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Australian Motocross Legend Dean Ferris
Photos: [Left] Australian Dean Ferris wins the 2013 World Motocross MX2 Grand Prix at Bastogne in Belgium (Credits Yamaha Racing and Ray Archer); [Top right] Ferris at the 2017 Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin, UK in 2017 with Australian Team members Kirk Gibbs (left) and Hunter Lawrence (centre); and in 2022 at the Penrite AMX Pro – Round in Coffs Harbour with MX1 riders Kirk Gibbs and Aaron Tanti where Ferris created history to equal Jay Marmont on four National MX1 Championships and score more podiums than any other rider.
Ferris – Four times Australian MX1 Champion and all-time great
Dean Ferris, from Kyogl in New South Wales, is Australia’s most successful MX1 racer since the class started in 2001.
Despite spending significant time racing overseas early in his professional racing career, Ferris has finished on the podium a record six times and, together with another legend Jay Marmont, the pair have both won four Australian MX1 Championships, with New Zealand Champion Darryl King winning three.
Ferris represented Australia seven times in the World Motocross of Nations and, in his second attempt at Tuetschental, Germany in 2013, was second overall in the MX2 class (4-5 placings) behind German champion Ken Roczen. Then in 2022 at Ernee in France, with the Lawrence Brothers Jett and Hunter, Team Australia finished third – our best result at the time until Australia broke through to finish second at Red Bud (USA) in 2023, then win for the first time at Matterley Basin (UK) in 2024.
Ferris’s performance at the 2013 MXoN’s – as well as his sixth overall in the World MX2 Championship, where he won the Belgium round on 18 August 2013 – earned him a contract to race in the United States the following year. He raced in the States through to 2015, before returning home to race in the Australian Pro MX Championship, winning three years in a row between 2016 and 2018, riding for the Craig Dack Yamaha Racing Team.
In 2017, as a one-off ride, he travelled from Australia to contest the High Point round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championships, where he finished second in Moto 1 behind the overall winner American Blake Baggart (1-2), finishing seventh overall with 2-14 finishes.
Incredibly, Ferris has achieved success despite an atypical path to racing, growing up on a 1600-acre sawmill farm. Although he rode farm bikes at an early age, he didn’t know about the motocross racing industry until he was a teenager and became aware of the sport when Supercross came to a nearby town.
Then after a successful start to racing junior motocross in 2001, he had to put the sport on hold for many years when his father Peter sadly died in October that year.
In August 2020, with three Australian MX1 titles to his name, Ferris suffered a broke back in a practice crash at Conondale (fractures from T4-T7 and 10 broken ribs). The injury started a long recovery process with Ferris announcing his official retirement from professional racing in March 2021.
But incredibly, Ferris came out of retirement in 2022 to overcome the odds and contested the Queensland State Titles at Mackay. Returning to racing as a privateer on a Honda, he finished second to Aaron Tanti in the Australian MX 1 Championship (who was racing in his former CDR Yamaha Team) then became the Australian MX1 Champion in 2023, winning his fourth title.
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Video: From the Beginning – The Story of Dean Ferris | McLeod Media
Where it all began for 'Dino'
The son of Peter and Chris Ferris, Dean was born on 4 July 1995 and grew-up on his parent’s 1600-acre sawmill farm at Kyogl in New South Wales. His mother was Swedish.
Dean learnt to ride motorbikes at an early age, riding trail bikes at the farm, but didn’t know much about the motocross racing industry when he was a teenager and he became aware of Supercross events in a nearby town.
He started racing junior motocross in 2001 and had a successful start to racing, travelling to local events with his father. Sadly, Dean’s father Peter died in October that year, so racing was put on hold for many years when recovering from his loss and supporting his mother on the farm.
With the support of his mother, Dean got back into racing junior motocross about five years later and switched from the 80cc to 125cc class. Feeling more confident on the larger bike, in 2006 Dean started competing in the NSW State titles.
It was around this time that he fell in love with the sport and dedicated his life to become a professional motocross racer– striving to be a world motocross champion one day!
Photos: Dean Ferris on a minibike riding around his farm in Kyogl NSW (Ferris collection); and racing in junior motocross in 2001 (Ferris collection)
From junior to senior motocross
Ferris made an immediate impact in senior motocross, finishing third in the prestigious Australian MX1 Motocross Championship in 2010 as a privateer that year on a Honda, behind three-time champion at the time Jay Marmont (NSW, Yamaha CDR Team) and Scottish rider Billy Mackenzie.
