Few athletes in supercross have accumulated the experience of Kyle Chisholm, who is in his 20th and final season of stadium competition. As he prepares to conclude a two-decade professional career, the veteran is set to take on the world one last time when the 2025 FIM Supercross World Championship opens in Buenos Aires next weekend.

Chisholm’s résumé spans 183 Monster Energy AMA Supercross starts, a Paris-Bercy win in 2011, several top five finishes in the United States, and a list of top ten results. His influence extends beyond his own performances; Chisholm played a pivotal role in helping Ken Roczen fine-tune his RM-Z450 into a World Supercross-winning machine.

Now, following full recovery from a crash at the last stop of the SuperMotocross World Championship, Chisholm turns his attention to the SX2 division for the World Supercross Championship’s five-round campaign – keen to adapt to the 250F and close out his career on a high note.

The Buenos Aires City GP, round one, is not far away at all now. How are you after your fall in Las Vegas in September? Will you be at your best next weekend?

Kyle Chisholm: “I’m fine, yes. I had the little crash in Las Vegas. It was not that bad of a fall, but it was a bummer for everyone. I fell on top of a bike – my forearm and shoulder took the brunt of that. It was just a weird way to hit the dirt. I took a couple of weeks off – I was pretty sore – and contemplated getting my shoulder checked out. I gave it a week or so and it seemed to just be bruising, nothing too serious.

“I was a little bit up in the air whether I would be in SX1 or SX2, but I will be on the 250F. I do not have a tonne of time on it nor will I have as much time as I would like. In all honesty, I enjoy riding it. It’s a fun change from the norm. It feels like a 125cc after riding a 450F for so long! You do have to ride it differently, so I’m still getting into the swing of that. I’ve not raced it since the 2024 FIM World Supercross Championship.”

“I’m about to end my career and getting old! My birthday is on the weekend of the Swedish Grand Prix – I will be 38. I still feel like a kid when I’m racing, just because I love it so much.

Is the hardest part of the transition just picking the intensity up on the 250F?

KC: “It is. It’s weird. It’s less energy to ride it, because it is slower and lighter. The 450F on a supercross track… When you are trying to jump into a bowl corner, the inertia and weight of a 450F versus a 250F is a lot more. Trying to slow the bike down and get turned is a big difference on a 450F. The 250F is so much easier to hang onto and also it’s slower, so you do not have a death grip coming out of a corner. The 450F is really fast! You just have to ride a 250F with more intensity and energy – you have to shift quicker and not be as lazy. You do not have the power to rely on. It’s just different! They both take a lot of effort to ride, but it’s distributed in different ways.”

You are at the end of your career, so where is your mindset heading into these races?

KC: “I’m about to end my career and getting old! My birthday is on the weekend of the Swedish Grand Prix – I will be 38. I still feel like a kid when I’m racing, just because I love it so much. It’s difficult. I want to go and do good, of course. I’m not heading to round one to roll around. I just don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, so it’s about finding a balance between pushing it, being smart, staying safe and whatever else. It’s never perfect and, even at the end of my career, I still get the best of myself. I’m a competitive person by nature and want to do well. I don’t want to go out there and just ride around – I know I’ve said that a lot. I’m trying to find the best way to do this.”

Everyone will say that your experience should help you, but it can hurt as you know a little bit too much…

KC: “For sure! You learn what’s not worth the risk, whereas I would go as fast as possible every single time on track in my younger days. It’s not a bad approach for a rookie. You can always impress someone. Every single time that there is a different set of eyeballs on the track, go and impress someone. Every time on track is an audition to have a better ride or be paid more money! Once you get older and to the point that I am at in my career, it’s a case of picking and choosing. I used to do that and it would bite me. I’d get hurt or make a stupid mistake, then think ‘I should have backed off right there.’ That is where the experience is an advantage. It’s hard to be taught that. Using my experience at this point in my career, you pick and choose when to turn it on or off. It’s still hard to do by nature.”

You must have a little more appreciation or respect for the locations that you are about to visit at this point in your career too, right?

KC: “Absolutely! I love to travel. There is no way that I would have visited so many places without dirtbikes. Yeah, I will head to some new places with World Supercross this year. I have never been to Argentina, Sweden or South Africa. World Supercross gave me the opportunity to visit Australia. I’m just thankful for the opportunity from the team and series. To have a platform to race and perform in these locations is a really big deal.”

It’s not that big a deal now without an Asian round, but how do you prepare for unfamiliar locations? Will you take your own food or supplies?

KC: “I will take my own snacks and track supplies, like electrolytes and protein. I’ll take most of that stuff with me. I’m skinny, but I like to eat! I like to experience the different cultures and food. I won’t just eat anything – I cannot do that when I am racing – but I try to enjoy the culture as much as possible. I want to embrace it. I will only bring the essentials, but I look forward to the opportunities that are in front of me.”

Where do your expectations lie? Do you have a specific result that you are shooting for?

KC: “Not necessarily. Not like a number. There are a lot of great riders in the SX2 class and most of them ride on a 250F all of the time. If I can just go out there and do my best then it is what it is, no matter the finish. If it puts me on the podium then I will be pumped, obviously, but I just hope to be towards the front. I want to put myself in a position to capitalise on other riders’ mistakes. The three-moto format in World Supercross allows that; a couple of top six finishes could put me in a podium position. I’ll do my best and have fun.”

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