More than 125,000 motorcycles are registered in Western Australia, and over 3,500 riders hold national competition licenses, with tens of thousands more competing on 1-day licenses. Rural Western Australia relies heavily on farming bikes, side-by-sides, and power equipment, making our participation in their two biggest events a welcomed necessity.
The Factory Honda team has been on the road for four weeks, traveling from Maitland, New South Wales, to compete in Western Australia’s two most prestigious events: the Manjimup 15000 and the King of the Sand. The team faced their fair share of challenges but have emerged stronger for it.
Manjimup 15000
The Manjimup 15000 attracted more than 500 riders competing across three days. In the MX1 class, Boost Mobile Honda’s Kyle Webster, the early favourite, entered the final race with a 5-point advantage. Unfortunately, he collided with another rider in the first turn of the final race and got stuck under their bike. Although he remounted and charged through the pack, the fall dashed his hopes for the overall win. Webster’s cumulative points secured him 3rd place. Lars Van Berkel, traveling from the Netherlands, finished 4th, and Dean Wilson, the reigning Australian Supercross Champion, finished 8th after crashing in two of the four races, hurting his chances of a podium finish.
Webster expressed his disappointment, saying,
“What a bummer. Honestly, I was doing everything right. I felt good and was trying to be conservative. It’s racing, but I was really bummed by the result.”
The MX2 class presented even greater challenges. Honda’s Larwood, Ferguson, and Jake Cannon were taken down on the first lap in a massive pile-up. Despite their efforts to charge back, the 5-lap race didn’t provide enough time to close the gap. The next three races were dominated by Honda, but it wasn’t enough to recover the points lost in race 1. Jake Cannon finished 2nd, followed by Noah Ferguson in 3rd.
Charli Cannon raced against the best women in Western Australia and secured a stunning victory. Her presence was well received, and it’s believed she will help elevate women’s racing in WA.
Team Director Yarrive Konsky was impressed by the event’s magnitude and hopes to maintain Honda’s participation in this historic event. “It’s the biggest motocross event in Australia—the crowd, entries, atmosphere, it’s like racing in America. We will continue to work hard to make it a part of our calendar,” said Konsky.
Following Manjimup, the team headed to Wanneroo for the King of the Sand.
Another amazing event in Western Australia took place last weekend on the famous deep sand track in Wanneroo. Honda won the MX1 class with Kyle Webster, and Lars Van Berkel finished 3rd. In the MX2 class, Larwood took the win ahead of teammates Brodie Connolly and Jake Cannon. The biggest surprise was Jake’s sister, Charli, who raced in both the Women’s and MX2 Pro classes. Charli dominated the women’s class and held her own against the pro riders in MX2, taking two holeshots and holding off some of the nation’s best MX2 riders for several laps. Cannon was thrilled with her results and feels she is finally finding her form after a rough start to the year.
“It was a rough beginning this year, but I was really happy with my riding. I feel we can be stronger in some areas. The team and everyone have been great,” said Cannon.
The team is now focused on the next round of the Pro Motocross in Murray Bridge, South Australia, at the end of this month.
