Kyle Webster has always been known as a sand specialist. The West Australian native sure can carve a sand track but the Boost Mobile Honda rider has added to his repertoire in 2024 and has been on fire in the ProMX premiere MX1 division. Webster was on a roll with the Championship points lead after round five and with a month to burn before the next round, he seized the opportunity to race a couple of rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in the USA.

Honda Racing Australia’s Yarrive Konsky arranged the 450cc class ride with the Mobile X Firepower Honda Team at Southwick and Red Bud for rounds five and six of the Pro Motocross Championship and the rest was up to Webster. The US moto scene is as big as it gets on and off the track so Webster was joined by good friend and former racer Justin Carafa.

WEBBY WEAVED HIS MAGIC

“Racing in the US is something Yarrive (Konsky) and I have been talking about for a couple of years,” Webster explained. “It’s been on the cards for a while. We were meant to do it last year but I don’t think I was up to speed. I definitely wasn’t riding where I am at the moment. We didn’t speak about it much earlier this year but once our race season got rolling and everything was going smoothly and felt good it came up in conversation”.

“I was fortunate that the Firepower Honda Racing Team is supercross-only so they weren’t doing too much other than a bit of riding and preparing for super motocross and supercross when I went over so they had everything ready for me. That was a big blessing”.

“I flew to Los Angles the Monday after racing round five of the ProMX at Murray Bridge in South Australia and spent two days with Dean Wilson to break up the travel”.

“I arrived at Southwick on the Thursday and the Team was there with my bike which had the same suspension setting as my bike in Australia which was good. Everything was very much the same except I ran different triple clamps and the engine was a little different. I got to ride press day on Friday, a 15 minute session of three quarters of the track. That was it and then it was race day”.

“Race day was a bit daunting at first not knowing how their format works and all the small things like the gate pick so it felt a bit strange and stressful. When I got to Red Bud I knew what to expect”.

Although admitting to nerves and being on a bike with a different engine, Webster showed plenty of promise with 17-7 moto scores for 10th overall at Southwick. The nuggety weapon then carded 10-9 moto results for eighth overall at Red Bud. Webster even found himself in the lead of the second moto after a ripping start behind Jason Anderson.

“I got a good jump but I pushed a little bit wide in the first turn,” Webster explained. “I saw a small gap when everyone funneled up into the inside of the second turn because it was so tight. It was a bit of a do or die moment for me. I was pretty sure I could pull it off on the outside so I went for it and then found myself in the lead. For the next few corners it felt kind of normal but then I thought about it and it was a bit of a shock”.

“Red Bud was full-on and the Leap was massive. From the time we confirmed we were doing the trip, all I could think about was that jump and hitting it for the first time. It was raining on press day and I though surely no one was going to jump it. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw Sexton do it”.

“In that split moment I just thought I need to do this right now and get it out of the way, third gear, flat out. The camera does not do justice to how much of a knuckle there is on the top of the down ramp. You really don’t want to case it. After I jumped it a couple of times it was okay but the first time, my stomach was right up there”.

“The biggest thing I took away from it was racing at the higher intensity for so long. I tightened up at the midpoint of the races. In Australia we know how to race our championship and we all know how everyone races it but over there I didn’t know where I would slot in”.

“The first race at Red Bud I went down on the first lap and came from 26th to tenth and I felt fine the whole race. Then the next race when I was up front, I felt tight and went back a bit but I was stoked. It was a really great learning experience”.

“This was an opportunity to experience what it was all about. While I was riding at my best, it was a good time to go and do it, the support of Yarrive and the Fire Power Team made it so much easier. I’d love to go there again if something came out of this experience”.

BAGGAGE HANDLER

The chance to witness top-tier motocross in the USA with all an all-access pass was almost too good to be true for Justin Carafa. Not only is Carafa good mates with Kyle Webster, he’s also a sounding board, Websters travel companion and bag carrier. For Carafa, this was the trip of a lifetime and he came home with plenty of stories about what it was like rubbing shoulders with the biggest and best in the AMA motocross business.

