Australian prospect Jake Cannon heads into the 2026 season looking to build on a promising first year of racing in Europe. The BUD Racing Kawasaki rider made the move from Australia in 2025 to contest the highly competitive EMX250 series, adapting to new tracks, unfamiliar conditions and a stacked field of riders. Despite the steep learning curve, Cannon impressed with a podium finish and several top-five results during his rookie campaign.
Now more settled in Europe and with a full season of experience under his belt, the talented youngster feels better prepared for the challenges ahead. After a productive winter that included racing back home in Australia and training in Spain and Sardinia with the BUD Racing Kawasaki team, Cannon believes he has taken a step forward physically and mentally.
We caught up with Cannon as he reflects on his debut European season, discusses life away from home in France, working with trainer Thierry van den Bosch, and explains why his main focus for 2026 is consistency as he targets regular podium finishes.
GateDrop: Jake, let’s touch on your 2025 season – the first season for you racing in Europe. How would you reflect on your season?
Cannon: My 2025 season was okay for it being my first year in Europe and racing all the new tracks with some new riders. It was challenging but for my first year, I think I did pretty well. I got a podium which was great and a lot of top fives. I had a lot of rookie mistakes which I won’t be making this year. I’m happy with how last year went and now I know everything this year should be a lot better.
GateDrop: What’s your winter been like? It looks like you spent most of your time in France – did you get to go home at all to see the family etc?
Cannon: My winter has been great. I got back from Australia in January, obviously after last season, I went home to race the Supercross so that was a fun for two months. It was good and kind of gave me a break from the Motocross side of it but I was straight back into that in January. I got to go to Spain and Sardinia so it has been a really good winter – it’s been awesome. I feel like my speed, my endurance and my body is so much better than what it has been. I’m looking forward to starting the year.
GateDrop: Has this off-season been easier for you because you now have a season under your belt and now know exactly what to expect? I imagine this time last year was a bit of an unknown heading into the season…
Cannon: This off season has been really good. I know what to expect now going into the into the season. Last year I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know where I’d be. I didn’t know how my speed was. Also now knowing my teammate will be one of the top guys as well helps. I’m happy with how everything is going and my speed. I can kind of gauge where I’m at heading into the season.
GateDrop: You raced the Le Touquet event – that race looks like total madness! What was that experience like – you got a podium in the Junior class, not bad at all!
Cannon: I got the opportunity to race the Le Touquet. I loved the whole event, everything about it was so awesome and it was so different to Motocross but I enjoyed it. I ended up getting third in the Junior class which was okay. The team were telling me not to crash first lap and whatever you do, don’t crash on the first lap because there’s a couple of hundred riders in the race and it’s just going to be carnage if you do that. Obviously I had to crash at the first corner which made it difficult. By the second lap the front runners were already minute in front of me but I rode good. I’m not too much of a sand guy, but I pulled something out and now I’m feeling pretty comfortable in the sand.
GateDrop: What would you say was the hardest thing that you had to adapt too last year?
Cannon: I think the most difficult thing to adapt to and feel comfortable with was just the surroundings and being in such a field where everyone can go fast. The opening laps were a big problem for me last year, I was too patient in the beginning which m teant I was too far back. I had a lot of ground to make up so this year I feel I’ve fixed it a lot. My opening laps are a lot faster and now I just know what to do now. Last year was just me ironing out all my mistakes and now I feel I’ve done that over the winter. I feel I’m more prepared for the season and I know everything now. I know what the weather is going to be like as well, I never really raced in so many mud races in my life. I know what to expect but hopefully there’s not as many mud races.
GateDrop: How tough is it being away from home in Australia away from your family and friends? Do you now feel comfortable in France?
Cannon: Being away from my family for so long was definitely difficult last year and being in a new country that I didn’t know was also very different. It took me a while to get used to it. This year I feel a lot more comfortable being by myself, living by myself um and doing everything that my Mum used to do for me. It’s a lot easier this year with everything and I feel a lot more comfortable. Not being around the my family and not being able to speak to some friends was a struggle last year.
GateDrop: Over the winter riders usually work on their weak points – what areas have you been working on the most?
Cannon: Over the winter, I mainly worked on my sprint speed at the start of the motos and just becoming more of a complete rider. I had a lot of silly mistakes last year throughout the season. I had a lot of DNF’s as well – I had five or six DNF’s whether it was the bike or just zero points. I will try to be more consistent but I feel like everything is going the right direction. My speed, fitness and strength is all better from last year. I will keep working on those couple of things and I’ll be feeling good.
GateDrop: Francisco Garcia is very good! Has it been good for you to spend a lot of time with him over winter? I am sure you can help each other…
Cannon: Having a teammate like Fran is really good, especially me being more of a calm rider, he definitely brings the aggressivity out of me. Seeing him ride and hearing him ride definitely helps me to step it up a level. To know he’s one of the top guys in EMX250 is good – I know my speed is good. I’m grateful that we have a really good team and two good riders.
GateDrop: You work with Thierry van den Bosch as your coach/trainer – what’s it been like working with him and how does he help you?
Cannon: Working with Thierry is awesome. He has been one of the best coaches I’ve worked with. I’m grateful the team has him behind us – he’s very professional. He doesn’t take too many things lightly, if we miss a training day we definitely have to make up for it on another day. He keeps us accountable and on the training side, he knows the little one percenters that cause little errors in our racing. He seems to know exactly what they are and it’s good. It’s good to know that he’s out there giving his 100 percent towards us and it doesn’t come unnoticed. We try our best and he is an amazing coach
GateDrop: What’s it been like with BUD Kawasaki – the team seems really good vibes!
Cannon: It’s been awesome riding for BUD Racing. Straight away, I feel like I just clicked with everyone. I work very well with my mechanic and I just get along with the whole team. It’s such a good vibe and it’s honestly like a second family. I’m very grateful to have this opportunity to race for them.
GateDrop: This is a contract year for you I believe, does this add any pressure and in an ideal world where/what series would you like to be racing in 2027?
Cannon: This is the last year for me with BUD Racing. Obviously it’s going to be putting a bit more pressure on to me to perform but I feel like under pressure I ride even better. For myself, I don’t put any extra pressure on myself. I just go out there and do what I know I can do and give my all. I’ll see where that can take me.
As for the 2027 season, I have nothing to planned yet. I’d love to race the World Championship and I’d love to race the Supercross and Motocross in America. It’s something that I’ve dreamt of doing since I was little so it would also be nice to go over there. As of now, I don’t really have a plan for the 2027 season, I want to start the season with a few really good races and hopefully I can something good out for next year.
GateDrop: Now you have a season behind you, what are your expectations for the 2026 season?
Cannon: My expectations are obviously to win the championship but you can’t do that without a consistent season. My goal is to just to be consistent and get podiums each weekend and I know I can do that. From last year, I learned a lot and I know what to expect now. I know the weather’s going to be crazy, I hope it’s not but I’m ready for everything that can come our way. I’m feeling strong mentally and physically so it’s shaping up to be a good year.
GateDrop: Jett and Hunter are amazing riders but in the future that MX2 spot on team Australia could be open – I imagine that would be a bit of a dream come true for you to represent your country at the MXoN? With those two as your team mates there’s every chance you could win too!
Cannon: As everyone knows the Lawrence Brothers are phenomenal riders. It would be a dream come true if I could race for my country and line up at the MXoN. I feel like the pressure would be huge with the Lawrence brothers being on the team but I think I’d love every moment of it. There’s definitely going to be some opportunities I think in the upcoming years. We’ll just see what happens and I’m going to keep doing my best to improve as a rider and show some results to be in the picking for the team some day.
