Kyle Webster and Jed Beaton set to resume rivalry at Manjimup 15000

A generational battle reshaping Australian motocross is set to headline this weekend’s Manjimup 15000.

The two title challengers in Australia’s Pro MX1 Series, Honda Racing Australia’s Kyle Webster and Monster Energy CDR Yamaha rider Jed Beaton, have both announced they will be heading back west to tackle Australia’s fastest track, the Cosy Creek MX Circuit.

Webster, a WA local, will be looking for redemption this year, after he had what was set to be his inaugural Manjimup 15000 victory stolen away from him at the last grasp after crashing in the final race, having led the All-Star’s class all weekend in 2024.

Beaton snatched victory on that consequential first corner to claim his first Manjimup 15000 title and the first for Yamaha since 2021.

The two took this momentum from last year’s Manjimup 15000 weekend into the remainder of the 2024 Pro MX1 series, with the two trading wins across the remaining rounds in what was described as the tightest fight in Australian motocross history.

Having finished the 2024 Pro MX1 season tied on 382 points, Webster claimed the crown by means of a countback, having finished with a higher number of wins across the year.

Now, after four rounds in the 2025 Pro MX1 series, the close battle continues, with Beaton leading Webster 160 points to 147, leaving the pair again sitting first and second in the title race respectively.

Beaton said he and Webster were rivals on track but had developed a good friendship off track.

“For the fan side of things, our rivalry is probably the best thing for Australian motocross at the moment,” he said.

“We’re rivals on the track, but off track, we train together every day with my brother on his program.

“So yeah, we kind of know where each other’s at and I think, in one way, we help each other raise the bar a little bit.”

Meanwhile, five-time Australian Motocross Champion Regan Duffy is poised for an emotional return to Manjimup for the first time since surviving a near-fatal accident.

The now Raceline Husqvarna Tdub Racing Team rider said he was excited about returning to the event in which he became the youngest ever champion, in 2019.

“It’s always an exciting time, not even just for the racing, it’s just a great weekend to hang out with friends and family,” he said.

“If I’m in Manjimup, I’m happy.”

Only three months after Duffy finished runner-up in the 2021 Manjimup 15000, he was left fighting for his life on the floor of the Shrubland MX Park circuit, after he had been unintentionally run over by a rival rider in an opening lap multi-bike incident.

In the emergency helicopter on the way to Perth, Duffy’s condition considerably worsened as he sustained a traumatic cardiac arrest, causing a stroke and eventually a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury.

Doctors performed open heart surgery in critical care at Fiona Stanley Hospital, with Duffy being placed in an induced coma. He woke eight days later.

Within the space of a month, he was sent home with a stroke rehabilitation program to regain motor co-ordination in his left arm.

“I had many doctors and nurses baffled at how I had survived let alone not been disabled or have permanent damage to parts,” he said.

Just over 12 months after the incident, Duffy signed with GASGAS Racing Team Australia to take on the Australian Pro MX1 for the 2023 season.

After his remarkable comeback, the reality of returning to professional racing in such a short timeframe hit Duffy hard, suffering multiple setbacks throughout the 2023 MX1 season that saw him finish a disappointing 16th.

Duffy chose to sit out the 2024 season, focusing on building up his strength, and now has returned fitter and stronger for the 2025 ProMX1 season.

“It’s definitely much better this time around and I’m happy to just be making progress without sort of going backwards every couple weeks due to a silly crash or something like that,” he said.

“I said before the season I’ll just give me a bit of time and I’ll see how I start riding. And if I start riding good then let’s try and make something happen. And then I started riding well again, and all the pieces of the puzzle have sort of fallen together.”

Duffy finished ninth in the opening round of the Pro MX1 season in Wonthaggi.

“My main goal is just to get back to the old Regan, which obviously we’ve seen at Manjimup before,” he said.

“I just want to ride like myself, to be honest. That’s my whole goal for this year.”