Image: Octopi Media.

A group of four Australian wildcard riders have been named for the Perth rounds of the 2024 World Supercross Championship (WSX), led by Motocross of Nations winner Kyle Webster and Nathan Crawford in WSX, as well as Kayden Minear and Reid Taylor in SX2.

New national MX1 champion Webster – originally from Western Australia – is a shock inclusion after sitting out the opening three rounds of AUSX, while Crawford is fresh back from injury and finished 11th at Wollongong.

“I’m looking forward to racing WSX in 2024, especially on home ground in Australia,” Webster commented. “After racing in the series part-time last season, I feel like I have some unfinished business, and I’m excited to put my speed on show in the main 450cc class. I’m feeling good, and most importantly, I feel focused and that should give me a good edge in Perth.”

Crawford added: “I’ve raced WSX twice in Australia and from my time in Melbourne, I know just how exciting this series is and I’m excited to be back for Perth. Racing in the primary WSX class will be a big change for me, but I’ve gained a lot of experience racing 450s this year, and I’m hoping to make my mark in front of my home crowd.”

Another Western Australian local, Minear – the 17-year-old who is linked to a full-time transition to the US for 2024 – will be a crowd favourite in Perth in addition to Webster, the KTM Racing Team regular entering SX2 alongside Empire Kawasaki’s Taylor.

“I’m super-excited to make my WSX debut,” explained Minear. “As a West Australian, having the chance to race in Perth is a once in a lifetime opportunity and being able to do that not once, but twice, will make it even more special. 2024 has been very kind to me so far and I want to carry my current form to WSX – my target is to fight at the pointy end.”

Taylor said: “This year has been a very exciting journey for me and to now be racing in WSX is a dream come true. From my perspective, Perth is the best place I could make my debut. I’ll take each race as it comes, but in WSX there isn’t much time to pause and reflect between races – you just need to go out there, give it everything, and see where you end up.”

This year’s WSX Australian Grand Prix will be staged over two nights to make up rounds two and three of the 2024 season between November 23-24 at HBF Park in Perth.