The Gas Gas Australian Race Team participated in last week's gruelling annual Australian Four Day Enduro event in Cessnock.
With over 350 riders starting, what was the 40th anniversary of the race, Gas Gas Australia entered two riders to tackle the Enduro Three (E3) and Veteran Class.
Representing the E3 class on the Gas Gas EC 300, Broc Grabham had a big event securing 3rd place. Impressively, he was the fastest two-stroke rider at the Australian Four Day Enduro and took ninth place overall for the event some ten places higher than the next closest two-stroke.
“My EC300 ran great all through the event. Even with blinding dust and tight trail times, the bike did not put a foot wrong. At the start of the year I thought to switch to a two-stroke bike for the first time in my career, may mean there would be a steep learning curve, but I took to it instantly. Credit to the engineers at Gas Gas Spain, as anyone could jump on a gasser and feel comfortable.”
Representing the Veteran Class on the Gas Gas EC 300, the Wildwood enduro winner Jade Gartlan, suffered a small crash early on day one creating a setback, with time lost at fuel stops to repair the damage. Playing catch up on day two, Jade worked his way through the field to better his time. However, all his good work was lost on day three when a simple misunderstanding by a fellow rider who took Jade’s hydration pack at a special test control left him dehydrated and late for the remainder of the day. Day Four, Jade went all out and crossed the finish line first in his Veteran heat in the final moto, whilst having a great battle with Craig Stevenson in his class.
“The 2018 A4DE was an incredibly tough week with problems that you can never plan for when racing enduro. Fortunately, my EC 300 was built for such tough technical terrain and it felt at home all week. I didn’t even have to tape my hands. The highlight was getting the lead in front of such a huge crowd in the sandy final moto.”