A meteoric rise has launched Polyflor Honda Racing’s Brodie Connolly to the very top of the MX2 class, with the defending champion widely regarded as the favourite to capture a second crown this year. Sitting atop the throne can bring with it added pressure of expectation, however, a balanced perspective sees Connolly keeping things light in just his third professional season.

Time can move at a blink-and-you’ll miss it pace, as it feels like yesterday that a young, relatively unknown, New Zealand teenager showed up to the opening round of the Penrite ProMX Championship in 2023, blasted to the opening moto lead in Wonthaggi and held firm at the front of the field, before the unfamiliar moto duration took its toll on the rookie.

At the time, it was Honda teammate Wilson Todd and KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford who were the class alpha males, with Jesse Dobson, Rhys Budd and Noah Ferguson thrown in there for good measure. Fast forward two years, and we have a different line-up in the MX2 class, with many of the old faces having disappeared from the line, leaving Connolly as one of the last of a generation of racers.

“Time goes pretty quickly, for sure,” reflected the 21-year-old. “I guess looking back a couple of years, I was just a rookie in my first season here and that doesn’t feel like long ago at all. I won quite a few races last year, which led to me [being considered] the guy quite quickly, and that for sure has an impact on your mindset.

Image: Foremost Media.

“When you’re the one being chased, versus me trying to chase down the others like I was in year one, your mind just does change a little bit. In saying that, it’s just about making sure I stay concentrated on myself and what I do well, as opposed to thinking too much about the competition I’m up against. It’s more about staying focused on what I can do well.”

Inevitably, minds are prone to change and develop over time, with things like confidence, pressure, belief, and so on having an impact on perspective, and an interesting place this can arise is in both chasing a maiden championship, and then moving on to defending that crown the following time out.

We’ve seen riders crumble under such pressure, we’ve seen riders thrive, and we’ve seen the best of the best be able to withstand this onslaught of expectation year on year, which I believe is a hallmark when defining some of the absolute greats. For Connolly, the belief that he has been there and done it once before is generating more peace than turbulence for the number one.

“I think my mindset this year is actually a lot better than last year,” he continued. “Knowing that I’ve done it before and can win a championship puts things at ease a little more, and honestly, I would say that I was more stressed last year. Not having those first championship nerves means that I can go out there and focus on myself, try not to make mistakes, and back it up this year.

Image: Foremost Media.

“Confidence does do wonders, so mentally I have been finding it a little easier this year, just trusting my ability. Ultimately though, last year I had a winning focus, and that’s the same as this year, so I guess some things change, while others don’t.”

Speaking of the generational shift in the quarter-litre category, which is seeing the likes of Ryder Kingsford, Alex Larwood, Byron Dennis and more stake their claim as the young riders to come, Connolly has set firm sights on chasing the international dream in future, seeing another MX2 title alongside a strong showing in Australian Supercross (AUSX) later on in the year as a satisfying end to his domestic career.

“It’d be awesome to win another motocross title this year, and then have another good crack at Australian Supercross,” the Kiwi added. “In a perfect world, I’d take both championships and then head overseas, but we will see what happens and how the rest of the year unfolds.

“I think I’m ready to have a crack over in America, and I don’t want to get a few years down the track and wonder what could have been. I think Australia will always be here for me if my US plans don’t work out – I could race another 15 years here – but at this stage, that isn’t what I want to do. I want to get to the top of the sport.”

Image: Foremost Media.

We’re currently experiencing another young Kiwi take the world by storm, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies the perfect representation of what can be achieved by riders from New Zealand, which adds fuel to Connolly’s fire, while also understanding that everyone is on their unique path.

“It definitely adds fuel to the fire of what Cole is doing, it’s pretty unreal,” continued Connolly. “Although everyone is on their path. There were options to go over there earlier [for me], and we were sort of talking about that a year or so ago, but decided that it’d be best to do some more time here, taking the smart approach and accomplishing what I want to do here. Like I said, everyone is different, but I honestly think that I can make it work over there when the time is right.”

Time moves fast at times, and before we know it, we’ll probably be talking of a time when Brodie Connolly was the benchmark in Australian MX2 competition. Balancing future aspirations and current goals can be a tricky task, however, it seems the defending champion is in full control of his destiny.