Amazingly, as a teenager, he made the Australian team in the Motocross of Nations at Lakewood, Colorado in the USA with Jay Marmont and Brett Metcalfe, with Metcalfe leading the team to sixth overall with two incredible rides (3-5) in the MX1 class, with Ferris finishing 9th in the smaller MX2 class.
In 2011, Ferris earned a ride with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team and led the Australian MX1 Championship ahead of Marmont with one round remaining. But due to injury, he was unable contest the penultimate round when a torn thumb ligament put him out of the running. As a result, he slipped down to fourth in the Australian MX1 Championship standings behind, Marmont, Josh Coppins and Billy Mackenzie.
Photo: Dean Ferris during his early years in motocross, making an immediate impact in the Australian Motocross Championships – By Peter Coward
Racing the World Motocross Championships
Pursuing his dreams, Ferris moved to Europe in 2012. The ICE1RACING motocross team of Kimi Räikkönen signed up the young Australian to compete in the FIM World MX1 Championship.
Ferris started off the series well finishing in the points in five rounds – rounds 2 through to 6 – until injury forced him out. His best performance came in Mexico on 13 May, where he finished 11th in both motos. Despite only contesting 5 of the 16 rounds, he finished 22nd overall with Italian Antonio Cairoli winning the World Championship that year with 11 Grand Prix wins.
The following year, Ferris contested the World MX2 Championship and rode for the Monster Energy Yamaha Team. He had a breakout season finishing 6th overall in the Championship and three moto wins. On 18 August 2013, he scored his first-ever overall win in a World Motocross Grand Prix at Bastogne in Belgium. In round 16, he rode his Yamaha YZ250F to pole position and won both motos to become the fourth ever Australian to stand atop a GP podium, joining Jeff Leisk, Chad Reed and the late Andrew McFarlane.
With this type of form, Ferris was an automatic selection for the Australian Team to contest the MXoN’s that year. He finished second overall in the MX2 class (4-5 placings) at Tuetschental in Germany, behind German World Champion Ken Roczen. Together, with Brett Metcalfe and Todd Waters, the Australian team finished an impressive fourth placing in the World Team Championship behind Belgium, the USA and Italy.
Photos: [Left] In 2012 Dean Ferris raced for Iceone Kawasaki in Europe in the MX1 World Championships; and [Right] The following year Ferris switched to the World MX2 Championship for the Monster Energy Yamaha Team, where he scored his first overall Grand Prix win at Bastogne in Belgum on 18 August 2013.
The move from Europe to the US, then back again
Photo: In 2014, Dean Ferris raced for the Red Bull KTM team in the USA before heading back to Europe (Ferris Collection)
Following his impressive season and results in the World MX2 Championship and MXoN’s, for the 2014 season Ferris was offered a contract with the Red Bull KTM team to contest the AMA 250SX West series. He made an impressive start with three Top 10 results in the opening rounds at Phoenix, Oakland and San Diego, finishing seventh at Round 2 in Phoenix on 11 January 2014. Unfortunately, after breaking his wrist he was unable to complete the series after six rounds.
Preferring motocross over supercross and, because his goal was always to win a World Championship, in 2015 he headed back to Europe and this year he rode a Husqvarna in the FIM Motocross World MXGP Championship. It was a consistent, steady year with Dean finishing a credible 11th in the overall standings after 18 rounds in this premiere class.
Returning home to win three Australian MX1 titles
After three years chasing the World Motocross GP circuit throughout Europe and a year in the US, Dean decided to return home in 2016, signing up with the Craig Dack Racing (CDR) Yamaha factory team. That year he was contracted to ride a Yamaha YZ450F in the New Zealand Motocross Championships, Australian Supercross Championship and Pro MX Nationals.
With his speed and vast international racing experience behind him, Dean dominated the Australian MX1 Championship, convincingly winning it in his first year back ahead of Kirk Gibbs (SA, KTM) and Todd Waters (QLD, Honda).
Between 2016 and 2018 Ferris would absolutely dominate the sport, winning three Australian National MX1 titles in a row for the CDR Yamaha Team – ahead of Waters and Gibbs in 2017 and Mitchell Evans (QLD, Yamaha) and Luke Clout (NSW, Husqvarna) in 2018.
Photos: Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) in 2016, 2017 and 2018 – winning three Australian MX1 Championships in a row after returning from racing overseas.
Back in the USA in 2017 / 2019 and a stint in Europe
High Point 450 Moto 1: Grant, Ferris battle for 1st | Pro Motocross Championship
As a one-off ride, Ferris travelled from Australia to contest the High Point round of the AMA Pro 450 Motocross Championships on 18 June 2017. He gave the Americans a huge surprise in Moto 1 where he challenged for the lead and eventually finished second behind the overall winner American Blake Baggart (1-2). After finishing 14th in Moto 2, Ferris was seventh overall.
