefully, I can get some riding in during the week and start working my way back into better shape as the rounds progress.

Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) – Ninth overall:
What a bummer. I was happy with the first moto, even though I rode tight. I actually felt a lot better in race two, but I got caught out and hit the ground hard. This isn’t how I pictured round one, but that’s the reality of racing. I hurt my back a bit and I’ll be sore for a few days, but I got lucky—it could’ve been much worse.

Wilson Todd (Repco Honda Racing) – Eighth overall:
It’s not great, but considering I’ve only had five days on the bike after seven months off, I’ll take it. The speed is there, and we have some work to do, but I’m leaving with solid points. I’m just a few points off third in the championship, and that’s where I want to be after round four.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) – Second overall:
I’m super-happy to kick the year off with a good result and to be back at the races with the KTM Racing Team. We put in some solid riding this weekend, landing a 6-2 scorecard for second overall. Being round one, Wonthaggi always has so many question marks, and ultimately you want to leave with good points. I’m very happy to get this result for the team and everyone around me, and I’m looking forward to round two.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Racing Team) – Fifth overall:
Today was a little up and down. I feel like I almost forgot how to ride in the first moto – I didn’t feel good on the bike, I had two tip-overs, and struggled to 10th. I got a great start in the second moto and tried to catch onto the lines of the two guys ahead of me, who knew the track well. I felt much more comfortable and brought it home in third, which made for a decent weekend.

Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna TDub Racing Team) – 11th overall:
I finished P6 in Super Pole, and was feeling good in moto one. I was charging forward and made a few passes, but unfortunately came together with another rider and went down hard. I hurt my hand, so in the next moto I settled myself down and rode it home in P5. It wasn’t a bad bounce-back, but I was disappointed with that first race and with the overall result. As a whole though, the team worked well, so we’re heading in a positive direction and looking forward to round two.

Regan Duffy (Raceline Husqvarna TDub Racing Team) – Ninth overall:
I’m really happy with today. I came in with a completely different approach to the last time in 2023 when it was almost a celebration of being able to race. This time I want to do well, I’m putting in 100 percent on and off the bike and doing everything I can. I had a realistic goal of securing a top-ten result this weekend, so to come away with ninth overall ticks that box nicely. I got tired towards the end as you’d expect, but this is a great platform to build off for the rest of the year.

Luke Clout (Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki) – Third overall:
I am happy with our progress today, and the team and I picked up right where we left off at the end of ProMX last season, on the podium. Wonthaggi is an extremely challenging track and we really made positive progress with the bike over the weekend. I have some things to clean up with my riding before Appin in a few weeks, but overall we are in a great place for the championship leaving round one.

MX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Ryder Kingsford (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha) – Second overall:
Things got pretty hectic out there and I’m not even sure what happened. I know we were in with the lappers, and I didn’t see Brodie [Connolly] crash until it was too late. I tried to avoid him, but I think that made me crash and I cleaned him out pretty good. I’m just thankful we are both alright as that could have got ugly. But pretty happy with the day. Felt I rode strong and consistent all day which was the goal as last year I had too many good race, bad race situations. It’s something I need to improve to be a contender this year.

Brodie Connolly (Polyflor Honda Racing) – First overall:
Not the way I planned to win—crashing definitely wasn’t ideal—but it was a strong weekend. My fitness is great, the bike is solid, and I’m feeling confident.

Alex Larwood (National Finance and Loans Honda Racing) – Third overall:
Of course, I want to win like everyone else, but today was about starting strong, especially after how last season started for me. I need to work on my sprint speed, but overall, it was a solid day.

Byron Dennis (KTM Racing Team) – Fourth overall:
It was a good, consistent day for me, finishing fourth in both motos. Generally, I’m happy with how it all played out, but there are still areas I need to work on. I know what those are, so we’ll get after it over the next three weeks, tidy some things up and we’ll be ready to go at Appin.

Noah Ferguson (KTM Racing Team) – Fifth overall:
Round one is always a guessing game, but I’m actually quite happy with where we’re at, and I can’t complain with a P5 overall result. I got two really good starts, which is a positive, but I got cross-rutted after getting the holeshot in the second race and went down. I banged my hand up today, so I’ll get it checked out this week to get a verdict on it. It’s annoying, but I’ll never give up.

Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna TDub Racing Team) – Tenth overall:
It was definitely a tough weekend. I came in as prepared as I could be, but we had some minor issues on Saturday we had to work through and that put me behind the eight-ball for qualifying. Qualifying didn’t go my way, so we stayed back and worked hard to get the bike to where we wanted it. The toughest thing is I came in prepared and had some great pre-season races and proved I could be one of the guys. The bike just felt a bit foreign to me this weekend, which was unfortunate.

Ryan Alexanderson (Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki) – Seventh overall:
Today was a little frustrating as I would have posted two very strong finishes and landed higher up in the overall results, but I’m happy to debut for Empire Kawasaki with strong finishes and something to build on for Appin.