This weekend’s highly-anticipated return of the AUSX Open at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium has all the ingredients for a spectacular night of competition, featuring a full-sized, world-class track, all Australian Supercross Championship titles still on the line, and of course, the much-awaited return of Hunter and Jett Lawrence to Australian shores. These are the must-see storylines you need to follow in this Countdown feature.

Image: Octopi Media.

7. Last chance for best-placed Australians to shine:
Melbourne signifies the last opportunity for Australia’s top-performing Australians to end the 2024 season on a high note, especially in the SX1 class. With Cooper Webb and the Lawrences descending on this final round, wins/podiums are going to be harder than ever to earn for Australian national front-runners Luke Clout (Empire Kawasaki) and Jed Beaton (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy). Clout has been the only Australian to steal a race win from Honda Racing imports Joey Savatgy and Dean Wilson, while Beaton has steadily improved as the season progresses, culminating with his first-ever supercross round podium in Adelaide. In the SX2 class, Empire Kawasaki’s Reid Taylor and KTM Racing Team’s Kayden Minear will be aiming to finish their seasons strongly after contrasting wildcard appearances at the Perth round of the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) last weekend. Taylor dislocated thumb on his way to 14-14 results from the two rounds, while Minear impressed there with 8-7 results.

6. Dean Wilson’s status:
Wilson’s AUSX SX1 title defence took a knock at Adelaide’s fourth round when he finished runner-up to series leader Savatgy in what really was a must-win round for him. If he’d managed to beat his Honda Racing team-mate there, the gap between the two would only be two points instead of eight heading into the season finale. But Wilson’s entire campaign has a big question-mark hanging over it after a SuperFinal clash with Vince Friese at Perth’s WSX round saw him end the night with a torn labrum (shoulder). It’s a major blow for Wilson and it’s unclear if or when he’ll undergo surgery. Even if he does line up on Saturday, he could be operating at a lot lower capacity and will need to rely on some luck going his way if he wants to secure back-to-back championships.

Image: Octopi Media.

5. The Connolly vs Thompson showdown:
There is little love lost between Honda Racing team-mates Brodie Connolly and Cole Thompson, and just four points separate the New Zealander and the Canadian heading into the AUSX Open. They’ve found each other on the track at every round so far, with little to separate them once the gate drops. Both the SX1 and SX2 classes will again race three finals on Saturday night, meaning there will be plenty of opportunities for these two to clash again. The fast-starting Connolly has been something of a revelation in his first-ever supercross attempt, while Thompson has proven multiple times that he can quickly slice through the pack and position himself well for wins, should the opportunity present itself.

4. The AUSX Open reboot:
It’s been five years since the AUSX Open was last held in 2019 in front of more than 35,000 fans. The covid pandemic put the brakes on, shortly afterward, then the promoters – Adam Bailey and Ryan Sanderson at the time – focused their energy on trying to get the WSX off the ground with SX Global. Now effectively operated by AME Group, which is now led by Kelly Bailey, the AUSX Open has finally been resurrected and expectations are high that it’ll carry on where the previous events left off. Securing the Lawrences and Webb is a real coup and carries on the event’s tradition of attracting the world’s best riders, while the return of the FMX Best Trick competition, the Yamaha bLU cRU YZ65 Cup, and the final rounds of the SX3 and CR22 85cc Cup will ensure plenty of on-track action all evening.

3. Honda Racing to again win both titles:
Regardless of how things shake out on Saturday, it’s looking likely that Yarrive Konsky’s Honda Racing team will again secure both major championships, capping off a spectacular year of racing for the team. In SX1, Savatgy has won three of the four rounds after being beaten by an in-form Wilson at Redcliffe 1. He might now have an eight-point lead over Wilson, but he’s got a 17-point gap on third-placed Clout. Meanwhile Shane McElrath has asserted his dominance on the SX2 class and comes into Melbourne with a 10-point lead over Connolly. The highest-placed non-Honda Racing rider is Taylor in fourth, but he’s 24 points off the top spot. While Clout and Taylor are both mathematical chances for the two titles, it’s a very long shot against the log-jam of Honda riders ahead of them.

Image: Foremost Media.

2. Cooper Webb and the role of spoiler:
While most of the hype has been around the Lawrences’ homecoming, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb is more than capable of throwing cold water on the party. Just two weeks ago, the double AMA 450SX champion was crowned ‘King’ at the Paris Supercross, where he also went up against the Lawrences over two nights. While Jett won five of the six races and DNF’d one after crashing into a lapped rider while leading, Webb proved consistency is key. He finished the weekend with one race win, three runner-ups and two P3s. Afterwards he paid respects to Lawrence as the fastest racer on the weekend, but also stated that he’d gained confidence from the fact that he was never that far behind the young Australian. Hunter also raced at Paris and finished the event fourth overall behind Webb, Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Jett.

1. The Lawrences return home:
Not since the last AUSX Open in 2019 have Australian fans been able to watch one of the Lawrence brothers in action on home soil. Five years ago a 16-year-old Jett Lawrence made his professional supercross debut at Marvel Stadium, while Hunter hasn’t raced in Australia since 2015 when he won the ‘MX Rookies’ outdoor championship at Coolum. A lot has eventuated since then, with the two brothers setting the standard in the US, claiming almost every title available, and finishing 1-2 in this year’s SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX). The Team Honda HRC pairing are two of the very biggest stars in the sport and the opportunity to watch them first-hand in their final race of a long season has fans eagerly counting down the days.