Two years later however, after contesting the MXGP of Great Britain on 24 March 2019 aboard a Yamaha, Ferris moved back to the United States to contest the entire seasons in the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships.
But a training crash in March sidelined him with a broken wrist, three weeks before the indoor supercross season began.
In the AMA Pro Motocross series, Ferris scored Top 10 finishes at Hangtown, Thunder Valley, Florida and Southwick. But during the season he seized the opportunity to move from the USA to Europe to contest the final four MXGP rounds in Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia and Belgium. The offer came from the Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing Team through an injury to Frenchman Romain Febvre.
But under contract with KTM, Ferris was required to return to America to do the last three National motocross rounds, where he finished 14th overall in the 450MX class, despite missing many rounds
Ferris bounces back from injury and retirement
After competing again for Australian at the 2018 MXoN’s in Assen, The Netherlands, Ferris decided to return home to Australia in 2020.
Unfortunately, in August that year he suffered a broke back (fractures from T4-T7) and 10 broken ribs in a practice crash at Conondale. The injury started a long recovery process with Ferris announcing his official retirement from professional racing in March 2021.
Although not racing, Ferris continued to ride and his body kept getting better where, incredibly, it got to the stage where he was ready to race again. So in 2022 Ferris came out of retirement to overcome the odds, and was competitive in the Queensland State Titles at Mackay.
He then returned to the ProMX Australian Championship series racing a works Honda, where he finished second to Aaron Tanti in the Australian MX 1 Championship, with Tanti ironically filling the spot in Ferris’s former CDR Yamaha Team.
Amazingly, in 2023 Ferris was back to his best and, despite a two-year break from the sport through a serious back injury, won the Australian MX1 Championship as a privateer on a Yamaha – ahead of Jed Beaton (TAS, Honda) and Kirk Gibbs (SA, KTM). It was Ferris’ fourth Australian MX1 title, equalling Jay Marmont.
Dean Ferris contested the 2024 Penrite ProMX CHampionships in the MX1 class, finishing 8th overall, but is taking a break from professioanl racing in 2025. He’s not officially announcing his retirement as yet, as knowing Dean, he could easily return to racing at the elite level after a break as he has done before!
Photos: [L-R] In 2021 Dean Ferris announced his retirement from racing after injuring his back at Conondale, while practising in Queensland; and amazingly in 2023, Ferris won his fourth Australian MX1 Motocross Championship in the National Penrite ProMX Champinships (By Foremost Media)
Video Gallery
2013 Motocross of Nations, Tuetschental, Germany | MXGPTV
2015 Dean Ferris vs Kevin Strijbos MXGP of Germany – motocross | MXGPTV
2019 Dean Ferris is back racing the World MXGP Championship | MXGPTV
2023 ProMX MX1 Champion | Dean Ferris | Yamaha Australia
Dean Ferris' key career highlights
Australian motocross legend Dean Ferris
2010
3rd Australian MX1 Championship (Honda)
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 6th at Lakewood, USA
2011
4th Australian MX1 Championship (Kawasaki)
2012
22nd FIM Motocross World MX1 Championship
2013
6th FIM Motocross World MX2 Championship, finishing with three moto wins and an overall Grand Prix win in Belgium.
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 4th at Tuetschental, Germany
2nd overall in MX2 class (4-5 placings) behind Ken Roczen
2014
14th AMA 250SX West Championship
2015
11th FIM Motocross World MXGP Championship
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 7th in Ernee, France
2016
Australian MX1 Champion (Yamaha)
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finised 8th in Maggiora, Italy
2017
7th overall AMA Pro Motocross Championship round at Highpoint, USA
Australian MX1 Champion (Yamaha)
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 6th Matterley Basin, United Kingdom
2018
Australian MX1 Champion (Yamaha)
2019
14th AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 15th in Assen, The Netherlands
2020-21
Retired
2022
2nd Australian MX1 Championship (Honda)
2023
Australian MX1 Champion (Honda)
Member of the Australian MXoN’s Team, finished 2nd in Ernee, France
2024
12th Australian MX1 Championship (Honda)
Australian Championship results and photos
Click on the links below to view Australian Motocross Championship results back to 1953, event photos or rider profiles.
Australian Motocross Champions MX1 class
Australian Motocross Champions List (All classes)
Australian Motocross Legends
