Monster's Minear adding extra Aussie grit to AMA Pro Motocross 250 field

Australians competing in American motocross and supercross have created a major impact on the sport in this nation.

Grand Prix racer Jeff Leisk lined up here in the mid-1980s. Chad Reed scored 61 race victories and four championships in AMA supercross and motocross. Michael Byrne and Brett Metcalfe were factory-backed racers in the U.S., and were both consistent top 10 finishers. Dean Ferris and Todd Waters raced here. And we all know what Australian brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence have been up to in the States.

Now 19-year-old Kayden Minear is holding station in the U.S. Hailing from Perth, Western Australia, Minear turned professional in his native country at age 15. Four years later, he is competing for the mighty Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team, and is currently sixth in points in the AMA Pro Motocross 250 classification.

Having powered to four top five finishes thus far in 2026, Minear has displayed speed and grit all along the way this summer, and with only the Ironman National left to be run this coming Saturday, is hoping to score a podium finish in the final two motos of the season. 

Minear has found that riding, testing and training amongst all the team riders, 250cc and 450cc, at the 94-acre Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team facility in Cairo, Georgia has been instrumental in spooling up his speed and technique on the Yamaha YZ250F.

“I think it’s a good environment to be around," he said. "For some people, it might drag them down and burn them out, but I’m never afraid of hard work. Riding with all the boys day-in and day-out definitely shows you where you are weak, and definitely where you need to work on. I think it’s really good. I think that’s why you always see results out of our team. It’s the work environment with racing every day.

"Everybody is pushing each other and we’re all racers at the end of the day, and none of us are wanting to lose. It’s definitely an all-out battle every day. And we all kind of work together. Me and Cole [Davies] kind of bounce off each other on different ideas. We look at bike setups and sometimes we’ll swap just depending on what it is. We definitely work together. We definitely bounce feedback off everybody, so it’s definitely a good environment.”

Being as young as he is and how far from home, he is, does Minear ever feel homesick? 

“No, not really,” Minear explained. “I’ve really enjoyed it in Tallahassee. Obviously, there is not a whole lot to do, but it’s kind of become my home. I’ve been away from home since I was 13 – I was very young when I moved out of home to move to the other side of Australia. It’s kind of become normal for me to be away from family. Obviously, it becomes tough at some stages. It’s my brother’s birthday today and I’m missing that. I’m not there for him. Other than that, it’s kind of normal for me now. I’m loving it here. I think it’s a beautiful country, and fortunately enough I get to travel it every weekend. It’s cool.”

Minear is sixth in 250MX points with four top five and eight top 10 finishes throughout the season. Certainly solid numbers. 

“When you put it that way, it’s like, ‘Wow. It is pretty good,'" he said. "But I can still be better. Every weekend for a long time now, we’ve just been building and building. It’s kind of plateaued over the last two rounds, which I’m not stoked over. There are a few things that we’re trying to iron out. I think coming into this weekend, we’re in a very good position. I’ve been learning some new tracks here. It’s definitely tough, but at the end of the day, if you’re good enough, you’re good enough. There’s no point of making the excuse that you’ve never ridden a track. It’s part of the challenge.”

With the final AMA Pro Racing 250MX National set for Ironman Raceway on Saturday, Minear certainly has objectives he’d like to reach before heading into the off-season months. 

“I want to start seeing some podiums,” he said. “I think I’m definitely good enough. Throughout the week, my speed is very good. We’ve been working on everything and kind of ironing out all the crinkles in the program, and I think we’re in a really good spot for this last round. I’m feeling good. I’ve done some testing. I’m feeling good on the bike and confident on the bike. I’m really looking forward to Ironman. I’ve ridden Ironman a few times now, so it’s kind of not new to me. I’ve always had good results there, so I’m really looking forward to that round.”

Still quite new to the sprawling U.S.A. motocross scene, Minear has both learned and adapted to American race speed and racecraft as he’s crisscrossed the nation.

“It’s tricky,” said Minear. “The raw speed everybody has here is mind blowing. I think that has been what has taken me the longest to adjust to. My fitness is always good, and everything is good, but going into the races, the speed was unbelievable. It was like, ‘Whoa, I’ve got to figure this out.” So we spent a lot of long days in the peak summer here in Florida with Jeannie Carmchael, just doing sprint laps and getting my speed up to pace. I think that’s definitely one big thing this year. I’ve been working on the speed and I’m kind of on the same speed as everybody this year, so it definitely makes it a lot easier.”

Minear came to the United States of America for one primary reason.

“I am here to win,” he said. “And all my team guys are willing to do anything it takes. Sometimes a little too much, and I find myself running myself into the ground working a little too hard sometimes.

"I’m willing to put in the work. I was speaking to my coach today and he said, ‘There are few rookies that have done what you’ve done. There are not many who have shown the consistency that you’re showing this year.’ There are not that have done that, so I think we’re in a very good spot for next year. I’m looking forward to it.”

Minear is also looking ahead to the three-race 2026 Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship beginning with SMX Playoff 1 set for Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, September 12. 

“Yeah, definitely I’m looking forward to SMX,” he said. “I’m in a very good spot for SMX points. I’m in sixth in points now and I’m only moving up, so I’m looking very good for SMX and I’m excited for that. There has been a bit of talk for the Motocross des Nations and that has not been ruled out yet. We’ll just see what happens with that. Definitely a chance I might do that. It’s pretty cool to see what Team Australia has done over these last couple of years with this winning streak.”

Did Minear realize that the 1992 Motocross des Nations took place at the sandy, whooped-out Cosy Creek circuit in Manjimup, Western Australia? 

“No, it was crazy,” answered Minear. “Somebody was actually telling me about that and I was like, ‘Wow. I didn’t even know that.’”

Does he ever check in with the Australian-born Lawrence brothers?

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I speak to them. They’ve become more of my friends lately since I’ve been in America. I go speak to them and shoot the **** with them. It’s good to have some Australians that kind of understand our personalities. You can say things that you probably can’t say to Americans. It’s been really good having fellow Australians in it. It’s crazy what the brothers are doing. It’s pretty cool to see two brothers at the top of the game.”

And is everyone back home keeping an eye on Minear and the Lawrence brothers and the profound effect they’re having on American motocross? 

“Definitely," he said. "Everybody in Australia is very in tune on what’s going on over here. I still get a lot of messages from back home and my family and friends definitely support a lot. The media is also very big on it, and they do follow it quite a bit.”