What an amazing event! The track, the weather, the crowds…….
Thursday 18th September saw 11 young Western Australian MX riders bump into the Hidden Valley Circuit for what would be a memorable experience. Under the harsh NT sun and watchful eye of Team manager Steph O’Grady, pits were set up and riders got their first look at an FIM spec World Championship track. The dirt looked amazing and would form up well over the weekend, the jumps – BIGGGGG, open high speed and slower winding sections would make for great racing and a memorable experience for our young WA MX talent.
Friday saw the 84 MA Motocross State Challenge riders from all over Australia be the first to ride this purpose-built track. With 20-minute combined practice and qualifying sessions, our young WA team riders took a little bit of time to adjust to the track conditions and the humid Darwin weather. After the MX85 session it was Ollie Birkitt setting the pace to qualify first in class, with our other WA riders evenly spread through to 35th. Next up was the older MX3 riders turn. Sonny Pellicano led the WA contingent qualifying 4th, with Patrick Butler only 1.5 seconds back in 6th. All 5 WA riders in the top 18 after qualifying.
MX85
After a short break, 35-degree heat and 80% percent humidity saw a full gate of 85cc riders front the starter for the first race of the event. With many of the MXGP riders and teams out around the track, Ollie Birkitt showed the field a clean pair of heals to take the moto win by 6 seconds after the 8 laps. Jayce Stocker was the next WA rider in 16th. All WA team riders finished in the top 25. In the teams’ challenge, WA finished the moto second overall with a 40-point deficit to Queensland.
MX85 moto 2 saw the WA team more familiar with the track although the heat was taking its toll. Joel Leech improved 9 positions from moto 1 with a 26th. After a stall on the start gates left Nate Tomerini last at the 1st corner, he put on a show for the 5000+ crowd with some huge whips to recover to 32nd place at the chequers. Ollie Birkitt came home in a strong 2nd, and Deegan Fort improving from moto 1 to finish 9th in the 2nd moto.
The last race for Friday was Moto 3 for the 85 class, with familiar names at the front of the field. With Queensland holding an insurmountable lead in the class teams challenge, moto 3 was about personal bests. Jayce Stocker had his best finish of the weekend in 13th place. Noah Thomas rode well to equal his race 2 finish in 20th place and Nate Tomerirni had his best finish of the event in 21st. In the 85cc class teams challenge, WA topped the 3rd moto by 6 points over Queensland
At the end of 3 motos, Team Western Australia were 2nd overall to Queensland, with NSW in 3rd place. In the individual overalls, Ollie Birkitt finished 1st top with 1, 2, 1 moto results, Deegan Fort 9th, Jayce Stocker 15th, Noah Thomas 22nd, Nate Tomerini 24th and Joel Leech 26th. It was a great effort and experience for our young 85cc riders. With their part of the event finished, it was time to enjoy the rest of the weekend of World Championship MX.
MX3
MX3 moto 1 on Friday saw another full gate in the hands of the starter. With WA riders qualifying in the top 18 gate pick was all important. After 20 minutes + 1 Lap – 11 Laps of the Hidden Valley 1.61-kilometre track, Team WA’s Sonny Pellicano sat in 3rd place. Ryder Matthews-Taylor was next best WA rider finishing the moto in 7th. Team WA replicated qualifying with all riders finishing in the top 18. After moto 1 in the class under Olympic scoring, WA trailed NSW by 10 points
Moto 2 at the end of Fridays proceedings, saw Team Western Australia riders Patrick Butler and Jacob Thompson improve from moto 1 to their best finishes of 6th and 13th respectively. Xavier Balinski recovered after an early race fall to cross the finish 17th and again Sonny Pellicano rode smart to finish 3rd overall. At the end of the second MX3 moto, Team WA took a chunk of points out of NSW’s lead to trail by only 1 point overnight.
MX3 moto 3 held after the MXGP practices and qualifying races on Saturday, saw a sea of Black and Gold jerseys mid pack into turn 1. With the track now a bit rougher than Friday, expectations were high in the WA camp. From the outset it was evident the race for the MX3 class trophy would be close. Ryder Matthews-Taylor lead the WA contingent finishing his best place of the weekend in 5th, with Sonny Pellicano in 6th after an uncharacteristic tip over at the back of the track. Patrick Butler again finished inside the Top 10. Jacob Thompson rode to a 17th place finish in moto 3 with Xavier Balinski in 23rd.
After 3 motos in the MX3 team scoring, WA were narrowly beaten by NSW 152 to 156, with Queensland a further 13 points behind in third. Ky Woods of NSW took the overall individual honours with Team WA’s Sonny Pellicano taking the third step on the box in the MX3 individual classification. MX3 overall individual results – Sonny Pellicano 3rd, Ryder Matthews-Taylor 6th, Patrick Butler 7th, Jacob Thompson 14th, Xavier Balinski 15th
With a large WA supporter base travelling to Darwin, the roars for Ollie and Sonny when accepting their individual prizes on the podium were huge. With all MX State Challenge races completed, the only thing left to do was enjoy Sundays MXGP racing. In the MXW class, Western Australia’s own Leah Rimbas finished 8th overall in her first FIM World Championship ride.
After 3 days of competition, the event was bought to a premature end by an early wet season storm. As the 2nd MX2 GP race got under way the heavens opened up with heavy rain. Whilst the rain brought welcome relief from the hot and humid Darwin weather and lots of fun throughout the crowd, it ultimately lead to the abandoning of the last MXGP race. After 3 days of racing there wasn’t much left to do but enjoy a beer, reflect on an incredible performance and experience for our young talented WA Motocross riders and look forward to next year’s event from 18-20 September 2026.
Motorcycling Western Australia would like to thank all our Team riders, manager and their families for their sportsmanship, commitment and support travelling to Darwin. To the businesses that came on board to assist with sponsorship we cannot thank you enough for your support:
C&S Mining – Corey and Steph O’Grady
WA Seadoo – Dave Donald
Cully’s Motorcycle Centre – Strett Cull
EXP Resources – Steve Pellicano
The Underclass – Charlie Creech
Sparkle and Wrap – Evan Shultz
Clare Mac Photography – Clare McMahon
Justin Herold
MWA Operations Manager