Image: Clare Mac Photography.

A cameo appearance in the Allstars MX1 class at the 2025 Manjimup 15,000 was a unique test for defending national MX2 champion Brodie Connolly, with his weekend underscored by the elimination-type Shootout victory and third-place in the overall classification.

Piloting a Honda CRF450RWE, Connolly was up against both national MX1 class front-runners, Jed Beaton (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha) and defending champion Kyle Webster (Berry Sweet Honda Racing), capturing four third-place finishes across the races to earn P3 overall in his first showing at the iconic event.

In the elimination races, four back-to-back single lap encounters were intense for the Polyflor Honda-backed rider and the field, however, it was in this format that the 21-year-old shone, taking top honours against some of the country’s best.

“It was a wicked weekend in Manjimup, I haven’t experienced anything like that in Australian motocross before, with how loud it was,” Connolly told MotoOnline. “That was my first time at the event, and on the 450 too, so we had a bit on, and it was cool to line up against both Jed and Kyle.

“Those boys are hauling at the moment and it’s pretty cool to see how fast they go when the track gets that rough. For me, I rode the 450 for the first time on the Friday of the event, so I was keeping my MX2 championship in the back of my mind and trying not to end up on my face.”

Seven from eight holeshots throughout the day was another highlight for the Kiwi sensation, who admitted that the bigger bike requires a different style of riding in order to extract the best out of it. He’s not ruling out a full-time switch if he remains in Australia for 2026.

“It’s definitely a lot different from my 250, and sometimes if I’m on Jed or Kyle throughout the week, they’ll tell me that the 250 is easier to ride at that place, which usually I blow off because I think they’re just saying that because I’m close [laughs],” he continued.

“I’ve got an idea of what they mean after this weekend – it’s a lot of bike to hold on to. The weight is really different from the 250, and I needed to ride lower in the rev range, otherwise I’d be doing 360s out of the turns.

“All in all, though, it was a good experience, and depending on how the next year or so goes, I could see myself on one as I don’t think I’m someone who would hang around in the 250 class [in Australia] and try win lots of races, I’d want to move on from that and have a crack at the big bike.”