Jake Cannon holds his own in AMA Pro Motocross debut

Having originally planned to race just the Scouting Moto Combine at RedBud, where he grabbed a solid 11th before the second moto was cancelled due to bad weather, gifted young Australian Jake Cannon and his MobileX Fire Power Honda team then decided to race the AMA Pro Motocross showpiece on the Saturday. Words: Edward Stratmann

Unexpectedly lining up for his professional debut on one of the biggest stages the sport offers, he handled the occasion brilliantly in front of the wild RedBud faithful.

While nervous making this huge step up in class, the 17-year-old claimed an impressive 14th in 250 qualifying before securing an admirable 21st overall by virtue of his 31-18 moto scores, with him notably holding his own at this elite level on a day where he learned plenty.

“Wow, this was crazy. I lined up between Shimoda and Bennick, and it wasn’t something I was ready for. It was hard to get the flow I needed to be further up. I was tense and overthinking most things, but as the day progressed, I got more comfortable. I know I want to be overseas; these guys sprint for 30 minutes, and I have some work to do before I come back. But this has been amazing. Again, I am so grateful for the opportunity,” said Cannon.

Honda Racing Australia’s director Yarrive Konsky then added: “Jake Cannon – I take my hat off to him. Lining up against the people he looks up to, aspires to be, and beat, it was clearly overwhelming, but he didn’t shy away, and he has shown he has the potential to be something special.”

Following this incredible weekend, Cannon will now turn his focus to the upcoming ProMX round in Toowoomba, where he’ll be eager to close the gap to MX3 championship leader Koby Hantis, which currently sits at 12 points.

Image: ProMX