Image: Foremost Media.

The Australian motocross community is in mourning following the passing of Brayden Erbacher at Wonthaggi in the opening race of the 2023 national MX2 season.

Erbacher was involved in a multi-bike incident on Sunday morning, the 20-year-old sadly succumbing to major injuries and resulting in the event’s immediate cancellation.

It was a tragic way to commence this year’s Penrite ProMX Championship, with the youthful Queenslander Erbacher being remembered for his likeable, creative nature off-track and desire on-track to compete at the professional level.

Erbacher lined up in ProMX last year at Wonthaggi, but was unfortunately sidelined through much of the season. He made a welcome return to the sport at the beginning of this year in a series of Queensland-based pre-season events, displaying ongoing progression despite injury and health setbacks in recent years.

Image: Foremost Media.

Brayden Erbacher is survived by his parents, Ash and Corrine, as well as younger siblings Damon and Ellie.

“The Erbacher family would like to thank everyone at Racesafe including the paramedics, first responders and the riders and families that supported us,” a statement from the family read. “We are beyond proud to call Brayden our son and will be forever grateful for having him in our lives. He is our hero and will be greatly missed.”

Our thoughts are with Brayden’s family and friends within the community and beyond. A touching obituary from ProMX series organiser Motorcycling Australia has been published this afternoon.