Anstie eager to get back out there as the motocross outdoor season beckons

Veteran Max Anstie spent nine seasons of his professional racing career competing in the FIM Motocross World Championship. Now 33 years old and looking to the opening round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, set for Pala Raceway on May 30, Anstie, unabashed in his passion for traditional motocross, is thrilled to get to the outdoors.

Absent from the entire 2025 outdoor racing season due to a broken leg, the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha racer keen to get back on the outdoor tracks he loves this summer, determined to make a run at the AMA 250MX Championship. Third overall in the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship 250SX West Division, the son of former 500cc World Championship Grand Prix competitor Mervyn Anstie knows he can win – he proved that in winning the ’26 Anaheim 1 Supercross – and now wants to make it all happen in the great outdoors.

“Everything is going along,” said Anstie, a British native now based out of Cairo, Ga. “I’m glad we made it through supercross. Now we’re full steam ahead for outdoors. So looking forward to that. So now I’m wide open and getting ready for outdoors for round one at Pala.

"We’ve just been training and riding the last few days. It actually rained a lot so our first two days of outdoors – it was mud everywhere! It was our nice welcome back to outdoors. We kind of got our feet wet, literally. Now we’ve got this next week to get some testing done and then we’re rolling on into Pala. So the outdoor season is coming around quick.

“It’s pretty intense training with the Star guys,” furthered Anstie. “I think that’s the new way, I guess, of training facilities. Back in the day, I did a lot of my work all alone. You didn’t know what the other guys were doing. You were kind of working on yourself. Whereas now, nothing is secret. Everything is on show, but you are pushed to the limit every day. It can be a good thing and it can also bite you if you end up stepping over the limit and crashing. We’ve got, like, eight guys for outdoors on this 250. Some of them are 16, 17, 18 years old and they’ve got no fear and they’re just wide open. It’s good. It’s a good balance and mix of guys. It’s definitely been intense, for sure. These boys are all pushing fast.”

Anstie reflected back on his competitive 2026 250SX West Division Supercross season.

“It was decent,” he said. “We started off strong in Anaheim, with a win. I got the first few rounds under my belt and it was really weird. After Seattle I wasn’t feeling great and then all of a sudden I wake up in the middle of the night and I had bad stomach pain. I ended up having my appendix out. It kind of slowed things down for me a little bit. Even though I didn’t miss any of the races, I missed a lot of bike time, you know? I missed three weeks there.

"Just niggling things from then have been bothering me. My back was hurting from the surgery they did through my stomach. Even today, one of the stitches from the incision where they did it kept getting infected. Today I was back at the doctor again, and they had to open it up and stich it back up again. It’s just been annoying little things away from the races. I made it to the races and I got on the podium at the last round. I was solid. We got third in the championship and that was OK, but there were a lot of things between the races that were just kid of random and just slowed the ship down with training and that stuff.

"I’m pleased with my performance of getting to all the races. I had a lot of solid moments. I do think that next year I can step it up again and fight for the title. Of course Haiden Deegan rode great and he won it and now he’s not going to be in the class anymore next year. I mean, there is always going to be another guy that is stepping up, but I’m hoping that next year I can be in a position to fight that regional supercross championship, whether it’s West or East. But right now the focus is on outdoors. Like I said, I’ve had some time now to get my feet back under me and we’ve got a couple more weeks to get rolling for Pala. Hopefully, we’ve got all the niggly things out of the way from supercross and we can just focus on the rest of this SMX series and put on a good performance and fight for the wins the whole way through.”

Anstie firmly believes he can be a full-on contender for the 2026 outdoor title.

“At the end of the day, I’ve raced a lot of years of MXGP and I’ve got a great bike and team around me and this is first time coming in on a 250 that I’ve had since 2010. I think for me, I’m excited to have some bike time and to have some races under my belt already with supercross. I’m rolling into outdoors with some bike time and all of the training with all of the Star guys and with a plan and with Gareth Swanepoel and everyone. I want to be coming out swinging for Pala and keep building throughout the year and be strong and solid the whole way through. That’s the goal.”

Growing up in the UK, with his father Marvyn Anstie competing in the world championship and spending nine seasons in the MXGP racing community, Max is a major natural terrain motocross aficionado.

“Oh, of course,” said the former Grand Prix winner. “The reason I came here to America was for supercross. Supercross is the stars and stripes. I’m under the stars and lights of Anaheim. It’s awesome. It’s a dream. But motocross is where we began. For me, it’s obviously where I spent most of my life and career doing. The last few years I’ve really tried to perfect my supercross skills and I’ve come a long way.

"Riding outdoors, it’s a different game all together. I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into that and getting stuck into outdoors. Of course the competition is fast. These kids are all really, really good and the tracks are awesome. Hey, I’m looking forward to putting on a show and trying to get this Star Yamaha up on the box consistently. We’ll see how she goes. These guys are a gnarly bunch of dudes, so you’ve got to be ready and you’ve got to be prepared. Coming off a supercross series, it will be interesting to see how everyone stacks up at round one and see who has done the work and who needs to do a bit more.”

Anstie's additional win at Arlington and a number of podium finishes in supercross along the way in 2026 have strengthened his confidence and determination.

“Yeah, winning makes a big difference, for sure,” agreed Anstie. “And I think being a little more experienced with things, it helps. You know the puzzle has to fall into place and the stars do have to align with everything. You’ve got to be healthy and in a good position. You’ve got to be prepared and trained and have the testing done and feel comfortable on the bike, so just kind of checking those boxes off at the moment and it’s kind of nice to have these couple weeks to go through those things and fine-tune some areas.

"It’s still a dream to be going into this outdoor season with the team and with the bike that we have. In supercross this year, we won every supercross race but one. As a team it’s pretty impressive and it’s a really cool operation to be a part of. I’m super-pumped to be where we are at and I hope it continues. I definitely want to go out and put my best foot forward for the outdoors. I’ve definitely got some unfinished business there.”