The second running of the FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup will be held in Wonthaggi, Victoria on March 22-23, with an expanded geographical imprint that also includes teams from the United States of America and Africa.
The new additions will join founding members Australia and New Zealand in the 2025 event, which will be held across three motos around the challenging Wonthaggi track.
Twenty riders – five from each team – will be competing, kickstarting a huge year for women’s motocross in Australia which will culminate with Darwin hosting the first-ever round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship Down Under as part of the MXGP of Australia from September 19-21.
The best 14 results for each team (ie a team can drop its worst result) will determine the final standings in the 2025 FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup.
The line-ups for the four teams are as follows:
Team Australia
• Charli Cannon (Honda, captain)
• Taylah McCutcheon (Kawasaki)
• Taylor Thompson (KTM)
• Madison Healey (GASGAS)
• Madi Simpson (Yamaha)
Team New Zealand
• Aime Roberts (Yamaha, captain)
• Karaitiana Horne (Kawasaki)
• Taylar Rampton (Kawasaki)
• Mikayla Griffiths (Yamaha)
• Milla Dahlenberg (KTM)
Team United States of America
• Kyleigh Stallings (Kawasaki, captain)
• Jamie Astudillo (KTM)
• Jordan Jarvis (Yamaha)
• Lachlan Turner (Yamaha)
• Mikayla Nielsen (Honda)
Team Africa
• Leah Heygate (KTM, captain)
• Atete Benzinge (KTM)
• Zoe Lee Waldschmidt (KTM)
• Zoe Botha (KTM)
• Kateete Sharifah (GASGAS)
Team Australia was victorious in the inaugural FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup
The expanded 2025 FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup line-up has already created an enormous amount of intrigue, with all four teams featuring potent combinations of experience and emerging talent.
When the sheer unpredictability of a teams’ event is also factored into the equation, the balance of power in Wonthaggi could certainly change in the blink of an eye. Fine margins can often decide the outcome, which makes it an even more exciting spectacle.
Notwithstanding the fluid dynamics, Team Australia is galvanised to make it two victories on the trot after winning the inaugural FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup in Woodville, New Zealand, last year.
With the irrepressible multi-time national champion Cannon and Thompson leading the way, Australia can bank on some big points coming its way to pile on the pressure from the get-go.
Charli Cannon will be the lynchpin for Australia. Image: Foremost Media
Team New Zealand will be led by 16-year-old wiz, Horne, a regular competitor in Australia, while captain Roberts returns to motocross racing following an ACL injury and becoming a first-time mum.
Roberts finished third at the recent New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix in the senior women’s class, two spots ahead of Dahlenberg who is another key pillar in the Kiwi line-up.
The young gun of Team New Zealand, Karaitiana Horne, will be pushing hard in Wonthaggi.
Team USA has a premium edge, too, with rising star Astudillo, Jarvis, Turner and Stallings all bringing AMA-winning pedigree to the FIM Oceania campaign, while Nielsen – the 2019 AMA Female Racer of the Year – has already made waves in the women’s motocross scene.
Stallings will be aiming to deliver for Team USA in her role as captain. Image: RacerX
Team FIM Africa draws riders from Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia, with captain Heygate definitely the ‘elder stateswoman’ of the quintet at 25 years of age.
Heygate competed in the German round of the 2024 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, finishing a very impressive 14th in race two.
Team Africa is aiming to make a big impression on Australian soil. [L to R] Zoe Lee Waldschmidt, Atete Benzinge, Leah Heygate, Zoe Botha and Kateete Sharifa
The FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup will be held alongside round one of the 2025 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX).
The FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup will be incorporated into two of the ProMX MXW 15-minute plus a lap motos – one on Saturday and one on Sunday – as well as a standalone 20-minute plus a lap moto on Sunday.
Viewers in the USA, New Zealand and Africa can watch all the action live (or on-demand) on Sunday, March 23 via the https://fim-moto.tv/ platform. The coverage will include both 2025 FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup motos, as well as all the ProMX competition. It begins at 9:30am, and ends at 4:15pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).
