DAVIES TO RACE AUSX AUCKLAND & GEELONG

Kiwi 250SX East Champion Cole Davies has been confirmed for both the 2026 AUSX Auckland round and the AUSX Open in Geelong, headlining a stacked rider line-up featuring reigning AUSX Champion Dean Wilson, 2026 AMA Supercross Champion Ken Roczen, and 2025 250SMX Champion Jo Shimoda.

New Zealand’s North Island product Cole Davies is set for a double dose of home cooking in 2026, with the newly-crowned AMA Supercross 250SX East Champion confirmed for both AUSX Auckland and the AUSX Open in Geelong. It caps off a whirlwind year for the 18-year-old, whose meteoric rise through the American Supercross ranks has made him one of the sport’s most exciting young talents – and now, one of AUSX’s headline drawcards on both sides of the Tasman.

Davies’ Auckland appearance at North Harbour Stadium on October 31 will be the more emotional of the two, given it’s just minutes from where he grew up and marks the first time Supercross has returned to New Zealand since 2019. He’ll then back that up in Geelong on November 7, where AUSX Open makes its debut at GMHBA Stadium – a venue shift that organisers say will deliver the biggest and most dynamic track in the event’s 11-year history.

“Coming home to race in front of Kiwi fans, my friends and family at North Harbour Stadium is going to be one of the most special moments of my career,” Davies said. “Growing up on the North Shore, this is something I could only dream about as a kid. To now return home after competing on the world stage and share that experience with New Zealand fans means everything to me.”

Joining Davies at both rounds is reigning AUSX Champion Dean Wilson, who backed up his 2023 SX1 title with a second crown in 2025 – a career-defining, emotional victory that came not long after the Scotsman lost his mother mid-season.

Rounding out the international headliners are AMA Supercross Champion Ken Roczen and Japan’s Jo Shimoda. Roczen’s 2026 title, secured in Salt Lake City in May, capped one of the sport’s great comeback stories following a career-threatening arm injury back in 2017, and his Auckland and Geelong appearances give fans a rare shot at seeing the reigning AMA Champion race at his peak on this side of the Pacific.

“Winning the AMA Supercross Championship this year was one of the proudest moments of my career,” Roczen said. “It’s been a long journey to get back to the top and something I never take for granted.”

Shimoda, meanwhile, will make his premier-class 450cc Supercross debut at AUSX Open Geelong before heading to Perth the following week – a one-off step up from the 250cc class he’ll return to for the 2027 AMA season. It follows valuable 450cc experience gained at last year’s Motocross of Nations, with Shimoda backing himself for the step up after also claiming the 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship in the 250cc class.

“I had some experience racing the 450cc at Motocross of Nations last year and went well, so I expect to be racing for the win in November,” Shimoda said. “I’m fired up to race in Geelong and Perth, before switching back to the 250cc to prepare for the 2027 season in USA.”

AUSX CEO Adam Bailey said the calibre of the international line-up continued to grow the profile of the trans-Tasman series. “With riders from Germany, USA, New Zealand, Scotland, France and now Japan, we can’t wait for this October and November.”