MXGP headed for Darwin in 2025

The FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) series will return to Australia for the first time in 24 years, with a landmark five-year deal starting in 2025.   

Darwin will host the MXGP of Australia round from 2025 to 2029 at a brand-new purpose-built track at the Hidden Valley motorsport complex, bringing world-renowned riders such as Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gasjer, and Jorge Prado to Australian shores.  

While the 2025 MXGP calendar is yet to be revealed, it is believed the inaugural Darwin round will be held in mid-September 2025.

In what is a major coup for the sport of motocross in Australia, the deal between the Northen Territory Major Events Company (NTMEC) and MXGP promoters, Infront Moto Racing, will see the world-class event broadcast to more than 100 countries.

“This is big,” said NTMEC CEO Suzana Bishop. “The MXGP is an incredibly popular and high-profile major sporting event, and to be able to host it in the Territory is a real coup.”

In addition to the MXGP and MX2 classes, the event will also play host to the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship.

“It’s also incredible to be showcasing the women’s event, which has never before been held in Australia,” Bishop continued. “Not only are thousands of fans expected to attend the inaugural Darwin round, but a huge contingent of international visitors will also make the journey as the city becomes the epicentre of world motocross.”

Discussions of an Australian round of MXGP have been held on and off since the FIM-sanctioned championship was last held on local shores in 2001. Broadford, Victoria hosted two rounds in 2000 and 2001, with thousands watching local heroes Chad Reed, Andrew McFarlane, and Michale Byrne kickstart their careers amongst the world’s best.   

The FIM World Motocross Championship has been mostly European-based throughout its 67-year history, but the series has regularly visited other global markets. The current 2024 calendar features 20 rounds – 16 in Europe, two in Indonesia, one in China, and one in Argentina.

Reasons for the choice of Darwin as the host of an Australian round are unclear, but its growing events calendar and unique location would have helped. The event will be a massive boost for the local economy too, so the NT government were likely happy to invest significant dollars into securing the event.

But the proximity of Darwin to Indonesia may also yet play a role, with logistics of moving riders, teams, bikes, officials, and infrastructure outside of Europe coming at a huge cost to everyone involved.

 With Indonesia already hosting two rounds, there is a possibility organisers see an opportunity to go back-to-back with a Darwin round to help ease the logistical burden.

The arrival of MXGP in Australia also comes as the Australian-born World Supercross Championship (WSX) faces a battle to survive. Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium hosted the finale of WSX in 2022 and 2023.  

Started by Adam Bailey and the SX Global group, the WSX series was designed as a way of making supercross (the indoor version of motocross) a global sport.

However strong opposition from the American-run AMA Supercross series, and financial troubles have left the WSX series on the brink. Bailey is believed to have left the business, and the brand’s social media accounts have disappeared.

Meanwhile, the Motorcycling Australia-promoted ProMX series and the Australian Supercross Championship (run by Bailey’s AME Group), continue to fight for attention in the saturated Australian sporting landscape.

The addition of an Australian MXGP round to the calendar will no doubt have a positive impact on the sport in Australia and hopefully provide a much-needed boost to both of those local championships.