Our two-time defending FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup champions are lining up on home soil
Charli Cannon heads into the 2026 FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup as Team Australia captain and the rider everyone measures themselves against. A multiple ProMX women’s champion, Cannon is chasing a third straight cup victory on home soil at Wonthaggi over 21-22 March, while also kicking off her 2026 ProMX title defence. Fresh from a WMX podium in Darwin last year, she is currently training at the Millsaps Training Facility in Georgia, US. With New Zealand, the US and FIM Asia arriving, she expects fireworks.
You’ve led Team Australia in this event twice before, how are you feeling ahead of this year’s event?
I’m super excited. I feel like we have four countries with some very skilled female riders, so this year is probably the year I’m most excited for. And I feel probably the best I’ve felt in terms of preparation, now that I’m training at Millsaps.
You’ve got Taylah McCutcheon and Taylor Thompson back, plus Darci Whalley coming in as a rookie. How do you approach helping a first-timer settle in and perform?
I just remind the girls that it’s just like every other race we’ve raced, pretty much like ProMX. For Darci, who hasn’t been on this team before, it’s ‘go out, have fun, ride to the best of your ability’. And whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll be a good outcome because all the girls have been putting in a lot of effort and training hard. So we have a really strong team this year.
Do you prepare differently for an international field, or do you try to keep your processes the same?
I keep all the processes the same, otherwise it just gets complicated. So you can’t focus on the other riders, you just have to focus on yourself and race within your means. And that’s when you ride your best.
Does the idea of three consecutive wins create extra pressure, or is it more motivation?
There’s a little bit of pressure that we’ve won it the first two years. We don’t want to break the winning streak. But when you’re on the line, you don’t think, ‘Oh, we have to win this race again,’ you’re racing yourself in the moment and trying to get the best score you can.
Last year’s Cup came down to the wire and Australia had to fight back, winning by a tiny margin. What was that like?
I didn’t know we won it until the two guys came over to me and started interviewing me and I was like, ‘Wait, did we win?’ So yeah, it was a close one.
The Cup now includes more international teams, including FIM Asia in 2026. What does that expansion do for the sport in this region?
Every year we have more countries coming on board, so that’s a good sign. And hopefully the more media that gets out about this event and all the awesome battles – because I know it’s going to be awesome racing – it’s just going to grow. Hopefully down the track we get Europe involved and it becomes a women’s MX of Nations type thing. That’s my goal for this event.
You’ll be launching your 2026 ProMX title defence at the same time. Does that change how you think about risk and race management?
I just treat every race as like a ProMX race. I’m going in there to hopefully stand on that top step again. I’m going to have to fight hard for it, because we also have (Lachlan) ‘Lala’ Turner coming over (from the US) to compete in ProMX, so it won’t be smooth sailing like other years. That’s going to make for some good racing.
You’ve built a serious run in ProMX. Do you enjoy being the benchmark or do you sometimes miss being the rider who surprises people?
Honestly, when I came into WMX, no one really knew of me and it was awesome those first two years that I went undefeated in every one of my races. That was an awesome feeling. Over the last four years, I haven’t lost a race. So my last two years in ProMX was kind of – I don’t want to sound cocky – but it was expected. I always won by a very large margin, so nothing was really that exciting.
But then last year, I competed in America, I had a lot more competition and I wasn’t always winning. So that fuelled the fire a bit more. I got to learn how to come second. This year, no one knows what to expect either for the American Women’s Championship, so I will be like the underdog because I’m not a favourite to win, so that’s going to be exciting.
How do you rate Australia’s pathway for junior riders who are wanting to reach national or international competition?
The pathway is growing so much compared to how it looked a few years ago. Women are being taken a lot more seriously. When I was coming through juniors, there was nothing for women riders in Australia.
When I turned senior, Yamaha picked me up as their first factory female rider and from there, honestly, as I went up and tried to grow the women’s sport, (manufacturers) have been more involved. All the teams have girls as well now, which you never saw a few years ago. Now, if the girls really want to make this a career, they’ve got a pathway to race nationally with factory support.
What would it mean to lead Australia to three straight FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup wins at home in Wonthaggi?
It would top anything to be able to hold that trophy and the Australian flag on the top step for the third year in a row against all these other teams and riders. It would really be another goal ticked off. I don’t think I would be able to wipe the grin off my face.
