The late Peter Melton, from Acacia Ridge in Queensland, was one of Australia’s all-time great motocross and supercross racers in the 1980s-2000s.

Peter – who was known as “Reggie” to his mates – on home soil won three Australian Supercross Championships, plus the Australian Supercross Masters Series, three Australian Motocross Championships and more than ten State Queensland titles.

One of Melton’s first major supercross victories came in 1988 when he won the Melbourne Tennis Centre Supercross aboard a Yamaha.

Joining the Marlboro Yamaha Team in 1989, Melton won the Coffs Harbour Supercross Spectacular in New South Wales and finished third in the prestigious Australian Supercross Masters series. 

But it was when Melton switched from Yamaha to Kawasaki the following year that he had his biggest success – both in supercross and motocross.

In 1991 he won the Sydney Entertainment Centre Supercross. Then in 1992, he won his first Australian Supercross Championship, rounding out the season with a victory in the international Pan Pacific Supercross series, a title he went onto defend successfully in 1993. Melton was Australia’s official representative at these international events for 125cc machines.

1992 was the year that teenager Anthony Gobert exploded on the Australian Supercross scene – winning the Australian Supercross Masters and most major supercross events that year, except Round 4 of the Queensland Supercross Championships in Darwin when Melton took the honours.

With Gobert switching to road racing, Melton would dominate the sport and win his second Australian Supercross title in 1994, a feat earlier achieved by legend Craig Dack.

During that era, the National supercross titles were run at selected rounds and events within the prestigious Supercross Masters series, with Melton picking up his third National Supercross title in 1995 – winning the Superccross Masters ahead of Eddie Warren (USA) and Kim Ashkenazi (NSW).  

In 1996, riding for Team Green Kawasaki Australia, Peter broke through in the 250cc class to win his first Australian Motocross Championship – creating history to become the first rider to win the Australian Motocross, Supercross and Supercross Masters titles in the same year.

This Masters victory was achieved over 10 grueling rounds at major stadiums across the country and was one of Peter’s biggest achievements over his long and distinguished racing career.  This title proved to be his last in this branch of the sport.  But he later rounded out the century with back-to-back Australian 500cc Motocross Championships in 1999 and 2000, still aboard Kawasaki machines.