Craig sweeps Townsville AUSX opener as Connolly takes SX2

Craig goes 1-1 at AUSX Townsville as Connolly tops SX2

The 2026 Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship presented by Monster Energy opened at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville, with Christian Craig sweeping both SX1 Finals while Brodie Connolly topped a far less predictable SX2 contest.

AUSX reported a crowd of 16,095 for the season opener, with the double-Final format immediately putting a premium on consistency as well as outright speed.

Craig had set the pace in SX1 qualifying with a 47.013, three-tenths clear of Luke Clout, while Max Anstie was quickest across the SX2 qualifying groups with a 46.645 ahead of Lux Turner and Connolly.

The Heat races provided a better indication of how close the leading contenders were likely to be. Stark’s Michael Hicks won the opening SX2 Heat ahead of Turner, while Connolly edged Anstie by just 0.110 seconds in Heat 2. Clout took the opening SX1 Heat from Hayden Mellross before Craig won Heat 2 ahead of Cedric Soubeyras.

Clout then produced the quickest single lap of the night in SX1 Superpole, his 46.649 a full 1.100 seconds quicker than Craig, with Soubeyras third and Matt Moss fourth.

SX1 – Craig converts pace into maximum points

Vince Friese was credited with the holeshot in the opening SX1 Final, but Jorge Zaragoza led when the field completed the opening lap and remained in front through lap two.

Craig moved past the Stark rider on lap three and controlled the race from there. Soubeyras worked his way into second late in the Final, leaving Zaragoza third.

Clout’s race had gone in the opposite direction early. After topping Superpole, the KTM rider was only 12th at the completion of lap one. He recovered to fourth and underlined his pace by setting the fastest lap of the Final at 47.795, but the early loss of track position left him 13.497 seconds behind Craig at the flag.

Craig won Final 1 by 8.213 seconds over Soubeyras, with Zaragoza another 2.270 seconds back in third. Mellross completed the top five behind Clout.

Mellross took the holeshot in Final 2, although Craig had already worked his way into the lead by the end of the opening lap. Clout was fourth at that point but moved into second on lap two and stayed there for the remainder of the race.

Craig again controlled proceedings from the front and took the chequered flag 6.599 seconds clear of Clout. Soubeyras moved past Mellross on the final lap to claim third, with Zaragoza fifth.

The two victories gave Craig the maximum 50 points from Townsville. Soubeyras leaves the opening round eight points behind on 42, while Clout’s 4-2 results put him third on 40. Zaragoza and Mellross complete the championship top five on 36 and 34 points respectively.

As Townsville was the opening round, the round points above also form the championship standings after Round 1.

SX2 – Connolly takes the round as Final 2 penalty reshuffles order

SX2 proved much less straightforward. Hicks had won the opening Heat from Turner, while Connolly beat Anstie by only 0.110 seconds in the second Heat.

Connolly then took the holeshot in Final 1 and led the opening five laps. The New Zealander crashed during the race, and Reid Taylor headed the field at the completion of lap six before Connolly regained the lead on lap seven.

Connolly recovered to win by 2.185 seconds over Taylor, with Hicks third and Brian Hsu fourth. Turner finished fifth despite setting the fastest lap of the race at 48.874.

Anstie’s opening Final unravelled early, and he was classified as a DNF after completing only three laps.

Cameron McAdoo also had a difficult opener and finished ninth.

Final 2 produced another major swing in the results. Anstie was credited with the holeshot, but Hicks was in front by the completion of lap one and then led all the way to the chequered flag. However, Hicks subsequently received a five-position penalty from the Clerk of Course for jumping under a waved medical flag.

That penalty changed the official Final 2 result considerably. Anstie was promoted to first, ahead of Turner and Connolly, with Noah Ferguson fourth and McAdoo fifth. Hicks was classified sixth.

Across the two Finals, Connolly’s 1-3 results were enough for the Townsville overall on 45 points.

Lux Turner went 5-2 for 38 points, while Hicks’ 3-6 scorecard left him third overall on 35. Ferguson sits fourth on 33 and McAdoo fifth on 28.

Anstie’s Final 2 victory gave him 25 points for the round, but his Final 1 DNF leaves him sixth in the championship order heading to Auckland.

* Michael Hicks crossed the line first in SX2 Final 2 but was handed a five-position penalty for jumping under a waved medical flag.

As Townsville was the opening round, the round points above also form the championship standings after Round 1.

SMX Next – Nunn leads throughout

Max Compton and Jackson Fuller had won the two SMX Next Heat races, but Jack Nunn took control when the points were on offer in the ten-lap Final.

Nunn grabbed the holeshot and led every lap on his way to victory.

Jack Deveson produced the fastest lap of the race at 51.845, just 0.021 seconds quicker than Nunn’s best, but Nunn maintained enough of a buffer to win by 6.070 seconds.

Compton finished another 1.849 seconds behind Deveson in third, with Fuller fourth and Luis Cannon fifth.

Auckland next for AUSX

The championship now has a four-week break before Round 2 at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on October 31.

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