The Manjimup 15,000 is a crown jewel event on the domestic motocross calendar annually, as the nation’s top riders make the trek across to Western Australia in hopes of capturing victory at the famed venue. This year, Jed Beaton became a multi-time winner of the race, but the question begs, should the event be part of the ProMX fixture?

As Australia’s national motocross series, the expectation is that both circuits and riders are of top calibre, which can certainly be said of the latter. The former point is a little less clear, as from a racing, track, and crowd perspective, Manjimup – under the leadership of Willie Thomson of Dirt High Promotions – is unquestionably top-tier.

Both riders and teams place immense value on the weekend at Cosy Creek MX, as it doubles as not only an important race to win, but an opportunity to visit what is typically a starved state of Australian championship competition, using the time to connect with both partners and their consumer base in the region.

Image: Clare Mac Photography.

Defending ProMX MX2 champion Brodie Connolly made his first appearance this year and was taken aback by the turnout, the participation of the fans, and the overall experience, likening it to no other motocross race in Australia that he has competed in.

“It was a wicked weekend in Manjimup, I haven’t experienced anything like it in Australian motocross,” reflected Connolly, who made a one-off start on the 450. “The atmosphere was unreal, and everyone loved it. Every lap I went up the hill, I just heard people screaming, on their air horns and stuff, it was pretty wild, honestly.”

It’s a solid endorsement from a top contender and adds to the argument that it should be part of the national schedule, as some would suggest. The flip side of the coin is that it finds value in being a standalone event, paying homage to the heritage as a ‘festival of motocross’ type weekend, valuing pure racing over the points and politics of being part of a multi-round series.

Image: Clare Mac Photography.

We’ve seen ways to integrate marquee events in other sports, with Bathurst and the Supercars Championship, or Monaco in Formula One, maintaining and honouring their identity while also being part of the broader picture. In American Pro Motocross, though, we also see the legendary Glen Helen Raceway having opted out of the national series since 2018, instead favouring individual races at the iconic Southern Californian location.

For Monster Energy CDR Yamaha team owner Craig Dack – who stood atop the podium in his own right on three occasions – Manjimup is of critical value to support and win, however not necessarily needed to be added to the national roster. Its four-moto and elimination format is also vastly different to the ProMX’s standard.

“Manjimup is very important to win for us, and Jed’s victory on the weekend there was special,” reflected Dack when contacted by MotoOnline. “I haven’t seen him that focused in a while, and I get more of a kick out of it when my riders win than when I won it myself. When we sit down and look at our year, we want to win Australian Supercross, motocross, and Manjimup.

“In saying that, I don’t think that it necessarily should be part of the [ProMX] series, because it stands out on its own. I think that, in a funny way, adding it to the series would take away what Manjimup is. In my day, there wasn’t a national championship [in the form we see today] – there were a series of important events across the country that you would race, and I think it’s nice that an event like Manjimup has stood the test of time.”

Image: Clare Mac Photography.

As for the 2025 edition, Beaton added to the folklore of the history by becoming a multi-time winner, backing up last year’s triumph with a victory that came down to the fourth and final moto of the weekend, on a rough, whooped-out race track.

Beaton joins an elite club of six riders who have won more than once, with Dack, Todd Waters, Jeff Leisk, and Jay Marmont topping the list with three wins, while Beaton joins Kirk Gibbs as riders who have taken the top position on two occasions.

Regardless of how one views it, the Manjimup 15,000 is one of Australia’s most prestigious motocross events, and making it all the more special is that it does take place in Western Australia, with race fans in the west arguably getting the best standalone event of the year.