The talking points from the team managers' press conference from Round 5 at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. The final round of the 2025 World Supercross Championship has arrived in South Africa. The best supercross riders have treated us to some thrilling racing over the previous four rounds on four different continents.

With the SX1 title locked in a three-way battle and separated by a single point, and the SX2 championship seemingly going Max Anstie’s way, the team managers discuss this season’s talking points.

No team orders at Quad Lock Honda

Yarrive Konsky has two riders battling for the world crown in Christian Craig and Joey Savatgy, who are split by one point. But the Quad Lock Honda boss is willing not to interfere and allow his racers to battle it out for the title.

He said: “They’re both adults. They’ve been doing this for a very long time, as has Jason Anderson. All three of them are going to go into the title fight quite level-headed.

“We could see some aggressive riding between all three of them. All of them want the championship. I think from our perspective, we’ve kept it the same. We haven’t changed anything. We haven’t come into the championship with a clear favourite. We came in with two title contenders.

“We were aware of that before we entered this championship. Performance comes from the people around them and the vibe that we create. It’s very much a family culture in our team.

“Whilst there is obvious rivalry between Christian and Joey, there’s definitely no team orders. There can’t be with one point separating them. So we just keep it the same, keep it consistent. I think consistency is important when it comes to performance.

“We don’t change anything. It’s an emotional roller coaster with all of the riders, even the crew. It’s been a lot of travel, but again, we just try and keep it light and friendly and not change anything.

“Arguably the one rider that makes the least amount of mistakes and executes well will be on the top step of the podium. I want it to be us, but I’m mindful that if it’s not, it’s definitely a championship where we can all feel there is integrity there because the three of them are amazing champions.

“I want to hold the number one plate, so does my rival [Dustin Pipes of PMG]. But when we get off the track, we’ll shake hands. We’re both in it for the same reasons.

“We’re very passionate about the sport. We’re not going to change anything within our team. The rider that gets the best starts, who makes the least amount of mistakes, will hold the number one plate.”

Pipes and Anderson’s blossoming relationship

For Dustin Pipes of PMG, this season has been about forging a partnership with Anderson. It has required extensive development with the rider jetting back to Florida in between the Australian and Swedish rounds to refine his Suzuki.

When asked about this season’s development, Pipes said: “I think you just kind of learn each other. We’ve been friends before he was on the team, so we kind of knew each other just a little bit, and the more time you spend with someone, you figure out what makes them tick.

“So for us, it’s just trying to learn, get data, get the bike better for him so we can be successful with him in the future because I see him being a part of this team for a long time.

“Obviously, he’s very, very good on a dirt bike. He’s won a SX title, which not a lot of people can say that. So for us, we just want to give him the best platform as possible and provide him with all the tools needed to go out and win, and luckily, we’re in a position to do that.”

Anstie looks set to get the job done

As Max Anstie closes in on the SX2 title, Serge Guidetty of GSM Yamaha says he was delighted to capture the Brit as part of his team through the agreement with Star Racing Yamaha.

He said: “I really hope that we can do this again in the next season because the relationship now with Star Racing is very good. We spoke a lot and we worked to make this possible, so I really hope that I can keep these superstar riders in my team and continue to work with a French team with a superstar, it’s very good.

Another rider change for Venum Bud Racing

While some teams have filled the same line-up, Bud Racing have been forced to make some changes due to rider commitments and injuries.

Stephane Dasse admits the changes have been difficult and is hoping that next season the team can field a more stable rider line-up, potentially linking up with Kawasaki’s U.S.-based operation.

He said: “We can say it’s fun [to freshen up a rider line-up], but sometimes it’s not too much because we have to work hard to find the good riders. For us, for the future, we want to work a bit differently. Maybe try to find young riders for the 250 class, maybe coming from the U.S.

“We would like to collaborate more with Kawasaki U.S. and try to bring young riders before coming for AMA Supercross, starting with World Supercross and then try to stabilise our team for the full season.

“This year with the Indian Supercross and the schedule change at the last moment for Sweden, we had no chance to keep Matt Moss, so we had to change with Ander Valentin and so we had to find out, talk to many riders and it’s always fun to do that, but we hope for the future to keep the same team for the whole season and become stronger for the championship.”

Stark’s season of progress

For this season’s new team, the all-electric Stark Future team, the last four rounds have been the ultimate testing platform. Going up against the best riders in the world, the Barcelona-based team have improved at every round with some notably impressive performances from Michael Hicks.

Former racer and team boss Sebastien Tortelli says this all bodes well for the team for the 2026 World Supercross Championship.

He said: “It’s a project for us. We started two years ago, working with FIM and putting rules down to make sure the parity was there, power-wise. Even if you’re prepared, you’re never as prepared as you need to be.

“There’s nothing like racing, and coming into the championship helped us to understand more things. This year was a very steep learning curve. We’re going to have to go back to work. We know where to go. We have a good six months to get things going and we’ll come back better next year.”

Plenty of positives for Rick Ware Racing

Finally for Dave Antolak at Rick Ware Racing, this season has also been one of development with Coty Schock and Enzo Lopes coming to the fore in the SX2 class.

After Lopes won the main race in Stockholm, Antolak is hoping for some more success in South Africa. He said: “That was really a highlight of the year so far. We hope we can do it again tomorrow, but you know, Enzo’s been getting a little bit better every week. If it wasn’t for Coty having a fall in Sweden, our whole team would have had their best weekend of the year.

“Our two 450 guys were fourth and fifth, their best finish of the year, and then Enzo’s being second. Coty, even with his crash, ended up fifth and is still second in the points, so it was a good weekend for us.”