Wil Ruprecht’s career has largely been built around chasing success beyond Australia. Europe was the goal, the EnduroGP World Championship was the pinnacle. But careers rarely follow the script.
After returning home and narrowly losing the 2025 championship to Daniel Milner, Ruprecht came into 2026 with a different perspective and unfinished business. He promptly won the opening seven rounds outright, improved one of the few weaknesses in his riding and looked almost untouchable before a massive crash at Casterton changed the complexion of his season.
Korey McMahon then found another gear, Ruprecht struggled to rediscover the form he’d shown early in the year and suddenly the championship that had looked firmly in his control had some heat in it. Ruprecht ultimately got the job done, taking both the Pro Enduro outright crown and E2 championship, but the path to his first Australian class title since 2017 contained a hell of a lot more than seven early wins suggest.
We caught up with Wil after the finale to talk about the season.
ADB: How does it feel to finally be the Australian Pro Enduro Champion, particularly after coming so close against Daniel Milner in 2025?
WIL RUPRECHT: Yeah, it’s a very cool thing. It’s a weird one because all of my life I kind of looked towards Europe and becoming world champion, and anything before that was a stepping stone. So it kind of got overlooked for me in my career to a certain extent.
Milner got the better of me last year. He was the better man and there wasn’t really anything I could do about it, so it was nice to get one back again this year. It would’ve been nice to have one more chance now that I hit the ground running in 2026 against Milner as there wasn’t too much to figure out. But, yeah, it was nice to get it done.
ADB: You won the first seven rounds outright. Did you expect to start the season that strongly?
WIL: It wasn’t a surprise to me. I didn’t think it would’ve been that smooth, but I think it was kind of the best I’ve been as an athlete since 2022 when I won my world title. The momentum was all on my side right up until I crashed at Casterton.
That put me off the bike for about five weeks and, ever since that, I just never really got my mojo back. It’s not that my performances were terrible, but compared with what I can do when I’m at 100 percent, they weren’t really close to what I was doing prior to that crash.
ADB: Sand had probably been one of your weaker areas in the past. What did you change for 2026?
WIL: I never grew up on a sand track. Before I was about 17 years old, I didn’t really have a sand track to go to. Whenever I’ve been riding sand, it’s always been at Mach 2 and I’ve never been able to understand it at a trail-riding pace.
So I approached it differently in the off-season. I learned how to ride it slowly, then at a cross-country pace and then at a sprint pace. My general understanding of sand improved the most in that regard. I’ve always been able to charge it as hard as anyone else, but putting it together for longer durations or doing it with more efficiency was my problem.
ADB: So it wasn’t fitness, but more about becoming efficient in the sand?
WIL: Yeah. I think a lot of it is just bending at the knees and hips too much. If you go five degrees more with the bend in your knees and hips compared with someone else, then multiply that by a couple of thousand bumps per lap and do it for three hours.
It was in a lot of different areas of my training that I changed things up and tried to build my body in a different way that could handle it better. Naturally, I’m quite skinny at my hips and wide at my shoulders, which isn’t an ideal build for a dirt bike rider from an efficiency point of view.
From my hip pivot to my shoulder pivot, having so much weight through my chest, back and shoulders loads your back up really badly. So I’ve tried to build bigger hips and barely work my upper body at all, to get weight off my shoulders and down to my hips. When I look at American motocross riders, their hips are almost as wide as their shoulders.
ADB: Did the bike setup change for sand as well?
WIL: It’s definitely a different setup. It’s funny you say that because two weeks before Casterton I cartwheeled in the sand, was seeing stars and was sleeping half the day for a couple of weeks coming into Casterton.
Josh Green actually set up my bike. Props to him because he put me in a position where the bike was efficient enough that I had to ride it in an efficient way, and then it wasn’t going to beat me up over three hours.
ADB: You won Saturday at Casterton, then had that huge crash. What actually happened?
WIL: That second crash that happened at Casterton took the wind out of my sails. It beat my body up and gave me a lot of inflammation that took five or six weeks to get over.
Basically, there was a track that crossed Saturday’s track at 90 degrees. When it’s a mudder it gets troughed out and the edges get shallower, so we were crossing it square-on. I hit it and there was a square edge out the back of it.
It was kind of the same line I’d been hitting most of the day, but it just got bigger and bigger. It probably used up most of my shock. It definitely didn’t hit metal-on-metal, but I was on the bump stop at least, I was a little bit off balance and it was game over from there.
When I was going out the front door, I got the handlebars down through my groin and almost down to my knee. The inside of my leg was black and I’ve still got a shoulder that was a bit tender with ligaments and whatnot from it.
ADB: You also nearly had a DNF at Casterton when a lapper fell on you. What happened there?
WIL: A lapper fell on me and actually bent my sprocket. If you thought about the sprocket as a clock, from 12 o’clock to three o’clock the chain was derailing and then getting back on. It also punched through my spokes and into the back disc on the other side, and three of the bolts that hold my brake disc on were coming out and gouging the arm from the axle to the caliper.
I remember seeing the lapper start to fall so I gassed it hard trying to get him to miss my bike.
Then it started derailing and it felt like the rear brake was locked on, so I jumped off and had a look. It was only about two kilometres before the pit, so I tried to limp it back. Lyndon got past me and I lost the tow of Korey after stopping for 20 or 30 seconds to check it out.
ADB: Korey won Saturday at the finale and cut the gap to 10 points. Were you nervous that night?
WIL: No. I knew I was well capable of doing what I needed to do. If I just went out and executed things from my side, Korey was in a must-win situation, which also isn’t easy.
I didn’t think I was going to have his number on the day, but I knew I could ride at 90 percent of my potential and run fifth for the day. That’s all I was worried about really.
