KTM Racing Team rider Nathan Crawford is building back up to form in preparation for his first Fox Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) appearance of the year in Wollongong, which will mark his return to the SX1 class.

Crawford was forced to watch Redcliffe’s opening rounds from the sidelines while recovering from the wrist injury that put his plans to race MXGP in China and the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) on hold, but will be back for Win Stadium.

The Queenslander has been largely based in New South Wales during recent weeks – training for supercross alongside Dylan Wills and Matt Moss in the Hunter region – and will be a high profile addition to the AUSX series in the premier class next weekend. Despite a relatively short lead in, it will be a chance for him to gain some important mid-season momentum through a busy month of November.

“So far it’s been a really smooth transition, both coming back from my injury and being on the 450 for supercross,” Crawford told MotoOnline. “I’ve been down training in Newcastle so that I’m close to the team, just so that if there are any little bits we want to try or test I’m nearby.

“I’m looking forward to being back behind the gates in Wollongong. It’s obviously a fairly short turnaround for me only having two and a half weeks on supercross beforehand, but I’m keen to get out there, get my feet wet and see where we stand in the SX1 class.”

Crawford finished second in the SX2 series last year as top-finishing Australian behind Max Anstie and finished third the year prior. He has a single SX1 main event victory dating back to the rain-soaked Jimboomba race in 2017, and then a short stint with CDR the following year was cut short through injury prior to him reverting to the 250 class full-time both overseas and in Australia.