Battle In The Bush Appin

Photos by Hamish Wilson, Blair Mcmahon, Robbie Warden, Cory Kipa.

What a way to end a series. Thirty-one teams rolled into Appin on the eve of Father's Day for the 2026 Battle In The Bush grand finale, and the Macarthur Motorcycle Club delivered one for the history books. Dads racing with sons and daughters, families cheering from the pits, mates who'd been at Warwick and QMP reuniting for one last crack at glory.

Huge thanks to Jacob Dow and the entire Macarthur MCC team, officials, flaggies, track crew and every volunteer who made the day run without a single incident. The 2.6km custom layout combining the main track and Bellbird MX tracks was the fastest circuit of the entire 2026 series, and the organisation matched it every step of the way.

Riders rolled into Appin from Friday afternoon, bikes rolling out and gazebos going up as the campsite came to life with a few cold ones cracking and bike prep going late into the night. MX champion Matt Moss couldn't make it, so local legend Brad "Wonka" Williscroft got bailed up at the Appin pub by Cameron Eastaway from Team MDMCS, who talked him into racing the next day. Sign on was buzzing from 6:30am, and riders' briefing saw the Barkbusters Best Dressed Team Award go to The Crank Yankers, thanks to their mum's effort pulling together matching Hawaiian shirts.

Novelty Events

The Motorex Barrel Race got everyone fired up immediately, riders going head to head with mates, new friends and people they'd met five minutes earlier, all sending it flat out for bragging rights. The POD Rut Limbo had a massive turnout and didn't disappoint, the rut blew out more than once and the crew made adjustments on the fly to keep things honest. Dylan Ansell from Team 1 Lap cleared the bar to take out the prize, a limited edition Hayden Deegan POD K4 Kneebrace. Shauntay Tamati from AME Cartel took out the Pirelli Slow Race using sitting techniques he learned as a kid on a 65, muscle memory from the junior years earning him a $100 Pirelli voucher and serious bragging rights.

The 4 Hour Battle

With 31 teams across Open, Vets and Mixed classes the Appin start grid was stacked as team mates held bikes and riders sprinted to the saddle in the classic Le Mans start. Cameron Eastaway from Team MDMCS claimed the Pirelli Holeshot Award, hitting the first corner ahead of every other team, a fitting nod to the home club who made the whole day possible, before the field launched into the 4 Hour Battle In The Bush MX Relay on the 2.6km combined main and Bellbird layout.

Conditions were perfect for it. Crisp overnight temps gave way to a hot, gusty day, and the wet prepped track held up lap after lap without breaking down. Four hours of relay racing, mates cheering from the pits, and a community vibe that's genuinely special, that's what Battle In The Bush is all about.

Open Class

The Open class was stacked with 21 teams. Daddy's Back Home (Colby Campbell, Ben Novak, Rory Fairbrother) set a pace from the opening laps the rest of the field simply couldn't match, eventually crossing the line with an extraordinary 80 laps in 4:02:39, the highest lap count of any team at any round of the entire 2026 series. Their best lap of 2:41.661 on lap 28 is the fastest single lap in Battle In The Bush series history.

Two teams on 76 laps. Just 14 seconds between them after four hours of racing.

ADB Magazine (Will Hibbert, Wesley Mills, Jayden Caines, Andy Hughes) suffered a dramatic mid race setback that looked like it had ended their podium hopes, but they dug deep, found another gear and came surging back through the field to complete 76 laps and hold off Livin Large (Jerome Gresh, Joshua Ellison, Patervon Phair, Heaton Rejtano) by just 14 seconds. Livin Large was magnificent in third, also on 76 laps, agonisingly close but unable to bridge the gap in the final laps. B Grade Bandits were close in fourth on 75 laps, with Team1Lap 2.0, Wild Card Racers, The Crank Yankers and Daddy Deegs all completing 73 laps or more, everyone ripping till the very end.

Mixed Class

Local young guns Dads Money (Isabelle Mealing, Samantha Macarthur, Jye Cameron, Koby Leach) made their mark from the first lap, posting a best lap of 2:55.148 that would have sat comfortably inside the Open class top ten. They led from the front and never looked back, completing 71 laps in 4:01:24 to take the Mixed class grand finale victory in style. The G Spot raced down an enduro rider after Ben Kearns was sidelined, but Geraldine Vella, Sam Hardman and Miller Mendham pushed hard throughout to finish second on 70 laps, just 46 seconds behind. AME Cartel, featuring Dylan Rove, Charlie Rove, Shauntay Tamati and Appin track prep king Taama Campbell, completed the podium in third on 48 laps.

Vets Class

Team MDMCS (Cameron Eastaway, Brad "Wonka" Williscroft, Aiden Stanford, Jake Formica) led from the opening laps, through the middle of the race, and posted the fastest lap of the Vets class, a quick 3:00.989 on lap 46. For three hours they looked every bit like winners.

One lap. Four hours of racing. That's all that separated them.

Then THOR MX struck, with Andrew Kendall, Todd Williams and Mick Golden at the helm finding the laps they needed in the final stages. When the chequered flag fell, THOR MX had completed 72 laps to Team MDMCS's 71, winning by a single lap after four hours of racing, the closest, most dramatic finish of the 2026 series. Heavy Hitters (Matthew Warren, David Day, Brendan Shepard) completed an epic podium in third on 70 laps, with the top three separated by just two laps. Swap Dogs finished fourth on 62 laps and Old Buggers rounded out a fantastic Vets field in fifth on 60.

The 2026 Battle In The Bush series came to an end with champagne flying, Rival Ink trophies held high and a prize haul from Motorex, Oakley, Barkbusters, Pirelli, POD and Ballard's that had podium riders grinning ear to ear. The vibe in the pits was epic all day, capping off the perfect start to the Father's Day long weekend.

Massive thanks to Jacob Dow and the entire Macarthur MCC team, medics, officials, flaggies and every volunteer who made the day run without a single incident. That's a wrap on an unforgettable 2026 season, lock it in for next year, team.

Relive The Final Round

Final Results

Battle In The Bush Appin 2026

Get Your Team Together

That's a wrap on the 2026 Battle In The Bush season. The 2027 series is going to be something else entirely, more rounds, more states, a national series structure and more of what made 2026 unforgettable.

Appin In Pictures

MXstore Battle In The Bush MX Relay 2026 is presented by Motorex Australia and proudly supported by Oakley, Ballard's Off Road, POD Active, Pirelli, Barkbusters Handguards, Yoshimura Australia, Ryno Power and Rival Ink Design Co. Huge thanks to our host clubs and venues, Warwick MX Club, Gold Coast Motocross Club and QMP, and Macarthur MCC at Appin.