ADB: With Corey and Jai on the same team, did you ever think team tactics could come into play?
WIL: Well, I mean, it’s motorsport and it happens in most motorsports, so you can’t expect it not to happen. I can understand why – there’s a lot of money on the line for manufacturers and it goes on in almost every championship.
Although it might not be the most noble thing to do, I guess when there’s that much on the line, it happens. That’s part of motorsport.
ADB: On Sunday, Korey crashed heavily. When did you realise his title challenge was effectively over?
WIL: I was in the first sprint on Sunday and I actually passed him in that test because he was very hurt and going pretty steady. He obviously had a bit of a shoulder injury, so I knew halfway around the first test that he was probably going to be out, or at least not competitive for the day.
It was weird having those emotions in the middle of a test. Obviously you have to stay focused on yourself, but I’d prepared for that day knowing I needed a fifth or better.
It was also a shame to see him injured and go out that way because it’s cool to win a championship with all of the strongest players against you.
ADB: What meant more – the Pro Enduro outright title or the E2 Championship?
WIL: Yeah, you know the answer! The Pro Enduro title, for sure.
ADB: When you were chasing the World Championship in Europe, did you ever think you’d come home and win an Australian outright title?
WIL: No, it’s not something that’s on your radar at that time because you’re aiming for the stars in Europe. Then you think you’ll probably just retire and be done when you’re finished in Europe.
In my eyes, coming back isn’t a backwards step as far as competitiveness because when you go up against someone like Daniel Milner, he’s a world-class motorcycle racer. But in my world, the World Championship is the pinnacle of enduro racing. So it was weird to realign myself, but it’s been a better transition than I thought coming back to Australia.
ADB: This was your first class championship since E1 in 2017. How much has changed since then?
WIL: Probably the evolution of the bike. The Yamahas were good back then in their time, especially the 250, but the 450 now is just a better package.
From my point of view, it’s changed a lot too. I always had a fast metabolism and struggled to back it up after the three-hour cross-countries. I could never have enough energy to keep it going on Sunday. Now I’ve come back at an older age and got on top of my diet, how to approach racing and how to be more efficient.
ADB: What does 2027 look like? Could you ever see yourself going back overseas full-time?
WIL: It’s completely off the table now. Unless I’m going Supercross racing for Supercross money, I’m not willing to give up the other things I’ve got going on in my life here.
ADB: So when are we going to see you on a dirt bike again?
WIL: Just Instagram. That’ll be about all – and I probably won’t even do that! See you at Round 1 next year.
2026 AEC: BLOW BY BLOW
ROMA | ROUND 1
The season kicked off brutally in Roma, Queensland, with heat, dust, logs and six long special tests. Ruprecht established himself as the Pro Enduro benchmark, beating Jye Dickson and Korey McMahon outright, while Cooper Sheidow opened his E1 campaign with victory and Ruprecht and McMahon took E2 and E3 respectively. Jess Gardiner began her hunt for another EW crown with victory, while Mason Phillips took the first EJ win of the year.
DUNGOG | ROUNDS 3–4
Ruprecht won both rounds outright with Dickson and McMahon his primary Pro Enduro challengers. By now the individual championship battles were starting to take shape. Sheidow was emerging as the man to beat in E1, Ruprecht had control of E2 and reigning champion McMahon was beginning what would become a remarkable run in E3.
QMP | ROUNDS 5–6
Queensland Moto Park did nothing to slow Ruprecht down winning both rounds, while Dickson and McMahon continued scrapping behind him and the championship began looking increasingly like Ruprecht’s to lose. Sheidow continued building his E1 championship campaign, Ruprecht remained on top in E2 and McMahon maintained his stranglehold on E3. Further down the paddock, Rowan Pumpa was building another dominant Masters campaign, while John Day was emerging as the Veterans benchmark. Gardiner continued to dominate EW.
CASTERTON | ROUNDS 7–8
Sunday finally broke the streak when McMahon took his first outright victory of 2026. Casterton also threw a curveball into E1, where motocross convert Maximus Purvis came alive in the sand, while McMahon continued his perfect E3 campaign. New Zealand enduro star Rachael Archer was untouchable during her EW cameo.
KEMPSEY | ROUNDS 9–10
Ruprecht hit back at APO Ranch in Kempsey, winning Saturday’s Round 9 and reasserting himself at the top of Pro Enduro. But McMahon refused to let the title disappear, leading Sunday’s sprints from start to finish despite Ruprecht closing to just 0.31 seconds at one point.
Sheidow and Carpentier traded E1 wins, while Kai Austin swept EJ to take momentum into a three-way title fight with Marcus Nowland and Bjorn Cardenas. John Day secured the Veterans crown.
COONALPYN | ROUND 11-12
Hattah winner McMahon produced a monster three-hour cross-country ride, winning by nearly two minutes from Dickson. Kogan Lock was third, Liam Mason fourth and Ruprecht managed only fifth – his worst result of the season.
Saturday was also championship day for plenty of the paddock. Ruprecht secured E2, McMahon wrapped up E3, Sheidow claimed E1, Rowan Pumpa made it three consecutive Masters titles, Ollie Paech secured J2, Harley Hutton wrapped up J4 and Lorna Lock clinched her second straight JG championship.
Everything was set for a Ruprecht-versus-McMahon showdown on Sunday, but the fight ended almost as soon as it started. McMahon crashed heavily in the opening sprint and was forced to retire, allowing Ruprecht to manage his day and finally secure the Pro Enduro crown that Daniel Milner had denied him in 2025.
Gardiner completed another remarkable season to secure her 10th EW championship, finishing ahead of Madi Simpson and Madison Healey, while Austin wrapped up EJ ahead of Nowland and Cardenas.