“Southwick and Red Bud the two most iconic tracks on the AMA Pro Motocross calendar with Southwick being the sandiest track in the US and Redbud falling on July 4th weekend,” Carafa explains, “this was an epic way for me to witness Kyle make his AMA debut. After a successful weekend at the Australian ProMX the week prior going 1-1, the vibes where high heading to Southwick”.

“Meeting at Springfield just out of Southwick on Thursday we caught up with the Firepower Honda crew to get the weekend started and sorted for Friday morning heading to press day. Kyle’s No.762 Honda turned some heads as he got a good look at the track during a 30 minute session to get the feel for a new bike. I have watched these tracks on TV for the last 20 years and we were both shocked how small the layout actually is, being very narrow in spots that only really formed up a few lines, especially later in the day”.

“The race day schedule is different to Australia. From the second lap of the first session the riders are timed for qualifying so it was heated from the get go. Kyle was in group B so he was the last group on the track which at Southwick was a disadvantage as the track formed up and slowed riders down quickly. Kyle got stuck into it early and logged the 10th fastest time outright which gave him a good gate pick”.

“Lining up for the first moto next to Jett and Hunter Lawrence made for a nice photo, however, it was always going to be an effort to get a jump on the factory HRC Hondas. Going down in the first corner Kyle had his work cut out for him, eventually settling in 17th. Not what he was after but the speed was good, although he burnt a lot of energy that he needed for the second moto”.

“Kyle got the jump and pushed to the outside and rode around the pack to come out in fifth or sixth in the second moto. He tagged onto the back of the front pack and adapted to the pace quite well. Holding onto the top six for the first half of the race was so cool to watch. He finished seventh for tenth overall”.

“We flew to Tallahassee to stay at Max Anstie’s house. We didn’t arrive until 2:00am Monday morning which made for a slow start and a strong coffee that morning. Kyle did a recovery session that day at MTF (Millsaps Training Facility) then we checked out Yarrive’s workshop over there. The program is really legit and the bikes are contenders against the factory bikes. With Kyle getting a result at Southwick it gave everyone a boost during the week”.

“The following day we went to the Star Yamaha GOAT Farm, formally Ricky Carmichael’s racing HQ. Kyle got to spin some laps with fellow Aussie Jake Cannon in between the Star Yamaha riders doing their motos. Kyle was riding a stock CRF450R, just getting laps in, he got people talking at Red Bud so the stop watch was out. He went quickest that day”.

“I’ve never slept in, ever, however, did for our 6:00am flight to Atlanta on Wednesday. When Kyle woke me up I was angry at myself as we had a solid hour of driving to go to make the flight. Getting on the plane with minutes to spare was a relief. Flying to Atlanta then to Southbend was a solid six hours of travel”.

“We had an easy few days as Kyle didn’t ride until Friday for press day. Kyle was freaking out about Larocco’s Leap, like most of the first timers there but he managed to get it dialled in on press day. After a good result at Southwick, Kyle was able to qualify in group A and set the fourth fastest time in the first session, then P7 in the second”.

“The opening moto saw Kyle get a really good start, sitting in fifth until a front-end tuck dropped him outside the top 20. He had his work cut out for him but a solid charge, making bulk passes landed him in tenth”.

“I was standing on the first drop off at the start of the second moto and couldn’t really see the start. The next thing I know Kyle’s in the lead. The intensity of the riders behind him was crazy. Jason Anderson got around him first then Chase Sexton made the pass before Kyle almost made a counter pass back”.

“I had a Firepower headset on and I think the mechanics wanted to block me as I was losing it. Holding on to eighth for the moto gave Kyle eighth overall at Red Bud, which was huge. The amount of interest in him was crazy and having guys like Jeff Ward under the truck all weekend was just awesome”.

“It was a short but successful trip and I was stoked to tag along and feed Kyle bananas and 20mm thick peanut butter sandwiches. Being on the inside of the biggest motocross scene was epic and seeing a friend hold his own at that level was bloody exciting.”

WORDS // TUFFY

PHOTOS // KYLE WEBSTER AND HONDA AUSTRALIA