After a couple of weekends that weren’t at the high standards Will Ruprecht sets for himself, he came out and conquered all before him at Kyogle.
Starting Saturday in good form and shadowing teammate, Will Dennett, in the opening tests, Ruprecht stepped into full stride and started peeling off test win after test win that continued well into Sunday.
He took the win on Saturday by 21 seconds in the Pro Enduro division and won the E2 (450cc) class by nearly 40 seconds to claim the round and a good confidence booster heading into Sunday.
Another perfect day dawned in Kyogle and Ruprecht picked up where he left off the day prior. He finished second in the first test of the morning and just .6 behind the leader, Ruprecht went on a rampage taking the next four test wins in a round to build an assailable lead for the round.
The successful weekend brings him back to 25 points from the lead in the Pro Enduro class and 21 points in the E2 division.
“This is the style of racing I really like,” Ruprecht explains. “A little slower in speed, more technical where you have to be more precise with your riding and think you way around the test.
“The tests were challenging in that there wasn’t a lot of room for error and the recent rain up here meant there were areas that were wet and others than were hard pack and dry, so it was a good challenge.
“Thanks to the team for a huge effort and the plan is to keep the momentum rolling into the final weekend of racing at Gympie,” he ends.
Teammate, Will Dennett, showed plenty of pace early in the weekend and was unmatched in the opening two tests on Sunday, but a heavy full on the third test of the day took the wind out of his sails and left him on struggle street for the rest of the weekend.
He was clearly rattled and while he battled on bravely for the remainder of the weekend, even winning a test on Sunday, the damage was done, and Dennett was just looking to get through the rounds and not lose too many points.
To his credit, he finished fourth in the Pro Enduro class on Saturday and third in E2, and then sixth in Pro Enduro and another third in E2 on Sunday.
“I was feeling great on Saturday morning and was able to get a couple of tests win and put a bit of time into everyone behind me, but I crashed in the next test and ended up losing over forty seconds. I was both sore and angry with myself but tried to get on with the job as best as I could.
“I was still a bit beat up on Sunday but was able to ride so I just did what I could to get through the day and not lose too many points. The team did some over time with the panel beating so it was good to reward them with another podium in E2,” Dennett said.
The weekend also saw the AEC debut for New Zealand motocross champ, Maximus Purvis in the E1 class on a WR250F. Purvis, who landed in Australia a few days prior, was put through a crash course of off road riding by team manager, and former champ, AJ Roberts and then rolled into Kyogle exited but more than a little green in this tree racing game.
In true Purvis fashion, he was fast and exciting, and made a few learning mistakes as he settled into the grove of racing. A crash in the first few tests, soon gave way to a more measured approach and before long he was finding his feet and gaining confidence with each test.
Purvis managed to take a double podium in the E1 division, taking third on Saturday and then improving one spot for second on Sunday, but more importantly, gained time every time he went out and proved racing off road is also in his wheelhouse.
“I have raced Hattah before and done some trail riding in New Zealand, but nothing like this. It was a bit embarrassing coming in after the first few tests and tell them how I crashed and what I had damaged. First it was the rocks, then it was a tree root, then a log so I was getting the full off-road experience on day one.
“But after that, I worked a few things out and got some advice from the team and things went smoother after that.
“I enjoyed the racing and had a great time. Thanks to AJ and the ShopYamaha team for the opportunity to do this and you never know, doing the Australian Enduro Championships might be something I do in the future.”
The final weekend of the Australian Enduro Championships is set down for October 11-12 at Gympie in Queensland.
Championship Standings After round ten
Pro Enduro
1st Daniel Milner – 222
2nd Wil Ruprecht – 197 (Yamaha)
3rd Korey McMahon – 188
4th Jye Dickson – 174
5th Will Dennett – 176 (Yamaha)
6th Jonte Reynders – 164
7th Andy Wilksche – 141
8th Cooper Sheidow – 114 (Yamaha)
9th Tom Buxton – 101
10th Riley McGilliray – 97
